is it possible to claim NI credits or tax credits as I was a househusband

transferNIcreds

Hi there,

I was a house husband from 2003 to approx 2016 and did no full time work during that period, with some part time near the end. My wife was the earner and tax payer during this time. I have read that I may be eligible to transfer NI or Tax credits from her to me to top up my pension. We have not claimed child benefits at any time as we were outside that threshold. Is there anything I can do to top my pension up? Many thanks for any help/advice you can offer.

transferNIcreds

I also forgot to mention that I was in fulltime education from 2006 to 2010, could I claim this in any way?

molerat

You may be able to get NI credits from 2013 under the new rules that should be coming in from 2026 for a child under 12 for those that did not claim child benefit due to the HICBC.  Nothing beyond that.  Why were you not claiming child benefit prior to 2013, there was no restriction / "tax" in place then ?

transferNIcreds

molerat said:

You may be able to get NI credits from 2013 under the new rules that should be coming in from 2026 for a child under 12 for those that did not claim child benefit due to the HICBC.  Nothing beyond that.  Why were you not claiming child benefit prior to 2013, there was no restriction / "tax" in place then ?

were not eligible to claim due to earnings

Marcon

transferNIcreds said:

I also forgot to mention that I was in fulltime education from 2006 to 2010, could I claim this in any way?

Being in full time education doesn't give you NI credits, I'm afraid. 

400ixl

Didn't think there was any restriction on claiming before 2013 and then you still claimed it for the NI benefit and just repaid it back.

artyboy

transferNIcreds said:

molerat said:

You may be able to get NI credits from 2013 under the new rules that should be coming in from 2026 for a child under 12 for those that did not claim child benefit due to the HICBC.  Nothing beyond that.  Why were you not claiming child benefit prior to 2013, there was no restriction / "tax" in place then ?

were not eligible to claim due to earnings

You absolutely could claim, and that was the trigger for you to have got NI credits during that time. It's just that there would have been a corresponding tax charge (the HICBC) to claw the allowance itself back.

Unfortunately the NI benefit to claiming wasn't well understood, so it's good if there is now going to be (as suggested) some retrospective way to get credits for at least some of these years.

FIREDreamer

400ixl said:

Didn't think there was any restriction on claiming before 2013 and then you still claimed it for the NI benefit and just repaid it back.

You are correct, there wasn’t - it was only means tested against highest individual household income since 2013.

OP - what happened from 2003-2012 that meant you couldn’t claim. There shouldn’t have been anything - were you resident in the UK?

transferNIcreds

Marcon said:

transferNIcreds said:

I also forgot to mention that I was in fulltime education from 2006 to 2010, could I claim this in any way?

Being in full time education doesn't give you NI credits, I'm afraid. 

ah maaaannn... thanks for letting me know.

transferNIcreds

artyboy said:

transferNIcreds said:

molerat said:

You may be able to get NI credits from 2013 under the new rules that should be coming in from 2026 for a child under 12 for those that did not claim child benefit due to the HICBC.  Nothing beyond that.  Why were you not claiming child benefit prior to 2013, there was no restriction / "tax" in place then ?

were not eligible to claim due to earnings

You absolutely could claim, and that was the trigger for you to have got NI credits during that time. It's just that there would have been a corresponding tax charge (the HICBC) to claw the allowance itself back.

Unfortunately the NI benefit to claiming wasn't well understood, so it's good if there is now going to be (as suggested) some retrospective way to get credits for at least some of these years.

Thanks for letting us know... we were not aware... I was just looking into topping up my pension or transfer/swap the NI credits or what ever it is... I am trying to claim something but just trying to find out what and how...

transferNIcreds

FIREDreamer said:

400ixl said:

Didn't think there was any restriction on claiming before 2013 and then you still claimed it for the NI benefit and just repaid it back.

You are correct, there wasn’t - it was only means tested against highest individual household income since 2013.

OP - what happened from 2003-2012 that meant you couldn’t claim. There shouldn’t have been anything - were you resident in the UK?

We just thought that we couldnt claim child benefits as earnings were too high, the NI thing for me being a stay at home husband we did not know about. We were resident in the UK...