Taxpayer entitled to child benefit paid to divorced spouse

The taxpayer married in March 2010 and in December 2012 the couple had a child. During the marriage the taxpayer took responsibility for the paperwork and claimed child benefit which was paid into the child’s mother’s bank account.

In July 2017 the couple separated. The child and the mother remained in the family home. There was no formal maintenance agreement but the taxpayer paid £500 a month to the mother. He also paid their household bills and the mortgage. The marriage was dissolved in April 2019.

In the meantime the taxpayer had begun a new relationship and they married in November 2019. They lived together as partners for the whole of the 2019-20.

In August 2021 HMRC opened an enquiry into the taxpayer’s 2019-20 tax return and issued a closure notice increasing his liability by £1 076 on the basis that he had been...