When can I claim Child Benefit

shellstar

I was made redundant at the end of my maternity leave. My salary previously was too high to claim child benefit but I found it hard to find a new job and my new job pays a lot less (though is still a good salary). I now earn £70k per year. I started my new job in October. I was unemployed for 5 months, but my redundancy pay out was quite large. Essentially, it's messed up all my tax and I'm currently on an emergency tax code. 

From the MSE website I saw that with a salary of £70k, I can still claim child benefit and then pay back any surplus at the end of the tax year. 

Due to my redundancy pay out, I've earned nearer £80k this tax year. My question is, am I right that my entitlement to child benefit will be re-set in April and that is when I can claim? Or can I start claiming now that I am in a new calendar year, as my redundancy was June last year. 

I think it's April but haven't been able to find anything to confirm. 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

shellstar said:

I was made redundant at the end of my maternity leave. My salary previously was too high to claim child benefit but I found it hard to find a new job and my new job pays a lot less (though is still a good salary). I now earn £70k per year. I started my new job in October. I was unemployed for 5 months, but my redundancy pay out was quite large. Essentially, it's messed up all my tax and I'm currently on an emergency tax code. 

From the MSE website I saw that with a salary of £70k, I can still claim child benefit and then pay back any surplus at the end of the tax year. 

Due to my redundancy pay out, I've earned nearer £80k this tax year. My question is, am I right that my entitlement to child benefit will be re-set in April and that is when I can claim? Or can I start claiming now that I am in a new calendar year, as my redundancy was June last year. 

I think it's April but haven't been able to find anything to confirm. 

You seem to have misunderstood how Child Benefit works.

There is absolutely no rule which prevents someone with high income from receiving Child Benefit.

Some, or all, of it might need to be paid back (the High Income Child Benefit Charge) but that doesn't stop you getting the money in the first place.

And income isn't what counts, it's adjusted net income which HICBC is based on and this is often less than someone's taxable income.

Do you actually know what your adjusted net income will be for 2024-25?

Each tax year is looked at separately.

shellstar

@Dazed_and_C0nfused thank you for replying. I previously assumed I wasn't entitled to Child Benefit so you are correct that I don't understand how it works, although there isn't much point in my claiming it if I have to pay all of it back. I think with a salary of £70k it is worth claiming as I would be able to keep some of it (as far as I understand?). 

My last payslip for the tax year was payslip 9, received on 18th December. It says my total taxable pay so far is £79,287.12. My assumption is that by the time the tax year is out, I'll have earned too much to make it worth claiming this year, but when things reset in April, it would be worth claiming? 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

shellstar said:

@Dazed_and_C0nfused thank you for replying. I previously assumed I wasn't entitled to Child Benefit so you are correct that I don't understand how it works, although there isn't much point in my claiming it if I have to pay all of it back. I think with a salary of £70k it is worth claiming as I would be able to keep some of it (as far as I understand?). 

My last payslip for the tax year was payslip 9, received on 18th December. It says my total taxable pay so far is £79,287.12. My assumption is that by the time the tax year is out, I'll have earned too much to make it worth claiming this year, but when things reset in April, it would be worth claiming? 

Unless you have large pension contributions to deduct them yes, chances are it would all be repayable for the current tax year.

But things reset from 6 April so if you expect your income to be less than you should consider if claiming Chil Benefit is worth doing.

shellstar

@Dazed_and_C0nfused That is what I thought. Thank you so much. I'll make a note to start a claim on 6th April, as I definitely will earn less this year. It is my redundancy pay out that complicated things this year.