Child benefit high income charge

[MrsArchchancellorRidcully]

I've been told by HMRC that I owe them over a thousand pounds as I've been claiming child benefit but I earn over £50,000. I've written back and said I don't claim child benefit and haven't since the rules changed.

Back then, my then bf started claiming it but once we found out all the rules he stopped claiming it so I thought.
It seems that now my DH did not stop claiming it and it's been paid into his account without him realising. I believe him when he says he thought he'd stopped it. That's the sort of daft thing he'd do.

What do I do?! I haven't got a thousand pounds or more hanging around and I am shocked the revenue are allowed to link my tax account to my husbands.

Anyone had any experience of this?

Was it in your name but paid to him? Do you know how much is owed?

Honestly I don't know it's from so long ago. It all got sorted, so I thought, before we got married.

It sounds like it's around £1300. He's very apologetic and said he'd thought the revenue couldn't link our names. They've said 'your partner claims it but due to GDPR we can't tell you any more'.

So it is for him to repay.

Is it for your children?
Do they live with you?

Him saying he thought revenue couldn't link your names sounds like he didn't and so it not like he didn't realise.....

Sorry like he didn't cancel it not like he didn't realise they were still taking it!

Is this for a joint child?

If he got it, can’t he repay it?
If not, you should see if they will accept a schedule of repayment.

Have you checked subsequent years? They’ll ask for that back at some point if not now. (Plus interest and fines)
Have you checked the claim has now stopped?

So what did he think the four-weekly payments called 'child benefit' going into his account were then?

And yes, the rules are quite clear that two people in the same household can be linked by HMRC. Exactly for this reason.

That said they might be amendable to a repayment plan.

@MrsArchchancellorRidcully

Honestly I don't know it's from so long ago. It all got sorted, so I thought, before we got married.

It sounds like it's around £1300. He's very apologetic and said he'd thought the revenue couldn't link our names. They've said 'your partner claims it but due to GDPR we can't tell you any more'.

That sounds like he's done it deliberately. Of course they're going to link your names - CB is based on household income, not individual income.

You can usually pay back 'mistakes' over time - £50-100 / month say.

Didn't he notice the money coming in

Am I understanding that then boyfriend became your husband and is the one who claimed. If so he has committed benefit fraud and it sounds like he has done it knowingly thinking that he wouldn't be found out as they wouldn't realise you were earning over £50k. So therefore the horror you are expressing at then linking the two tax accounts should not be at that, it should be at what he has done. He needs to work out what he can cut back on to repay it and make an offer of a payment plan.

The guidance is quite clear.
www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge

You may have to pay a tax charge, known as the ‘High Income Child Benefit Charge’, if you have an individual income over £50,000 and either:

• you or your partner get Child Benefit

• someone else gets Child Benefit for a child living with you and they contribute at least an equal amount towards the child’s upkeep

It does not matter if the child living with you is not your own child.

If your individual income is over £50,000 and so is your partner’s, then whoever has the higher income is responsible for paying the tax charge.

‘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.

It’s not benefit fraud - it’s fine to still claim CB with a high earning partner, they just have to pay it back. OP did you make any donations to charity in the tax year in question? If so you can deduct them off your gross income thereby reducing your CB liability. If not, I imagine they’ll let you pay in instalments

Dies he never check his bank statements? Of course he knew the money was still going in, he owes it

The only thing you can do OP is to arrange a repayment plan with HMRC that you and your DH both chip into.

@miffmufferedmoof

It’s not benefit fraud - it’s fine to still claim CB with a high earning partner, they just have to pay it back. OP did you make any donations to charity in the tax year in question? If so you can deduct them off your gross income thereby reducing your CB liability. If not, I imagine they’ll let you pay in instalments

Thanks. All I did was pay into my employers pension scheme. Can I deduct that?

For those wondering how DH missed the payments, he's a very loyal but hectic person and would easily have missed them. He's not good at checking his ins and outs. And he's not done it knowingly. He checked up on the rules after we found out about this as he'd been told the revenue can't link people's tax accounts. He's kicking himself for not noticing.

Get in touch with HMRC and make arrangements to pay the money back ASAP to avoid having to pay more interest.

@Clymene it’s based on individual income, so if both were earning £49k each the tax wouldn’t apply, if one was earning £51k and the other £1k then the tax would apply.

OP I’m sure HMRC have payment plans available if you get in touch with them although tbh I would be making my DH pay it back himself.

You are liable for it as you are the higher earner.
Contact them to sort out a payment plan

It’s very normal for one person to earn over £50,000 but their partner claim child benefit to receive National Insurance credits if they aren’t working. The person earning over £50,000 is the person who has to pay it back. As others have said child benefit is based on individual income but as part of a household (it’s a stupid system). Speak to HMRC about time to pay.

@Andwereback

Am I understanding that then boyfriend became your husband and is the one who claimed. If so he has committed benefit fraud and it sounds like he has done it knowingly thinking that he wouldn't be found out as they wouldn't realise you were earning over £50k. So therefore the horror you are expressing at then linking the two tax accounts should not be at that, it should be at what he has done. He needs to work out what he can cut back on to repay it and make an offer of a payment plan.

Its not bloody benefit fraud! You can claim it whatever your income level but some or all may need to be paid back if one of you earned over £50k (it all gets paid back once you reach £60k)

We owed a similar amount a few years ago as my husband went over the limit for a period. They did not allow us to make a payment plan. They said the deadline for this option had passed although it was only a month or so since we were informed that it was owed (maybe it was the same deadline as self-assessment?). Anyway they told us to use a credit card if we couldn’t pay ! I couldn’t believe it we called and asked about 3 times too. This was about 4 years ago.

Yes you get tax relief on pension contributions, although if you pay by salary sacrifice (taken from your pay before it is taxed) there wouldn’t be any further tax relief to claim.

He checked up on the rules after we found out about this as he'd been told the revenue can't link people's tax accounts.

They can't normally. They can for this. Otherwise it would be completely unenforceable because everyone would just get the lower earner to claim instead to avoid the charge.