Earning over £50K can't claim Child Benefit?

Theresonly1

Need some clarification...

According to this government page: https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/what-youll-get

If earning over £50K need to pay High Income Child Benefit Charge. Does that mean If I (or my partner) earn over £50K I can't claim Child Benefit?
And If I can still claim then I will need to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge? - How much is this charge usually? It is not greater than the child benefit monthly payment is it?
And also, what If I don't claim Child Benefit - do I still need to pay this charge or is this charge only applicable for when you apply the benefit?

Then overall, is it recommended to apply for Child Benefit if you earn over £50K? 
I know it mentions about other benefits such as National Insurance Credits - but is the offset worth it in the end?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Does that mean If I (or my partner) earn over £50K I can't claim Child Benefit?

No, there is no financial limit which prevents you claiming Child Benefit.

And If I can still claim then I will need to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge? - How much is this charge usually? It is not greater than the child benefit monthly payment is it?

The High Income Child Benefit Charge isn't based purely on your (taxable) income.  It's adjusted net income which counts so you could have taxable income of say £80,000 but if you pay enough into your pension (or make Gift Aid payments) you could still avoid paying any HICBC.

And also, what If I don't claim Child Benefit - do I still need to pay this charge or is this charge only applicable for when you apply the benefit?

Why would there be any HICBC to pay if you (or someone else in your household) haven't even claimed Child Benefit 🤔

calcotti

Theresonly1 said:

Then overall, is it recommended to apply for Child Benefit if you earn over £50K? 
I know it mentions about other benefits such as National Insurance Credits - but is the offset worth it in the end?

1, It’s important to note too that you can claim Child Benefit but opt not to be paid.

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge/stop-child-benefit

This is very important for a couple with one very high earner and one who is not working enough to get NI contributions from work and is not claiming any other benefits giving NI credits. The second half can Child Benefit and ask not to be paid. Because nothing is paid the HICB will not apply but Class 3 NI credits are still given to the CB claimant (if the child is under 12). Obviously if NI record is already being filled from work or other benefits there is no need to worry about obtaining NI credits from CB.

2. If CB is paid the HICB only cancels out the CB if the adjusted net income reaches £60,000. It will not cost more than the CB itself.

Dizzyblonde25

Looking for some advice, we are trying to transfer the child benefit claims from 2000 to 2010 (the child benefit claims were for our son who lived at home and continued into further education until 2018) so that the NI credits can be credited to my wife for her to fill the missing NI credits. I (the earner) received the child benefit, however it was my wife who was not earning (hence not able to build NI credits) and cared for our son full time. According to the latest reply from HMRC my wife was told she can't claim this as she "was living with the child benefit claimant for the relevant tax years and was sharing the care of a child under 16". As I was the earner and my wife was caring for our son full time, I see the above HMRC statement as incorrect. Could you please advice if my understanding is correct and if so what we can do get the missing NI credit for my wife added to help increase her pension.

kaMelo

https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/pt/cee7678e-8347-ef11-b4ac-000d3a870257

Since 2010 the NI credits from child benefit cease once the child reaches 12

molerat

Dizzyblonde25 said:

Looking for some advice, we are trying to transfer the child benefit claims from 2000 to 2010 (the child benefit claims were for our son who lived at home and continued into further education until 2018) so that the NI credits can be credited to my wife for her to fill the missing NI credits. I (the earner) received the child benefit, however it was my wife who was not earning (hence not able to build NI credits) and cared for our son full time. According to the latest reply from HMRC my wife was told she can't claim this as she "was living with the child benefit claimant for the relevant tax years and was sharing the care of a child under 16". As I was the earner and my wife was caring for our son full time, I see the above HMRC statement as incorrect. Could you please advice if my understanding is correct and if so what we can do get the missing NI credit for my wife added to help increase her pension.

They are talking rubbish, that is the reason for claiming.  One of the requirements to be eligible

• you were living with the Child Benefit claimant for the relevant period and you were sharing the care for a child under the age of 16

You need to speak to them, likely the person dealing with the claim has muddled this up with a Specified Adult Childcare claim (CA9176) where that would make you ineligible and states to claim through your route (CF411).

sheramber

If your wife applied for the credits then they are correct.
 You need to apply to transfer the credits from yourself to your wife

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-credits-for-parents-and-carers-cf411a