Associate
- Joined
- 1 Nov 2010
- Posts
- 234
My fiancee has a child and its based on the household not the parent so I have to do a tax return for this.
High income child benefit charge...oh ****
- Thread starter Participant
- Start date
My fiancee has a child and its based on the household not the parent so I have to do a tax return for this.
Soldato
What is? Child benefit, or child benefit tax?
Soldato
I find this threshold a bit low as well. I think it would be better to impose it at a higher level and on household income rather than individual.
Many single worker families will hit the 60k threshold and choose to work to get to that level to allow their partner to either work part time or not work at all and they get stung by this. Compared to households where both parents could earn £50k and yet still receive the benefit.
Many single worker families will hit the 60k threshold and choose to work to get to that level to allow their partner to either work part time or not work at all and they get stung by this. Compared to households where both parents could earn £50k and yet still receive the benefit.
I have to do this, my wife collects child benefit for children that aren't mine (and the father doesn't pay maintenance ether but that's another story). I earn in the bracket that means I have to pay the whole lot back but she's a proud girl and won't take money from me so its just something I do as a sideways method of giving it to her. Sounds stupid but girls, what can you do.
System would make more sense to me if it was means tested on the mother and father of the child.
I have an accountant doing the whole submission so it doesn't cost me.
System would make more sense to me if it was means tested on the mother and father of the child.
I have an accountant doing the whole submission so it doesn't cost me.
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Sep 2013
- Posts
- 12,310
The tax.
Anyone is elligible for the benefit, as standard. It only gets withdrawn (ie repaid, as a tax) if you later go over the threshold.
You might be on £120k a year, but get fired in March, at which point you'll only have earned £40k, which is below the limit...
"A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help". So unless they ask you to prove your income before deciding if you can have the benefit, it is not means-tested.
Because you seem to enjoy it, i am tempted to get all pedantic over this even though i understand exactly what you are actually saying....
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Sep 2013
- Posts
- 12,310
TBH, I'm not sure how else they'd gauge it fairly, if your income is not forecastable salary...Tempted to get all pedantic over this even though i understand exactly what you are actually saying....
Feel free to get pedantic, though. I'm not a tax accountant, so I'm sure my terminology is inaccurate, but long as you get what I'm saying I'm happy!
Same boat here.
The sickening thing is households with nearly double the limit but neither of the parents over the 50k mark don't pay back a penny...Go figure.
Also had a phone call with them to confirm what I needed to pay back, I said ok lets get this sorted, they said, no no we need to double check it, identify a charge, then charge you interest, then send you the bill in a few weeks. I now have to pay extra interest because they cant link their own systems and automatically reduce payments. The levels of failure in HMRC are ridiculous.
March is the last full month of the year is all i meant, by march your example would be nearly fully paid.
Im sorry but this is a very slopey shoulders attitude to take. You are responsible for paying the correct tax to HMRC year on year, nobody else is, just as i am responsible for signing that my tax return has been completed accurately and i would be rightly fined with interest if i misrepresented my position.
It sounds as though they are merely charging interest and not fining you? They'd be within their rights to take it further would they not?
I think you are completely missing the point. I was ready to pay when I phoned them, which was the day I got the letter, highlighting my mistake at overlooking it. It was confirmed I would not be fined as the reasoning was acceptable as honest oversight. I am being charged interest on the amount I owe back in overpaid child benefit from the day I called them, that time delay is their issue, not mine.
I never said I didn't need to pay the money back, so you can take your "slopey shoulders attitude" comment and shove it tidily up your behind.
Associate
- Joined
- 5 Nov 2005
- Posts
- 2,165
But for people who have never done a tax return and always on PAYE then clearly it's confusing...seems a lot have been caught out..
It sounds very reasonable of them to me? to merely charge you interest up until the point at which you called them to resolve? They would be within their rights to fine you on top (with interest) - You are the one who has underpaid your tax, it is your responsibility solely hence the slopey shoulders. I dont think that "oh its not my fault i didnt know" is a defense which they accept
Don't rely on what you've been told yet. Technically you're liable for penalties for failure to notify (which HMRC may well decide not to charge), but the interest is liable from the date is was originally due, not when you were informed.
I may have misunderstood him (or perhaps you did), i think he is saying that the situation is that they are demanding interest from the date at which it was first due - right until the point that he contacted them. This seems entirely reasonable to me, if anything a light touch.
If you want to stop interest accruing, I wonder whether you could get a "SAFE account" set up. This is an account HMRC use to allow you to make a payment before a tax charge has been determined. Once the charge has been agreed, they take what they need and send the rest back.
Then again, interest is pretty minimal and is not compounded.
Then again, interest is pretty minimal and is not compounded.
It sounds very reasonable of them to me? to merely charge you interest up until the point at which you called them to resolve? They would be within their rights to fine you on top (with interest) - You are the one who has underpaid your tax, it is your responsibility solely hence the slopey shoulders. I dont think that "oh its not my fault i didnt know" is a defense which they accept
Where did I say anywhere that it wasn't my fault? Again you are not reading what I am writing.
I got a letter.
I called HMRC.
HMRC confirmed I would need to pay back X amount.
HMRC confirmed that there would be no fine.
HMRC confirmed the amount I would need to pay.
I try to pay.
HMRC advised I couldn't.
HMRC advised it would then be a few weeks to get the bill even though they know the amount I needed to pay.
HMRC advised they would apply an interest charge on to the amount I would be paying back, from the day of the phone call.
HMRC confirmed that it was a system limitation at their end the stops the automatic reduction being applied.
To use your own term, this is a huge slopey shoulder approach from HMRC to shift administration to the tax payer and generate an opportunity to potentially charge/fine for extra income, due to not having interlinked systems capable of dealing with automatic reductions.
No, you are misunderstanding me.
Soldato
I think it's more the annoyance that he was ready to pay at day 1.
Yet because they want further time to calculate, his debt will continue to accrue interest from now until they are ready to receive his money. It's their fault they can't work out how much he owes.