Separation and the High Income Child Benefit Charge

Essentially, you may be liable to the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) if you, or your partner, have an individual income of more than £50,000 and one of you gets Child Benefit or contributions towards the upkeep of a child.

If you are liable and have received a Child Benefit payment since 7^th January then you must register for Self Assessment by 5^th October 2013 to pay the charge.

For the purpose of the HICBC, your “partner” is your husband or wife or civil partner, unless you are permanently separated from them, or the person you are living with as if they were your husband, wife or civil partner. The partner you are living with does not have to be the mother or father of the child.

If the separation occurred during the tax year, you may have to pay the charge for the period that you were living together, but your income for the whole year is taken into account and not just for the period you were living together.

If you would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact us and we’ll put you in touch with your local TaxAssist Accountant.

Date published 21 Nov 2013

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.