Reporting ex to hmrc

[PumpkinP]

My ex doesn’t work or claim benefits (apart from pip but cms can’t touch that apparently) anyway he lives in a 3 bed HA house in central London and rents out the 3 rooms whilst he sleeps in the living room. Due to the area the rooms fetch a lot of money meaning he doesn’t actually have to work. He refuses to pay maintenance. He’s told me he is allowed to rent the rooms out which seems to be true but I’ve been told by someone he should be declaring it and paying taxes? And that I should report him for this. I’m tempting to do it as I don’t see why he should get to get away without paying a penny for 4 children 😑 what will happen if I do report it? Will anything actually happen? Or should I just leave it?

He could be letting them under the rent a room scheme.

www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/the-rent-a-room-scheme

Surprised the HA allows it, but that wouldn't be an issue for HMRC.

you can only rent one room under rent a room

He said he is allowed to have lodgers and I know someone who happens to work as a housing office in his area and she agreed it was allowed. I’ve been told that if he is earning above a certain amount it needs to be declared?

It depends on how much he is earning - you only get £7,500 a year under the scheme, so £625 a month. If he is renting 3 rooms I am guessing he is earning more.

If you report him, HMRC would investigate and if he is not disclosing tax then that is tax evasion and fraud.

If he is really annoying you, the housing association is the one to report him to as he would not be allowed to sublet without consent, although that could lead to him losing the home. He may also be taken to Court to pay to the HA the profit he has made - someone locally who was using their Council house for Air BnB ended up having both.

Either way it is not going to get him to pay anything unless he starts declaring income or starts working again, so it may make you feel better but it is not going to help you financially.

Perhaps try speaking to the maintenance people and tell them that he does have income but he is just not disclosing it to HMRC and see what they say and whether they can investigate it.

I mentioned it briefly cms once and they told me to report him. He is a nasty piece of work and told me I tricked him into having all 4 children and that he will never have anything to do with them so I do think it will make me feel better. He said each room goes for £700/£800 a month

He said each room goes for £700/£800 a month

If this is traceable through bank accounts you may be in with a chance. However, if cash in hand neither CMS nor HMRC will be able to make much headway.

Based on the figures provided your ex is avoiding at most
£3,260 per year. Due to Brexit and the current state of UK parliament I don't think HMRC will pay much attention to someone evading that amount of money.

You could alert the HA. That might put paid to his cash in hand, but will not help you in terms of receiving maintenance.

Make sure you claim of your entitlements such as, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit (if applicable), reduced Council Tax for being the only adult in the home and help with child care costs.

Good luck.

If he has no taxable income then this won’t benefit you

Sounds
Like I’m better off going through his HA then? I’ve heard as he rents the rooms out to 3 people it’s classed as a hmo?? And he needs a license to do that. I’m just not happy here not getting a penny whilst he gets all this money a month for doing fuck all and thinks he doesn’t have to pay for his kids.

If you want to annoy him, do both.

If he is renting out to 3 separate people (i.e they are not all related/part of the same household) then he is a HMO. Some areas have restrictions on that. Whilst the HA may be okay with subletting, turning the house into a HMO may not be acceptable to them.

MysteryTripAgain He is defrauding more than that - he is getting £700-£800 a month per room and renting out three, so if he is getting the minimum he is £17,700.00 over the allowance amount. If he is getting £800 then he is evading tax on £21,300.00. Even with Brexit, I think HMRC would be interested in that as that would equate to the annual salary for a lot of people.

Yeh thats correct I know one of the smaller rooms go for £700 and the other two are £800 each. I’ve seen him advertising on spare room aswell.

I would report to both without delay

evading tax on £21,300.00

800 x 3 = 2,400 per month

2,400 x 12 = 28,800 per year

Tax on a salary of 28,000 = 3,260 per year

Enter 28,800 into the Child Maintenance calculator for 4 children and zero time with father produces 105 per week.

Worth chasing if you have evidence of his income

Good luck

Going to do it. Thanks for the advice