Child benefit warning that could force parents to pay the money back later on

Parents are being warned that a change in their salary or a new partner might mean they have to pay back some or even all of their child benefit.

Child benefit is money paid to parents or other people who are responsible for bringing up a child.

Anyone can claim it, however if you earn more than £50,000 you have to repay some of it back in through a self-assessment tax return at the end of every tax year. Those who earn £60,000 have to pay it all back.

And quite a few people might not realise this money needs to be paid back later, Wales Online reports.

The biggest problem occurs when parents get pay rises after filling out the form to claim credit - or meet a new partner who earns over the limit.

And failure to update HMRC has resulted in some women being sent backdated tax demands worth thousands.

A new partner could mean a big tax bill (Getty)

The benefit reduction occurs when either parent or guardian earns more than £50,000 - rather than an average or total income for the couple.

HMRC can claim for years worth of payments to be returned to them at once - with bills in the thousands seen by Mirror Money in the past.

With the benefit being paid over years, and this bill due all at once, it can come as a major shock.

The DWP giveth, and the taxman taketh away (iStockphoto)

But just because you might lose some - or all - your child benefit at the end of the year, that doesn't mean you shouldn't claim it.

That' because child benefit comes with some added perks that apply no matter what you earn.

Under current rules, when a parent claims child benefit for a child under 12, they benefit from National Insurance 'credits' which contribute towards their state pension.

Don't cancel the benefit straight away to avoid having to fill in a tax return (iStockphoto)

You need 35 years' worth of these to get the full pay out at retirement, and being able to claim it through child benefit effectively means you won't suffer while you're out of work due to childcare.

But you need to make sure the right person claims it - that is to say the one who  might miss out on credits if they didn't.

Steve Webb, partner at LCP and former pension minister, said: "Parents need to make sure that they claim National Insurance credits even if they are on a high income, and couples need to make sure that they put their child benefit in the name of the lower earner."