Latest news with #HighIncomeChildBenefit
Daily Mirror
08-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Child Benefit payments will stop for thousands of parents this month
You can claim Child Benefit if you're responsible for a child under the age of 16, or if they are under the age of 20 and still in approved education or training Thousands of parents will have their Child Benefit payments stopped at the end of this month. Child Benefit is worth £26.05 a week for your first child, then £17.25 for any additional child. You can claim Child Benefit if you're responsible for a child under the age of 16, or if they are under the age of 20 and still in approved education or training. This can include A-Levels, NVQs or even home education, but it does not include university or BTEC qualifications. But when your child leaves their approved education or training, payments will stop at the end of February, May 31, August 31 or November 30, whichever comes first. This means the next deadline for when Child Benefit payments can stop is May 31. Child Benefit is claimed by more than seven million families. The child normally has to live with you, or you pay at least the same amount as Child Benefit toward looking after them, in order for you to claim the payments. You can claim Child Benefit if you fostered a child, as long as the local council is not paying anything towards their accommodation or maintenance, or if you adopted your child. You may also be entitled if you're looking after a child for a friend or relative. There is no limit for how many children you can claim Child Benefit for, but if two people look after a child, only one person can claim Child Benefit. If you, or your partner, are on a high income, then you may have to pay back some of your Child Benefit. If either you earn over £60,000, you have to pay back 1% of your Child Benefit for every £200 you earn over £60,000. This is known as the High Income Child Benefit Charge. Once you earn over £80,000, you pay back 100% of your Child Benefit. The High Income Child Benefit Charge is normally paid each year by completing a self-assessment tax return. However, families will soon have the option to pay it through their PAYE tax code, with a new digital service expected to be available from summer 2025. You can make a claim for Child Benefit without getting the payments, in order to get National Insurance credits which count toward your state pension, if you don't want to pay the charge. The threshold for the High Income Child Benefit charge was increased from £50,000 to £60,000 in April 2024. HMRC recently tweeted about the change. It posted: "Opted out of Child Benefit payments and earn under £80k? You may be missing out on support. The amount you or your partner can earn before you start paying the High Income Child Benefit charge is now £60k."
Scottish Sun
01-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Thousands of workers to be hit with £10 a day fees from today – how to avoid being fined
THOUSANDS of workers will be hit by a £10 a dine fine from today. If you missed the self assessment tax return deadline on 31 January – and got hit with the initial £100 fine – extra charges have started to kick in. Advertisement 1 An estimated 1.1million customers missed the deadline, according to HMRC Credit: Alamy The penalty will be added from May 1 for a period of 90 days, meaning you could end up with a whopping bill of £900. After that, more fines will be added – either 5% of the tax you owe for 2024/25 or £300, whichever's bigger. And if you still haven't sorted it after 12 months, you'll face another charge of 5% or £300, whichever's higher. An estimated 1.1million customers missed the deadline, according to HMRC. Advertisement To avoid racking up more fines, it's best to file your self assessment tax return as soon as you can. Do I need to file a tax return? Self assessment is the system HMRC uses to collect income tax for some workers. For most employees, tax is automatically taken out of their wages, pensions, or savings through PAYE. But if you've got other types of income or are self-employed, you'll need to report it by filing a tax return. Advertisement You'll need to send in a self assessment tax return if any of the following apply: You made over £1,000 from self-employment. You earned more than £2,500 from renting out property. You or your partner got High Income Child Benefit, and one of you had an annual income of over £50,000. You received more than £2,500 in untaxed income, like tips or commission. You're a director of a limited company. You're a shareholder. You're an employee claiming expenses over £2,500. You have an annual income of more than £100,000. Easy Income Boosters Money Making Tips You Need to Know How do I submit a tax return? Before you can complete and submit your tax return, you must have a so-called unique taxpayer reference (UTR) and activation code from HMRC. This can take a while to receive, so if it's the first time you're completing a self-assessment, register online immediately and ask HMRC for advice. To sign in or register, visit Advertisement If you've already signed up for self-assessment, you can find your UTR in relevant letters and emails from HMRC. HMRC accepts your payment on the date you make it, not when it reaches its account - including on weekends. The deadline for filing your self-assessment tax return by post is October 31. If you miss the deadline by up to three months, you will be charged a £100 penalty. Advertisement If you miss the deadline by over three months, you will be charged more. But don't worry. You can complete your tax return online if you don't send your paper form on time. The deadline for this was January 31, 2024. If you need to change your tax return after filing it, you can do so within 12 months of the original deadline. Advertisement Filling in your tax return can seem daunting, but with our step-by-step guide, you'll have it sorted quickly.
The Sun
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Thousands of workers to be hit with £10 a day fees from today – how to avoid being fined
THOUSANDS of workers will be hit by a £10 a dine fine from today. If you missed the self assessment tax return deadline on 31 January – and got hit with the initial £100 fine – extra charges have started to kick in. 1 The penalty will be added from May 1 for a period of 90 days, meaning you could end up with a whopping bill of £900. After that, more fines will be added – either 5% of the tax you owe for 2024/25 or £300, whichever's bigger. And if you still haven't sorted it after 12 months, you'll face another charge of 5% or £300, whichever's higher. An estimated 1.1million customers missed the deadline, according to HMRC. To avoid racking up more fines, it's best to file your self assessment tax return as soon as you can. Do I need to file a tax return? Self assessment is the system HMRC uses to collect income tax for some workers. For most employees, tax is automatically taken out of their wages, pensions, or savings through PAYE. But if you've got other types of income or are self-employed, you'll need to report it by filing a tax return. You'll need to send in a self assessment tax return if any of the following apply: You made over £1,000 from self-employment. You earned more than £2,500 from renting out property. You or your partner got High Income Child Benefit, and one of you had an annual income of over £50,000. You received more than £2,500 in untaxed income, like tips or commission. You're a director of a limited company. You're a shareholder. You're an employee claiming expenses over £2,500. You have an annual income of more than £100,000. Easy Income Boosters Money Making Tips You Need to Know How do I submit a tax return? Before you can complete and submit your tax return, you must have a so-called unique taxpayer reference (UTR) and activation code from HMRC. This can take a while to receive, so if it's the first time you're completing a self-assessment, register online immediately and ask HMRC for advice. To sign in or register, visit If you've already signed up for self-assessment, you can find your UTR in relevant letters and emails from HMRC. HMRC accepts your payment on the date you make it, not when it reaches its account - including on weekends. The deadline for filing your self-assessment tax return by post is October 31. If you miss the deadline by up to three months, you will be charged a £100 penalty. If you miss the deadline by over three months, you will be charged more. But don't worry. You can complete your tax return online if you don't send your paper form on time. The deadline for this was January 31, 2024. If you need to change your tax return after filing it, you can do so within 12 months of the original deadline. Filling in your tax return can seem daunting, but with our step-by-step guide, you'll have it sorted quickly. Self assessment tax return penalties YOU'LL get a penalty if you need to complete a tax return and you send your return late or pay your tax bill late. If you register after October 5 and do not pay all of your tax bill by January 31, you'll get a 'failure to notify' penalty. This penalty is based on the amount still left to pay and you'll receive it within 12 months after HMRC receive your self assessment tax return. If you send your tax return late, you'll get the following late filing penalties: An initial £100 penalty After three months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900 After six months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater After 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater To avoid racking up more fines, it's best to file your self assessment tax return as soon as you can.
Western Telegraph
28-04-2025
- Business
- Western Telegraph
HMRC Child Benefit changes with opt-in campaign for parents
In a new tweet, it urges: "Opted out of Child Benefit payments and earn under £80k? You may be missing out on support. "The amount you or your partner can earn before you start paying the High Income Child Benefit charge is now £60k. Opt back in online or in the HMRC app." The net income threshold for eligibility to claim Child Benefit has increased from £50,000 to £60,000, prompting the social media campaign. Parents with an income of up to £80,000 can still receive some Child Benefit, but must repay a portion, and this is about to get easier too. Opted out of Child Benefit payments and earn under £80k? You may be missing out on support. The amount you or your partner can earn before you start paying the High Income Child Benefit charge is now £60k. Opt back in online or in the HMRC app. ⬇️ — HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) April 23, 2025 Changes to how HMRC Child Benefit high income charges are paid HMRC changes coming this year will also mean the high-income child benefit charge is simpler to pay. The high-income child benefit charge only applies if you or your partner earn more than £60,000. Under current rules, you need to file a self-assessment tax return to pay the charge, but it was mentioned in the Spring Statement that this will soon be available to pay directly through PAYE. Once registered with HMRC, parents should be able to choose to have their HICBC collected through their monthly pay packet, meaning they'll no longer need to file a return for that purpose. How much is Child Benefit and what was the increase for 2025? From April 7 2025, parents receive £26.05 a week (£1,355 a year) for their eldest or only child and £17.25 a week (£897 a year) for each additional child. These figures are a 1.7% increase on the £1,331 a year for the eldest child and £881 a year for each additional child paid in 2024-25 For now, if your income is over the threshold, you can choose to either get Child Benefit payments and pay any tax charge at the end of each tax year, or opt out of getting payments and not pay the tax charge. If you choose to opt out of getting Child Benefit payments You should still fill in the Child Benefit claim form. You need to state on the form that you do not want to get payments. You need to fill in the claim form if you want to: get National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension get your child a National Insurance number without them having to apply for one - they'll usually get the number before they turn 16 years old Recommended reading: Is there a two-child cap on Child Benefit? No, and this is the cause of a great deal of confusion, as Martin Lewis has explained on his website Money Saving Expert. "Child Benefit is a universal payment made for every child you have," he says. "It should accurately be called the 'two-child limit for Universal Credit or Tax Credits'. "This one applies to the benefits that people who have low incomes, whether they're working or not working, get. That's what this is about. "And in simple terms, it means if you have more than two children, then you won't get any additional benefit for the costs that they are incurring you (on Universal Credit and Tax Credits)." HMRC tax-free childcare HMRC is also reminding parents to apply for tax-free childcare. You can apply online for Tax-Free Childcare. This sees parents given up to £2,000 a year - split up into £500 each quarter - for each of their children to help with the costs of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every three months if a child is disabled (or up to £4,000 a year in total). To get tax-free childcare, parents just need to set up an online childcare account for each child. For every £8 they pay into this account, the government will pay in £2 to use to pay a nursery or childminder. Are you missing out on egg-cellent childcare savings? 🥚 Chick out our Tax-Free Childcare scheme and sign up to unlock savings of up to £2,000 a year per child on approved childcare costs. 💸🐣 Find out more 👇 — HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) April 20, 2025 Your child must be 11 or under and usually live with you. They stop being eligible on September 1 after their 11th birthday. Adopted children are eligible, but foster children are not. HMRC says you can use it to pay for childminders, nurseries and nannies, plus after school clubs and play schemes. Your childcare provider must be signed up to the scheme before you can pay them and benefit from tax-free childcare.
Glasgow Times
26-04-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
HMRC Child Benefit changes with opt-in campaign for parents
In a new tweet, it urges: "Opted out of Child Benefit payments and earn under £80k? You may be missing out on support. "The amount you or your partner can earn before you start paying the High Income Child Benefit charge is now £60k. Opt back in online or in the HMRC app." The net income threshold for eligibility to claim Child Benefit has increased from £50,000 to £60,000, prompting the social media campaign. Parents with an income of up to £80,000 can still receive some Child Benefit, but must repay a portion, and this is about to get easier too. Opted out of Child Benefit payments and earn under £80k? You may be missing out on support. The amount you or your partner can earn before you start paying the High Income Child Benefit charge is now £60k. Opt back in online or in the HMRC app. ⬇️ — HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) April 23, 2025 Changes to how HMRC Child Benefit high income charges are paid HMRC changes coming this year will also mean the high-income child benefit charge is simpler to pay. The high-income child benefit charge only applies if you or your partner earn more than £60,000. Under current rules, you need to file a self-assessment tax return to pay the charge, but it was mentioned in the Spring Statement that this will soon be available to pay directly through PAYE. Once registered with HMRC, parents should be able to choose to have their HICBC collected through their monthly pay packet, meaning they'll no longer need to file a return for that purpose. How much is Child Benefit and what was the increase for 2025? From April 7 2025, parents receive £26.05 a week (£1,355 a year) for their eldest or only child and £17.25 a week (£897 a year) for each additional child. These figures are a 1.7% increase on the £1,331 a year for the eldest child and £881 a year for each additional child paid in 2024-25 For now, if your income is over the threshold, you can choose to either get Child Benefit payments and pay any tax charge at the end of each tax year, or opt out of getting payments and not pay the tax charge. If you choose to opt out of getting Child Benefit payments You should still fill in the Child Benefit claim form. You need to state on the form that you do not want to get payments. You need to fill in the claim form if you want to: get National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension get your child a National Insurance number without them having to apply for one - they'll usually get the number before they turn 16 years old Recommended reading: Is there a two-child cap on Child Benefit? No, and this is the cause of a great deal of confusion, as Martin Lewis has explained on his website Money Saving Expert. "Child Benefit is a universal payment made for every child you have," he says. "It should accurately be called the 'two-child limit for Universal Credit or Tax Credits'. "This one applies to the benefits that people who have low incomes, whether they're working or not working, get. That's what this is about. "And in simple terms, it means if you have more than two children, then you won't get any additional benefit for the costs that they are incurring you (on Universal Credit and Tax Credits)." HMRC tax-free childcare HMRC is also reminding parents to apply for tax-free childcare. You can apply online for Tax-Free Childcare. This sees parents given up to £2,000 a year - split up into £500 each quarter - for each of their children to help with the costs of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every three months if a child is disabled (or up to £4,000 a year in total). To get tax-free childcare, parents just need to set up an online childcare account for each child. For every £8 they pay into this account, the government will pay in £2 to use to pay a nursery or childminder. Are you missing out on egg-cellent childcare savings? 🥚 Chick out our Tax-Free Childcare scheme and sign up to unlock savings of up to £2,000 a year per child on approved childcare costs. 💸🐣 Find out more 👇 — HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) April 20, 2025 Your child must be 11 or under and usually live with you. They stop being eligible on September 1 after their 11th birthday. Adopted children are eligible, but foster children are not. HMRC says you can use it to pay for childminders, nurseries and nannies, plus after school clubs and play schemes. Your childcare provider must be signed up to the scheme before you can pay them and benefit from tax-free childcare.
