Help, I think I’ve been receiving child benefit I’m not entitled to

[Yikesandyikesagain]

Into an old bank account which I haven’t accessed since 2013. My husband earns £60k plus.
He’s received an Inland Revenue letter today saying him or his partner has been receiving it for the tax year 2017-2018
I was a stay at home parent until 2017
The letter says he owes £1k for that period but now I’m panicking that the benefits have been coming since 2013 when the changes were made to high income earners.
As I said I’ve not accessed this account since then but it was in the red/overdraft at the time
What a mess

It was a mistake, not to worry, if you haven't touched the account you can just pay it straight back to them when they ask and nothing further will happen!

Where should I start? By checking the bank account to see if I’ve been receiving child benefit? And then paying back what my husband has been told he owes? THEN do I ‘opt out’ via child benefit office?? Sorry, I had post natal depression after my second was born in 2013 (who I haven’t claimed for) and completely forgot if registered my first back in 2011 I’ve messed up big time

Or is this actually a good thing as I’m still getting my NI contributions for my state pension? It’s my husband who will have to pay back through his self assessment? I’m so confused

Yes your dh would pay it back through self assessment. I'd check the account to see if the cash is there. You should claim for your other child but you can opt out of payment and that also protects your NI credits

If you've not touched the money just use that to pay what the self assessment says is owed. Keep receiving it for the NI contributions but don't use it.

You don't need to get the cash to get NI credits. If you claim but opt out of payment then that covers you too

OP might be worried the money has been swallowed up by the overdrawn balance on the account

You just left an account that was overdrawn? Didn't they keep writing to you?

Do you have any of the money left? You need to pay it back so hopefully you'll have some money left.
If you weren't entitled to it from 2013 they may/will look back far enough and ask for the money back from those dates.
I now have stopped receiving the child benefit because paying it back at the end of the year is a pain in the arse.

Has he always earned that amount?

If he earned between £50-£60k in any of the years then only part would need paying back

Just pay back what you have been overpaid and you will be no worse off than you were before although I don't understand how you are able to just leave an overdrawn account without the bank hounding you

I suppose at some point the CB must have taken it into credit again

Think it would be just under £1k per year that would have been paid to you if it was just 1 child

Were the payments just clearing your overdrafts?
As excuses go; “I last accessed that account six years ago and it was overdrawn, so I’ve ignored it ever since” is particularly paper thin.

How overdrawn was it?

Yeah, my excuse is very poor I agree. My mental health has also been poor. The account is still registered at my old address so I wasn’t receiving any letters. I’d completely forgotten about it if I’m honest. I’ve now found my old account details and will head to bank tomorrow and find out what’s what

Unless you had a huge overdraft, it sounds like you would be in a better position, as the money would be in the bank and could be given back.

First thing to do is to contact the CB office and stop claiming it. You do however need to register that you are entitled to it, so that you can get any relevant NIC credits for those years. I have posted the contact details at the end of this post. If the money is sat there and you can easily pay it back, then ask them what you should do to repay the earlier years. If you don't have all of it readily available, then you could ask for a repayment plan.

Phone
Call HMRC for information about eligibility, claiming and stopping Child Benefit, changing your personal details and making a complaint.

HMRC can only discuss your claim with you or someone you have authorised as your representative. A partner or someone else can get general advice but they must be authorised to discuss a claim with the helpline.

Telephone:
0300 200 3100

Textphone:
0300 200 3103

Outside UK:
+44 161 210 3086

Opening times:

Monday to Friday: 8am to 8pm
Saturday: 8am to 4pm

Please have your National Insurance number or Child Benefit number with you when you call.

Thanks for this. I called the number and stopped CB payments for my first but he is still registered. They have sent me a new claim for my second child which I can opt out of payments too.
They seem to suggest the whole affair is something my husband should be raising with the tax office as he is the high income earner and will need to pay the tax credits.
Have I committed benefit fraud? Or has my husband committed tax fraud? Either way we have failed hugely to communicate/be on top of our finances

You haven't committed benefit fraud as anyone can claim CB. Your dh should have registered for self assessment when his wages went over £50k and then the extra CB would have been paid back through that.

If he is close to £60K then the repayment might be less if he paid into a pension.

Assuming £20 x 52 weeks x 5.5years - there will be nearly £6k in the account if you've not touched it. I don't know anyone with a £6000 overdraft!

You should have more money than you owe in the bank account so could pay it back from that - you're not in trouble.

You haven't done anything wrong in claiming it but sadly it does have to be paid back again via your husband's tax if he is a high earner.