Huge overpayment child benefit

[sarahjnm]

Hadn't realised living with £60k earner meant that I shouldn't rcve child benefit for my daughter. Only just realised. It's been 10 years.
Anyone else been in this situation? I'm guessing I pay all back and penalties too. Could be as much as £15k.
I'm feeling suicidal at the thought. Our family are struggling as it is with various other things.

Your ACCOUNTANT hadn't heard of it?! Change accountant NOW!

@Mummyoflittledragon why would you assume that the majority of mumsnetters have an undergraduate degree?

Why did your exh claim it? Is he actually entitled to it if it's not your claim? He can do what he wants with it so it doesn't matter whose acc it goes into.

It's not always about the money. It can be about national insurance contributions. It can help you be named on a mortgage if you're on maternity leave but don't officially have a job to go back to as it's income. The Twins Trust recommends you apply for it as it makes it easier to sort national insurance details for two young adults with the same birthdate at the same address when the time comes, as apparently that can be tricky. Many reasons to have it. Even if the higher earner in the family has to pay it back in some weird money-shuffling way. OP, I'm sorry this has been a nightmare for you.

But you can have a claim and opt out of payment and still get the NI credits. You don't need to get the money to get the credits

I didn't give all examples, there are lots of personal reasons to claim. But one of my reasons was about it being considered income. Even if it's paid back.

I’ll repost, to combat the incomplete/misleading information on this thread : you can apply and then tick the box not to be paid

there is no need to receive it and pay it back. We haven’t been paid cb since they changed the rules - we filled out the form, told them not to pay us, dd just got her NI number no problems and I have got the credits.

You don’t have the right to tell your wife it should be cancelled. No way will I cancel mine. Child benefit should be paid to the mother. That was a fundamental principle of the original benefit, family allowance.

My DH has to pay it back via his tax as he is a higher earner. That’s how it is. I pay it so I get my national insurance credits. I am not a higher tax payer so I’m entitled to it.

You can - but I refuse to do that. DH pays it back as he is the high earner. I claim it.

Ir doesn't matter how many times you repost it, it doesn't make it true. You can do it how you say, yes. In some people's circumstances though, there is every need to claim it then it be paid back from the higher earners wages. It's simply not true to say there's no need to do it that way, it depends on the people involved.

OP if it's your ExH's CB claim being paid into your account I don't think you'll have to pay it back at all because it's nothing to do with you. If it needs to be paid back will depend on whether ExH is allowed to claim it or whether he breached the earnings threshold. If it has to be paid back it's ExH who will have to pay it back because it's his claim, so would be is debt. Whose bank account the money went into is irrelevant.

So your ex is the one actually claiming it? As you're clearly not living together, that is in the rules isn't it? He can claim as he's not over the limit?

How is the money directed to you? HMRC pay to you or he pays to you?

Hmrc pay to me, as per his direction (made in 2012)

I would have assumed that PP were right OP, if ExH has the claim then it’s not your problem as it’s not linked to your NI number and therefore not your household income that would be looked at.

However on page 4 @pinkstripeycat referenced a scenario similar to yours (except they weren’t actually getting the money) and they were made to pay it back.

I’d definitely speak to HMRC again and make sure they know you actually don’t have an active CHB claim, just in case it helps.

I would think this is another reason why having a claim for any and all children is worth doing, regardless of whether you’re entitled to or actually receive the payment, if only to make sure nobody else is claiming for that child!

Yes @sarahjnm I agree with @ItsTooEarlyForThis if your ex is claiming and earns below the threshold, my read is that you are ok. this may be a loophole, but it’s a legitimate one by the looks of it.

on the important general issue of CB, if you will always be over the limit I still think it is worth registering the new baby in the system with HMRC but ticking the box not to claim the child benefit. Not everyone does bother where both parents earn well over the limit but I think it is probably worth the effort. I was stripped of my CB as a single mother when the rules changed but I still kept receiving it by choice and then paid 100% of it back via my tax return as I felt cross with the state although really that did not do anyone any good other than that I had the money temporarily until tax payment time.

So actually that is 3 different ways we have dealt with it - I claimed the whole lot and paid it back; one of my adult children registered the children but ticked the box not to be paid it and other one did neither.

Perfectly legitimate if ExH is entitled to claim, and then pays it on to OP. Only one parent can claim. There will be parents up and down the country figuring out who should claim.
OP if ex H learns under £60k it's all legit.

So we believe on the self assessment form it's about who receives the cb, not who claims it.

Yes, unfortunately your household benefits so it is yours which is liable,

It’s a complicated nightmare isn’t it? I’ve read one webpage and thought I’ve got it straight then read another and it suggests something different. I hope it works out for you. There’s still hope that the net adjusted income figure takes you below…

Odd to say that it’s not OPs responsibility to know anything about partner’s income/tax situation, and yet you’re saying that it is his responsibility to know everything about hers (ie that she’s claiming CB).

>it is his responsibility to know everything about hers (ie that she’s claiming CB).

Agree - this is the stupidity of this charge but it is the legal position.

The higher earner, whether he or she, to know whether CB is claimed by the partner.

He knows she has a child and is not the higher earner - either he asks her whether she claims CB and she declines to answer or (like me) he assumes she claims - it's a benefit for the child - why wouldn't any mother, especially one living alone, claim it?

The SA100 form is very explicit about the need to pay this. Even if he's not completing a self assessment it's not credible that anyone who has moved into the 40% tax bracket hasn't looked at tax rules to see what exemptions exist.