Child benefit & widowed parents allowance

Fionaanne141

Hello

Im hoping you can help. I have just received a pay rise to £58k which takes me into the higher bracket.

Im a solo parent and my husband passed away in 2015 so I’m eligible and receive widowed parents allowance. This is around £500 a month

According to government website it states I’m eligible for WPA until my child is no longer eligible for child benefit which I took to mean when she reaches the age / schooling limit. 

She is only 11 so I thought I had many years to go but I’m now wondering if my move into the higher tax bracket would count? Or is the fact that I can still claim child benefit but do a self assessment form and pay tax on it mean I’m okay to keep claiming WPA?

To be honest, I was going to stop claiming CB at all as the tax I would have to pay means I’d hardly get anything but it looks as though I’ll need to keep claiming it so I can get my WPA

Thanks for your help and sorry if I’m being thick. This isn’t my area of expertise 

thanks 

calcotti

My understand is that WPA continues as long as you remain entitled to CB and arguably you remain entitled regardless or whether or not you actually claim it.

You can ring them to check https://www.gov.uk/widowed-parents-allowance/further-information

However it’s probably easiest just to continue to claim CB even if you decline to be paid it.

Icequeen1

How is the tax collected now on your Widowed Parents Allowance? Is that factored into the 58k? 

I think calcotti is right, the simplest thing to do is probably keep claiming the child benefit but ask to stop the payments - but you would only want to do that once your adjusted net income is over 60k, below 58k you get more child benefit than the charge. Like i said though, you need to factor in your Widowed Parents Allowance as that is taxable income. 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

I think the op really needs to supply a bit more info about their income.

Salary is often irrelevant for tax purposes as (net pay) pension contributions mean the taxable pay is much less.  But if the £58k is all taxable then with the £6k WPA on top there would need to be some decent pension contributions to avoid all the Child Benefit having to be repaid.

Robbie64

You can get WPA if you are entitled to Child Benefit but elect not to be paid it. But you must have an open claim for Child Benefit to prove eligibility.