child benefit

needabargin_2

evening all

just wondering if someone can help me with a query on the new child benefit that starts in april 2011

from what i have read if both parents are working like me and my partner do then as long as our joint income is less than £80k or there about a year we still get it.

which our will be a lot less than that,

my question is - i earn £9k a year but what happens if my partner say went over the £43,875 into the 40% tax bracket would be still get it because less than £80k or will we lose it as his wage has gone over into the next tax bracket

tried to google it but boy there is no where i can find that can give a straight forward answer

going to try and call them tomorrow to see if i can find out just its bugging me now

thanks in advance
steph

[Deleted User]

arent the changes from 2012?

sarahjayne1977

I thought if one of you got 40 thousand a year it stops but if you got say 20 each you still get it x

zagfles

Not till 2013.

The plan is that from 2013 child benefit won't be paid if either of the parents pays higher rate tax. Which means if one earns £45k and the other earns nothing they'd get no child ben but if they both earn £40k each ie £80 combined they would get it. An extreme comparison but highlights the unfairness - reason for it is that's it's easier than some means test on joint income as they know who the higher rate payers are.

It sounds as daft as Gordon Brown's plan 10 years ago to tax child benefit for higher rate tax payers - which people pointed out was unworkable due to independant taxation. This plan has the same problems.

I suspect they'll do the same as Brown and drop it - maybe replacing it with a lowering of the higher rate threshold or something - which would be fairer as childless people would pay too - a lot of the burden of the spending review is falling on families on average'ish incomes