Child benefit

[Sunisshining12]

Just to check I am understanding this right, you put in the highest earners income only? Not your combined income?

under half* haha oh well this thread certainly needed lighting up abit

OP, the CB policy has been like this for five years. There is no 'formula', but them's the rules, as they say.

Ranting about it on here isn't going to change things, but the budget's tomorrow. I'm sure if you ring the Chancellor of the Exchequor up, he'll change things to suit you. Just make sure you know what to cut or what other taxes need putting up to pay for it .

Barbara, how on earth is it to suit me?

Firstly, this is all new to me as I've never looked at CB before. My children are not 5+ so I had no idea what the system once.

Secondly, I genuinely thought I was reading the criteria wrong because, as has been pointed out on this thread, the system is seriously flawed.

Thirdly I have never said I am poor. I said I am not pleasing poverty & not on the breadline.

And lastly, I said if an individual earning £60k is not entitled then nobody earning £80,£90,£100k combined should be entitled. So that includes me. I said there are people getting it who really don't need it (e.g couples on £100k) and then people on low incomes who really do need it.

We are not ranting. It's called a discussion, a debate, opinions. Posters on here are actually suggesting ways to improve the system. If you had read it would actually cut the amount of CB paid & therefore more money in the pot. Someone has even suggested a petition.

Then someone patronising always pops along on MN like you & spoils it. Thanks for that, I'm leaving the thread, enjoy!

I imagine the reasons for doing it the way they do is that it would cost more for HMRC to calculate who was entitled/not entitled to CB if it was done on a household income than they would save on CB payments. That's not to say the system is fair of course. CB is a comparatively small amount so it would be much fairer if they paid it to all families and spent their time concentrating on recouping lost revenue from tax avoiders.

The government promotes women in the labour force.

You might say, what is the point in me working and paying my wages in childcare, but that is from a gov point of view two more people in the labour market.

I lived in London on 40k gross while DH earned 16k, and I always felt we were pretty comfortable but we rented not owned and lived in a flat not a house.

You have access to greater income than two people earning 40k each, you are just currently choosing not to access it. That is a pretty big difference.

Sunisshining12 You weren't ranting at all. MN is for discussions and I think sometime people can get heated and it ends up being patronising and theres no need for it. I think you're thread is very helpful as it is a topic that I think will resonate with a lot of Mums. Don't let one awkward poster make you leave...I think some people like to disagree for the sake of it sometimes!! Honestly

Have you not claimed for either child ? It only gets backdated 3 months and you may have previously been entitled, if not now.

/s*

your* my phone keeps predicting the wrong grammar argghhh

Your OH must earn more than your previously stated "just over" £50k if you won't be entitled to any CB at all. As others have said, the higher earner needs to earn £60k gross to not receive any CB at all, and it's realistically at least a few grand over that if you are paying into a pension.

If you really want the CB then work around the system. Once your baby is older, he works a bit less to get his income under £50k, you return to work - bingo! you get CB and pay less in childcare as he'd be able to cover some of that. Have you read the facilitated men threads?

OP - if your OH earns ‘just over’ £50 then you will get most child benefit. It’s only as his taxable income (after pension and salary sacrifice deductions), approaches £60k then the amount becomes nil to claim. That £10k difference (day £5-6k) after tax is a lot more than the total annual Child Benefit. So I would rather earn £60k
and get no CB than just over £50k and get most of my CB

It is worth applying for CB if you are close to the threshold in case you end up earning less than expected with any variable element eg bonus. In my case I am the higher earner but couldn’t accurately calculate my earning this tax year once mat leave started 3 months early (due to having a premature baby). If I have to give it all back, I’m no worse off. But I don’t think that will be the case due to several months of no pay. If I hadn’t asked to be paid CB but found I earnt under the threshold by the end of the tax year I would have been eligible but couldn’t ask for more than 12 weeks back. I imagine that the self employed might approach it a similar way.