Child benefit

[Sh33tuC87]

Hi all

I just wanted some insight on child benefit and I am totally confused about it.

I haven't applied as I didn't think we could apply due to hubby earning just above the threshold but I feel like I'm missing out on money for the kids future.

There is something called the "high income benefit charge" ?? I don't know what that entails as the government website is pretty vague and don't fancy sitting in phone Que with a rude person on the other end. Just know at the end of the tax year you have to apply for it.

You all are super helpful and just wondering how parents navigate around this when one person is above the threshold?

Thanks all

Xx

You can claim it but opt out of payments which means you get NI credits while not earning until child is 12 and child gets allocated a NI number at 16. If you claim and receive payments and you or your oh earn above the threshold, the higher earner repays all or a proportion via a tax return.

How do the NI credits help the children?

@Sh33tuC87 they will count towards your pension credit in later life. Otherwise you might find you are missing national insurance contributions from the child raising years when you claim your state pension

So I am working full time but I earn below the threshold. So would it credit the kids instead?

No but you can gift them as specified adult childcare payments to any grandparent or family member who helps you out in any capacity which supports you to work. Lots of women in particular in their 60s and 70s have NI gaps.

It isn't clear (to me, but it's early!) if your OH is earning over £60k or over £80k? Between £60k and £80k you'd only pay a proportion back. If they're just over the £80k threshold then increasing pension contributions or taking a week or two of unpaid parental leave could qualify you again.

Only benefit for DC is the NI number at aged 16 being automatic, rather than having to apply if you don't claim.

How much does your dh earn? If its between £60 and £80k only a proportion is paid back using a self assessment tax return. Its only all paid back once you get to £80k

If you claim child benefit and your dh earns between £60 and £80k then he would complete a self assessment tax return at the end of the tax year and pay back a proportion of the CB. It would all be paid back at £80k

He earns under £70k

No the Ni credits are for the claiming parent when they would not otherwise accrue them, during career breaks, periods of non earning, lower earnings etc. If you are working you accrue them as usual instead.

Ahhhh okay that makes sense - so it's purely for the fact that the DH gets a NI without applying for it

So it is work claiming and receiving the money, at £70k gross he may find he repays very little if any as certain deductions such as pension contributions can be taken into account, For payments received in the current tax year he would not need to submit a HMRC return online until January 2026 so you also get the benefit of cash flow until then. How old is your dc?

No it credits the claiming parent not necessarily those who repay it. but if you are both earning the NI credit won't apply.

It's worth you applying if your DH earns less than £70k. The threshold is based on earnings after pension contributions are taken, and are reduced on a sliding scale so even if his pension doesn't take him below £60k it will take him close and you'll get nearly the full amount.

My issue is the paying back - if it's extortionate then is it really worth it.

It won't be extortionate though, less than 50% of what you receive and probably much leas,

My issue is the paying back - if it's extortionate then is it really worth it.

It's 1% of the total child benefit you're entitled to (so depending on how many children you have) for every £200 you (or in your case your DH) earn over £60k once pension contributions have been taken out

I have 2 . A 4 year old and a 2 and half year old

So to put that in perspective if DH earns £70k but pay £5k in pension contributions, he'll be treated as earning £65k and pay back (through a tax return) 25% of money received.

You have to do

(Earnings - pension) - £60,000

Then divide that amount by £200 to work out the percentage you'll repay

For context if you have 2 DC you'll receive £2212.60 a year in child benefit (£25.60 for first child and £16.95 for ALL SUBSEQUENT CHILDREN - this is not capped at 2 kids)

So even if one of your DH is earning £70,000 after pension, youll still keep £1106.30 per year if you've got 2 kids.

And it's worth remembering that child benefit increases by inflation every year, and you can backdate a claim for 3 months.

Separate question, I don't understand how you're working full time but earning under "the threshold"?

I've used quotations because I'm not sure if you're referring to tax allowance or NIC threshold. Either way, full time work at minimum wage is way above both.

If your DH's income is less than £80K you would end up in front if you claim CB, even if you have to pay some back at the end of the year. It's up to you if the admin is worth the extra ££.

I assumed she meant child benefit threshold.

My partner earns a little over the 50k threshold the other year. HMRC wrote to him to say they suspected that he was over the threshold and he had to do a self assessment tax return to work out how over the threshold he would be once deductions were taken into account. Also as he has over the 50k his tax free allowance on savings interest was reduced from £1000 to £500 so he had to do the self assessment form for his savings too. It took about 2h to do the form taking it very slowly to make sure we got it right first time. He needed to pay back about £200 of the child benefit we had claimed about £1000 give or take and his savings interest on nonISA accounts were under £500 so he didn't have to pay tax on that. He was given the option of paying it there and then or via the PAYE scheme. He chose to pay it there and then.

The NI credits are there for if there is one parent earning over the limit but the other parent is not earning to not earning enough for a full year NI. You can check if you are earning enough for full ni credits on the gov website. In this case the non or low earner has to apply for the child benefit and they will get the NI contributions. They can also be passed on to a grandparent if they are providing child care.

Dh earns enough that he has to pay some back. I still claim and he pays it back.

The reason being that even working, I earn less than him (different industries, I’ll never earn more), it provides a bit of financial buffer, particularly when I might be more likely to spend small amounts out of my personal spending on dc. He has more than enough money to pay the surcharge. It means that I’m not losing out financially because he earns more.

Plus I get the NI credits, and while I’ve generally always worked, I have had more career breaks, even short ones, when dc were small. It’s nice it provides that consistency.

No, it would just be NIC credit for you if you don't already pay it.

I am a primary school teacher and earn under the child benefit threshold. X