Wife’s ignorance of husband’s income is reasonable excuse

HMRC assessed the taxpayer to the high income child benefit charge (HICBC) for the years 2014-15 to 2017-18 and imposed penalties for failure to notify.

The taxpayer accepted the charge but appealed against the penalties. He said his wife who claimed the child benefit was not aware of his full income and he did not see the claim forms. Neither of them realised he might be liable to the charge until HMRC contacted him in 2019. His wife knew his basic income was £42 000 but not that his overtime for working offshore took his earnings considerably above the £50 000 threshold. His earnings were all subject to PAYE and he did not share any of the paperwork relating to his employment such as P60s with his wife. They had separate bank accounts and he put money into her account.

The First-tier Tribunal accepted HMRC’s assertion...