Child Benefit Tax Bill high earners

[Itsallsonew]

Hi my new partner split with his ex in 2019 because she was unfaithful. He has just received a high earners child tax benefit bill back to 2016. As he has not lived with her since 2019 should he have to pay the bill? He is financially and emotionally very supportive to his estranged family and they coparent in a friendly way. She has had all the benefit .. any advice would be appreciated as they say he owes 4K

I think he will be liable to pay anything that dates from when they were living together. If a person is a high earner, their spouse/do can claim child benefit but it has to be paid back through the tax of the high earner. I think 50k is the limit at which it starts having to be repaid.
If circumstances change, like him moving out, he is supposed to notify the child benefit people so they can stop taking it out of his tax. Sounds like no one notified the benefits agency at all and do he owes this money.

Has your partner commenced divorce proceedings against his wife?

Gov.uk says:
"‘Partner’ means someone you’re not permanently separated from who you’re married to, in a civil partnership with or living with as if you were."

If your partner can provide evidence that he separated permanently from his wife in 2019, he should be able to appeal part of the bill. I would imagine he remains liable for the period between 2016-2019. It's also possible to arrange a repayment plan, HMRC won't expect the full amount in one go.

Thanks both. Yeah I guess you are right he probably should have know to do that but it was a messy split and he was emotionally pretty unwell after so it wouldn’t have entered his head. We will try and argue from 2019. No divorce yet but he is registered at a different address and I think his work may be able to evidence too hopefully.