High Income Child Benefit Charge

Redbally · 24 November 2017 at 10:55PM

Has anyone appealed against the penalties and interest charged. I am in the same boat as many on here, agree to pay back the charge owed but the penalties are unreasonable.

dori2o · 24 November 2017 at 11:02PM

badmemory wrote: »

I find it interesting that HMRCs ability to link information about spouses is now supposedly worse than it was 30 years ago when the male would have to pay more tax if the female in the relationship earned too much. I say supposedly because they seem to be able to link it as soon as we are talking penalties but not as soon as the event occurs that causes the extra charge.

The information isnt linked for one very good reason, the Data Protection Act.

The act does not make allowance for shared information between spouses, and for very good reasons.

Just as your spouses bank will not give you information about your spouses account, nor will they compare both of your accounts unless you sign a document allowing them to do so when applying for loans/mortgages etc.

Given some of the pathetic comments regarding how people dont know, understand, or more likely care about tax etc, a lot of people are in for a big, big shock in the near future as HMRC begin to move away being so hands on with individuals tax and put more and more responsibility for the management of their tax affairs back onto the taxpayer (as actually should have always been the case).

xylophone · 25 November 2017 at 1:14AM

Just as your spouses bank will not give you information about your spouses account, nor will they compare both of your accounts unless you sign a document allowing them to do so when applying for loans/mortgages etc.

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge/pay-the-charge

If you can’t get information from your partner or ex-partner
You can write to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to ask whether your partner or ex-partner gets Child Benefit or has a higher adjusted net income than you. HMRC will reply ‘yes’ or ‘no’ - they won’t give you any financial information.

You can only ask for this information if you and your partner either live together, or separated within the tax year you want information for.

It seems to me that financial information (even if limited) is being supplied?

Andrew_Ryan_89 · 25 November 2017 at 3:10AM

Why are so many people on this forum so unhelpful and angry? All these "you should be smart enough as you earn x amount" and how there was a big campaign about it 4 years ago are so stupid.

I'm thankful OP for starting this thread. 4 years ago I was on 25k and now have a £49k basic but have received more than £7k in bonuses this tax year and claiming child benefit.

Will give them a call Monday before I get some stupid fine whilst you people on benefits live in a bigger house than I do and have more disposable income.

haras_nosirrah · 25 November 2017 at 10:42AM

Why are we stupid? We aren't being fined. Maybe pay the 7k bonuses into your pension and keep the child benefit- winner! This is being helpful. Unfortunately patting people on the back and saying there there won't change the situation - they owe the tax and need to pay it back.

It is a bit similar to the waspi women claiming it is a suprise they are not retiring at 60 and have had no notice when it has been wildly publicised since the 1990's that they wouldn't be.

It was all over the news, the internet, debates in parliament, petitions, threads on this website - it was difficult to miss it unless you have no internet connection, no tv and no newspaper. Just because it didn't apply to you at the time and therefore you took no notice doesn't mean you don't have to take interest in your tax affairs. Ignorance is no excuse with hmrc otherwise people could make themselves deliberately ignorant to get out of paying any tax.

Any new child benefit claimants since the charge came in will know about it - it is on the front page of the forms, Anyone affected at the time were written to. It is just the people who were claiming then but didn't earn near the threshold so were targeted with media campaigns. Hopefully most of these people took notice and have done what they needed to and it sounds as though hmrc are sweeping up those that didn't. Maybe an amnesty on everyone who pays all back tax before the end of the tax year (so no penalties) would be fair.

beefturnmail · 25 November 2017 at 10:55AM

I agree any benefit incorrectly paid\claimed should be paid back. What I do think is unfair is demands of full payment from HMRC plus penalties. As I said in a previous post, the way this has been set up means it was always more likely that people would fall foul compared to other taxes\benefits (and not because they are stupid or lazy), so allowances should be made i.e. no penalties and allowing repayment by installment

xylophone · 25 November 2017 at 12:23PM

All these "you should be smart enough as you earn x amount" and how there was a big campaign about it 4 years ago are so stupid.

And you say that the other posters are "angry"?

Four years ago you were claiming child benefit but the charge did not apply.

Are you claiming that you heard/read nothing at the time or since about the charge?

As I have said before, the legislation in no way affected me then and nor does it now but I would have needed to be deaf and blind not to have heard or read about it, so great was the volume of protest !

https://www.ft.com/content/5ec553e6-cfb9-11df-a51f-00144feab49a

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11464300

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20298774

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/sep/28/child-benefit-pension-contributions-higher-earners

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/tax/9781037/Child-benefit-how-to-beat-the-tax.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17854937

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17854937

That there was such a protest is in no way surprising because the way the charge works is arbitrary and unfair.

http://paullewismoney.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/child-benefit-high-income-charge.html

Had you considered increasing your pension contributions?

Swifty75 · 26 November 2017 at 12:06PM

I have paid the tax back. I do not object to paying the tax back. I object to the penalties as previously outlined. The links above do not mention it is the responsibility of the claimants spouse to complete a self assessment. They complain about the unfairness of the new means tested child benefit. I was aware of this at the time, but was not aware that I had to complete a self assessment. However, it now seems that through doing a self assessment I can claim tax relief on a whole number of business expenses😀 Which will probably cost the treasury more than my child benefit. The tax office could and should have policed this better from the start. They are clearly under funded like virtually every public service under this government. There will always be little empathy for those who earn over 50k, even normal working class people who work hard to make a good life for their family.

xylophone · 26 November 2017 at 12:30PM

I was aware of this at the time, but was not aware that I had to complete a self assessment.

Presumably you did realise that HMRC would need to be informed - once you had done so whether by phone call or letter, you would have been advised about whether or not self assessment was required......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20298774

Do I have to tell HMRC I might be liable for HICBC?
Yes. If you do not normally fill in a self-assessment tax return, you will need to tell HMRC by completing form SA1 - see https://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa1 - by 6 October after the end of the tax year.

Swifty75 · 26 November 2017 at 12:36PM

No I didn't realise. I had payed through PAYE for 20 years before. I asked my wife if the payments had been reduced and she said they had. They had not. As I say I have paid back the tax, I believe in paying what is owed, and have always endeavoured to do so. The penalties are a bit rich, given that if I was doing something wrong I am more than willing to rectify my behaviour if told in a timely manner. I will now fill in the self assessment and join the millions using any loophole to avoid tax. I have even got an accountant looking at it who thinks he can reclaim more in the last 5 years than I have had in child benefit! I would rather not and pay what is due, but the stupid system has driven me to it. From now on every penny is a prisoner between HMRC and me!!!

High Income Child Benefit Charge

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