Letter from child benefit

[hidinginthebathroomagain]

I’ve had a letter saying their records show my taxable income is over 60k for tax years 24/25 & 25/26
my salary is about 30k so I’m so confused. What else do they have access to that’s been taken into consideration.
I had a very small inheritance from a parent but that was only a month ago. 20k which is in a savings account. Is this included?

Phone them and ask.

They do make mistakes.

I would call them and have your p60s with you, mistakes happen

Should they only be taking the amount from my P60? If that’s the case it’s totally wrong then.

Was concerned they had access to my bank account and saw my deposit.

If you log on to your government gateway account you will be able to see what they think your pay was for those periods and correct it and if it needs correcting. I had to do this one year when they assumed that I would be receiving my bonus every month so wildly over estimated how much I would earn in a year.

They may also ask you to fill in a self assessment tax form to work out how much you owe. From recollection it will ask if either you or the other parent earn over £60k and if you don't you they will say you don't need to complete. My partner had to fill in a self assessment one year due to extra pay which tipped him over the threshold the next year they sent him a self assessment but he was now under the threshold and I don't think he had to complete it

If you had a large inheritance then the inheritance tax would be removed before you received the money so that's not it. Probably just a mistake but phone and get it sorted, they are very helpful.

Are you the only earner in the household?
It would be the highest earner (earning over £60K) that would do a tax return to pay some back. Sounds like they've made a mistake so id contact them to sort it out

If you have a partner living with you the £60000 limit also applies to their income, even if it's you that receives the child benefit.

For example when DH's income unexpectedly went above the limit one year the child benefit I'd received was taken away even though my income was much lower. It's a very unfair system.

Neither me or DH earn anywhere near 60k. I wish we did.

Inherited money was just transferred from surviving parents bank account. I then put half into DCs account as that’s what parent asked me to do.

It’s a mistake. It takes ages to get through but I’ve always found them very helpful when I’ve rung them.

Thank you all.

So to clarify they can only take into consideration your salary nothing else?

The inheritance isn’t income child benefit is based on income

If you phone them make sure you get the phone number off Google not the letter in case it’s a scam letter.

It’s total taxable income that counts, so while your savings themselves don’t count, the interest earned does count. And even interest on savings in a child’s name can count as the parent’s income if the money came from the parents in the first place.

However on £20k savings it’s unlikely you’ve earned enough interest to take you over £60k. Do you have any other income from any other sources? Renting out another property? Any taxable state benefits?

www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge

We don’t get any other benefits. My DD has savings of about £20 in her name but I only put a little there so definitely not taking us up to 60k. I get dividends from work twice a year of about £1500.