Can anyone shed any light on this ridiculous confusion please? I apologise in advance because this is both long and boring.
I am separated from my ex partner and father of my two kids. The separation took effect just before the beginning of the 2021-22 tax year.
He always received payments of child benefit into his account but apparently the claim has always been my claim in my name. He always paid the high income child benefit charge, or HICBC, via self assessment.
In Feb 2022 we switched it so the child benefit went into my bank account for various reasons. My income is also above the £50,000 threshold but just below the point where I have to pay it all back.
I duly completed a self assessment and repaid the child benefit for the one month or so I was physically receiving it in the 2021-22 tax year. He filed and paid the charge for the remaining CB.
all ok or so I thought, and then HMRC wrote to me saying I needed to amend my tax return, I spent hours on the phone to them and they told me that actually, for separated couples the payee is irrelevant and it is the claimant that is liable to the HICBC.
They told me to amend my return and pay the full charge (or almost) and for him to do same and trigger a refund.
He then decided to contact HMRC to check the position out for himself. He got the exact opposite advice, which was we had done things correctly by each paying the HICBC for our share of actually received funds.
now I am confused, and also worried about penalties and fines if I don’t amend my return. And I am potentially having to spaff my whole cost of living payment repaying a benefit I did not actually receive.
there are no new resident partners on the scene in either my or the ex’s house by the way.
TL,DR: who is responsible for paying back the HICBC if you are separated - the named claimant or the physical recipient of the benefit?