No excuse for failing to notify

The taxpayer who was married with three children lost his job in June 2012 and did not find another until April 2014. He was made redundant from that position in May 2016 and he began working again in October 2019. His wife was a teaching assistant.

Before 2014-2015 the taxpayer’s income was below the £50 000 level before the high income child benefit charge applied. His wife received child benefit for many years including in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. In both of those years the taxpayer was the higher earner of the couple but he was not within the self-assessment regime.

In August 2017 HMRC alerted the taxpayer to the fact that he had not notified his liability to the high income child benefit charge in a generic letter (SA252). It raised assessments and imposed a penalty for failure to notify. The taxpayer appealed against the penalty.

The...