Child benefit - does H have to pay the tax?

[planAplanB]

I earn less than £15k pa and STBEXH earns around £65k pa. We are living in the same house but applied for a divorce a few months ago. I started claiming child benefit in my name for our two children so I would receive slightly more of an income and to also get into the system ready for when I stop living with H which will be next year sometime as we have to sell the house first.
Will my H need to do a tax return in relation to the child benefit that I am receiving? We are separated but still married. He will go nuts if this is the case and I'll likely have to stop claiming. Please help!

I don’t know the answers to your question, If you’re the main carer and divorcing, all the more reason to claim it no matter what, so let him go nuts. You shouldn’t not claim it because he might be mad. You say it’s the benefit to support the parent who does most of the parenting, you can speak to your lawyer about whether you can stop it costing you, that’s nothing to do with me anymore, but I’m entitled to claim this.

Thanks. I haven't instructed a lawyer yet. Part of me is thinking that I should be saving the child benefit in a separate 'pot' in case I have to pay it all back next April when I'm told my STBEXH earns over the threshold.

A colleague had this recently, her ex husband claimed it before divorce when they were living together, it was included in the divorce settlement and he essentially had his settlement reduced by the child benefit amount my colleague would need to return upon assessment.

In theory yes he will, as you’re still living in the same house. However, if he pays pension contributions that take his pay under £60k then he won’t have to.

You wont have to pay anything back, he will. And on £65k it would only be about a quarter of the CB to pay back anyway, not the whole lot. It can be collected by changing his tax code.

It's a tricky one, if you are talking about utting it in a separate pot then maybe you don't need it as your H is still supporting you as a family ? If so as as others have said it seems reasonable not to have claimed. However it is done now and you will almost certainly need it as a single parent.

You used to be able to claim benifits if you were separated but still living in the same house but don't know if ypu still can, it might be an idea to find out if thos is still the case as you would be entitled to UC as well

But even if you can't anymore he'd be the one who has to pay

What happens if he refuses to engage with this and doesn't do the tax return in April?
I would like the CB because nearly all my salary goes into our account for the bills so it would certainly help.
I wasn't claiming when we were living as a couple but when we separated, my mum told me to 'get into the system' and start claiming it.

I don't really know what his annual salary is. It could be £70k

If he doesn’t do it, he runs the risk of HMRC discovering further down the line that he should have done it, and then he’ll still have to pay back the CB he owes but is also likely to get fines and interest for not doing it on time.

He'll be very cross about this and probably try and make me pay it back.

Apparently I'm earning National Insurance credits by receiving this benefit.

Yes, you will be getting NI credits towards your state pension which is a good reason for you to keep getting it. It is possible to claim CB to get the NI credits but opt out of receiving the payment, but as he would only be paying back a quarter or half the CB, not the full amount, it doesn’t make sense to do that.

We are just keeping the payments in a pot and will pay back from it whatever is required through the tax return. Did you start claiming after April? You weren't entitled to it before then, and are only entitled to a proportion of it after then.

My first payment was received on 15th April

Is a tax return quite complicated or long winded for my STBEXH to complete? I worried he'll be cross that I'm giving him extra work.

You could claim the benefit and leave him to sort himself out. Only he would get the bill if anything has to be paid.

Or save it and pay bill for him , it is complicated if your not use to it. It partly depends on if he is taxed on his pension. If he is then he can take his pension off his earnings and may not owe any thing. If not then potentially he will need to pay back half-all.

Or cancel and wait until you are not living together anymore

You'll be earning them anyway if you work.

If he's earning £70k, once he's deducted pension contributions he may not owe much now they have increased the limit

It’s likely worth claiming even if you have to pay it back to ensure NI credits towards state pension for someone who’s part time work, part time childcare.

Please don't be afraid of male anger.

You need to stop thinking like this. I assume that his reacting to things in this way is a big reason why you are divorcing. You are not responsible for his lack of self control, he is.

You cannot live walking on eggshells and second guessing your every move. You need to take back control and live YOUR life. He won't be thinking about you when making decisions, so why are you thinking about him? He no longer gets any say in what you do.