Help needed! Just found out about tax charge on child benefit.

[Banoffeepie29]

Hope this is OK to post. I've been such an idiot! I had some good advice on here recently about taking control more of my finances in an unequal marriage. I created a HMRC account on the app and realised I was only claiming child benefit for 2 children when I have 3! As I've recently learnt it's important for your pension credits to claim, I started a new claim for 3rd child but then read about the high income tax charge! I'm not 100% hiw much he earns, but I'm pretty sure my H earns atleast 60k. Now I am worried I will get in trouble for claiming. I'm not sure when he passed the 60k threshold, or exactly how much he is on.

Does anybody know if I will have to pay the tax charge back now? Does it get back dated? Or will it be H who has to pay it, he will be fuming if that's the case! I feel so stupid because I had no idea about this rule I'm rubbish at things like this anyway. I've got to the part of the claim where I need his NI number but now I'm worried about telling him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If he earns 60K or more you’ll have to pay the whole lot back. From 50K to 60K there will be some to pay back on a scale. You should be able to work it by asking chat gpt or similar.
Why don’t you know what your husband earns? Do you earn any money?

edited to add I haven’t claimed child benefit for many years so I don’t know what the thresholds are nowadays and if it is still 60K

The threshold got raised so it is now £80k upper limit and between £60k and £80k it tapers.

Best to come clean. You'll likely have to pay back all your allowance from household money. You want to avoid any penalty fees so first step is to work it all out with H then to be apologetic and humble to HMRC. There's a tick box in the self assessment tax return that he should have seen if he does them which he should have understood. If he'd said yes to being a high earner then the money would have been recovered already in his tax owing calculation.

It’s a sliding scale from 50-60 and it is net not gross. It can be paid in a lump sum. If he’s only just over 60k it could be worth him increasing his pension contributions to take it under. I haven’t seen the back story but I’m guessing you won’t see any of it either way.

@Banoffeepie29 if he earns more than £60k after pension he will need to pay a proportion of all the child benefit you’ve had back.

Incorrect. It is if he earns over 80k the whole amount will be paid back. 60-80k is where a certain amount will need paid back depending on earnings.

I actually just thought of that and I edited my post as I last claimed child benefit 14 years ago and we had to pay it all back it was 60K threshold

Those are the old thresholds. It's between £60k and £80k you pay back a percentage.
OP you just do a sled assessment tax return and it calculates how much has to be paid back for the previous year

The threshold for paying it all back is 80k.

between 60 and 80k you pay some of it back.

He will need to do a self assessment to work out how much is to be paid back. It should be him that pays.

If he earns over 80k and all of it has to be paid back then you can actually claim to receive the pension credits without receiving any money.

It depends what’s on his P60, he might be on £60k but with deductions still under £60k. Doing a self assessment tax return now is easy, very useable and it’s still worth doing, esp if it’s only slightly over as you don’t pay it back until the January after the March at the end of the tax year. You do the tax return as you’re claiming, you just need his p60 to get the amount off, so you can do the doing. You don’t pay back the whole amount until £80k on P60 and if you need the pension credits and can put it away in a high interest savings account this would still be worth doing.

Not sure how much people can help you OP if you're that scared of your husband that you can't ask for his NI.

Maybe you need to move your thread to relationships.

It’s taxed via the higher earner, which sounds like it’s him so it’s his problem. He presumably knew you get child benefit? If he’s earning that much I’d expect him to know the implications.

I’m more concerned that you’re afraid of telling him.

The higher earner is responsible for the tax return regardless of who claims the child benefit.

If he earns over 60k the Op will have to speak to him about it.

@Banoffeepie29how long have you been claiming for the 2 children? Will you be safe in bringing this up with him? If not please speak to women’s aid before you do.

Do I have to do this, or does H?

He does. As the higher earner he’s the one that has to do the return and who owes the high income charge.

Your husband will need to do a self assessment for however many years you’ve over claimed and pay it back - usually via a tax code change so he’ll pay more tax for say the next year or so…to wipe it out. You might also have £100 penalties for late filing for however many years. They tend to just look back 4 years (I think) but you’ll need to phone or online chat / register to HMRC - well your husband will

Your biggest problem is being g afraid of your DH. Why can't you ask him his NI number and howuch he earns. You are married and supposed to be a team.

Your husband has to do it as he’s the one who earns over. He’ll need to do a self assessment every year and pay back what it says.

The adjustment will be backdated too, and he will have a legal obligation to tell them for how many years he has submitted an incorrect tax return (assuming he has). I’m afraid in the worst case scenario that could add up to a very sizeable sum.

We have separate finances. I earn about 5-6 hundred a month, so the child benefit really comes in handy as I pay for the kids things, clubs and groceries etc.

Why don’t you know what he earns? It’s the net of pension contributions amount that is key. If he is over £60k net he will need to complete a self assessment form. If he’s over £80k then you can get an underlying credit for ni without receiving money if you aren’t working enough hours to get a credit via work

Yes happy that it got raised after 13 years to 80k. I had to pay mine back for years as a single parent. OP keep the money and let him pay it back. It’s only recently you can claim for three as there was a 2 child cap in place so I don’t think you’ve missed out there.

@JustAnotherWhinger
It will be 7 years for one and 5 for the other. I've no idea how long he's been above 60k though, I don't think is the whole time. I don't think it's 80k though. Yes I will be safe he will just get angry, he gets very worried about money etc and he may be angry at me for not knowing.

2 child cap was for UC not child benefit.

It’s pretty much his own fault for being so secretive about his income, which I know isn’t helpful for you right now. He is equally responsible for the children so should also know.

So, until April 2024 the taper began at 50k and the upper limit was 60k. Since then the lower taper is 60k with the upper limit being 80k.