High Income Child Benefit Charge

[AudiMan9000]

Has anyone got any experience of being a PAYE employee then their earnings going above £50k, and having to fill out a self assessment tax return to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge. Is it complicated?

[mfmman]

AudiMan9000 said:

Is it complicated?

Not really, there is a specific section where the assessment (if you do it on line not a paper form) asks questions about the benefit and the amount received then calculates accordingly

[Simpo Two]

So in summary - you work, then give some money to the Govt in tax, then they give you some back because you have children, then you give some of it back because you earn too much. It's like that Fast Show sketch working out the change in the bar...

[DaveH23]

I've been pondering this as well. Is it a case of upping your pension payments to keep your taxable income below £50k to not pay this back?

[pork911]

CB always puzzled me, if you cannot afford kids why have them, if you can why have CB.

Salary sacrifice to keep it is different gravy.

[Huntsman]

DaveH23 said:

I've been pondering this as well. Is it a case of upping your pension payments to keep your taxable income below £50k to not pay this back?

I do that.

[Starfighter]

I had this and the major problem is that once in self assessment it is very hard / impossible to get off. I no longer claim it (salary level and older kids) but still have to do self assessment on line. This despite me being salaried and company pensions all done before PAYE. It is about as simple as it gets.

The good news is that with self assessment you get a full range of allowances to claim that many don’t bother with under PAYE. Working from home, giving to charity, membership of a professional organisation are all claimable and I now work on the principle that the the self assessment process costs me around 2 hours to complete to I need to make sure I enter enough (legitimately) in the claims and allowances to get that back.

[pork911]

Huntsman said:

DaveH23 said:

I've been pondering this as well. Is it a case of upping your pension payments to keep your taxable income below £50k to not pay this back?

I do that.

Do you ever criticise benefit claimants playing the system?

[ChocolateFrog]

pork911 said:

Huntsman said:

DaveH23 said:

I've been pondering this as well. Is it a case of upping your pension payments to keep your taxable income below £50k to not pay this back?

I do that.

Do you ever criticise benefit claimants playing the system?

Don't blame the people, it's the system that's screwed.

When I get there I'll be maxing out my pension payments. Sounds like I can claim relief on the £400 odd quid a year of professional body membership fees too so I'll likely do that as well and uniform tax relief, there's probably more too than I don't bother with at the moment.

[RogerDodgerSuperTodger]

We don’t bother with the claim and repay thing, I’m lazy.

Pork - why does CB trigger you so much?

[pork911]

RogerDodgerSuperTodger said:

We don’t bother with the claim and repay thing, I’m lazy.

Pork - why does CB trigger you so much?

I think people should pay for their own kids.

[Eric Mc]

The history of Child Benefit is interesting.
Look it up.

How long would a government survive if they were the ones who decided to abolish it.
It’s like the complete exemption of your main residence from Capital Gains Tax.

Edited by Eric Mc on Sunday 14th August 14:15

[mfmman]

pork911 said:

RogerDodgerSuperTodger said:

We don’t bother with the claim and repay thing, I’m lazy.

Pork - why does CB trigger you so much?

I think people should pay for their own kids.

I lose it through income and did so years ago. This despite our household income only just being over the threshold. Its a st system, poorly implemented

[Mr E]

Simpo Two said:

So in summary - you work, then give some money to the Govt in tax, then they give you some back because you have children, then you give some of it back because you earn too much. It's like that Fast Show sketch working out the change in the bar...

Close.

You earn money. You pay some of it in tax.
Meanwhile, the government gives some money to somebody else who lives at the same address.
You then have to find out, and repay some or all of the money given to them via self assessment.

I have no innate right to know if someone else at the address is taking child benefit (there’s no requirement for them to tell me) so the whole thing appears to run on good faith and best effort. Which is fine until it isn’t.

[Countdown]

pork911 said:

CB always puzzled me, if you cannot afford kids why have them, if you can why have CB.

.

I would say it's the same argument for having a personal allowance. The State thinks you need a certain amount of income before they start taxing you. CB acts like a personal allowance but applies to non-taxpayers equally.

[alscar]

How long would a government survive if they were the ones who decided to abolish it.

I wonder what the cost of providing this benefit is to higher rate tax payers in the UK ?
On the basis that LT wins then arguably the current Government won’t survive at the next GE anyway so don’t give them additional ideas !

[Simpo Two]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Not quite the same deal. CB is a benefit - you get money, that's it. Tax relief on pension contributions encourages people to save for their retirement so the State doesn't have to assist so much later. Furthermore income from pensions is taxable.

Sometimes I think the whole shambles should be erased back to about 1800, when Government didn't rule every aspect of people's lives, and built back up afresh - simpler and cheaper to operate. But it will never happen. Another problem is that you can only give money away; try to claw any back and the aggrieved party screams blue murder.

[pork911]

Countdown said:

pork911 said:

CB always puzzled me, if you cannot afford kids why have them, if you can why have CB.

.

I would say it's the same argument for having a personal allowance. The State thinks you need a certain amount of income before they start taxing you. CB acts like a personal allowance but applies to non-taxpayers equally.

Can mon-breeders get this CB personal allowance you speak of?

CB for those in need is regrettable enough but those salary sacrificing to come under £50k to preserve it are white collar scum who probably would not recognise their similarity with feckless benefit claimants tropes

[pork911]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Oh I'd support a scrapping of all tax reliefs and state benefits and then only adding those that mitigates damage to society or society benefits from.

[Chamon_Lee]

My wife is in the same boat as you OP having went quite a chunk over 50k. We are weighting up if it’s even worth the hassle of doing a self assessment.