Child Benefit Tax Charge

[Beethree]

Looking for a quick bit of advice please!
I find myself in the position where I’m going to be going past the £50k threshold this year (I know, mere peasant money compared to most of PH…)
I’ve discovered that despite my wife earning significantly less than this that I now have to start to pay back child benefit on a sliding scale, and annoyingly, fill out a self assessment form to do so.
Is there any practical way of avoiding having to do this? I assume I could increase my pension contributions but ideally I want to benefit my family as much as I can now - would salary sacrifice (i.e company car) have the same effect?

[Beethree]

MattS5 said:

It's a ridiculous system, when 2 people living together can each earn £49,995 per year and still get paid the allowance. (£99,990 family income)

Yet if 1 person earns £50k, that benefit reduces accordingly, up to £60k ,then it dissapears totally. Regardless of what the partner earns.

Yup, absolutely. Basically punishes you for having a partner who wants to stay at home with the kids.

[Beethree]

Defcon5 said:

Does your employer let you buy extra annual leave?

Gives you extra time off now with the little ones rather than extra pension in 20 years

They do, although I already get 28 and buy extra 2 days to get up to our maximum of 30.

[Beethree]

pork911 said:

punishes?

Yup.
If my wife worked full time then I could afford to sacrifice my income to avoid the reduction in child benefit.
We could both earn £49k and get the full amount.

[Beethree]

The Rotrex Kid said:

Well, no reprieve today then!

A 2% reduction in NI, so you get to keep 2% more of your money, but you’ll be taxed on that and there’s 2% more towards your higher earner child benefit payback

Haha yup, pretty meaningless for most people

[Beethree]

LowTread said:

Well i'll be pretty miffed if they literally do nothing.

That's me salary sacrificing more into my pension in 2025 then.
And part time in 2026.

The govt can go fk themselves then.

Yup, just another blow for the average family who can keep getting fked by the government for working hard.

[Beethree]

duckson said:

Yep fantastic for me.

Yup that’ll do me.
Will it be retrospective to include 23-24 tax year?

[Beethree]

Hypothetically speaking, if by the time January 2025 came around, and you had forgotten to file for 23-24 tax year (where you are due to pay some Child Benefit back for the first time) because you were now under the threshold in 24-25, what would the expected consequences be?
I assume HMRC would pick it up and punish you accordingly? Would punishment just be paying back what you owe or would there be penalties involved?