No excuse for failure to notify high income child benefit charge

The taxpayer appealed against penalties imposed by HMRC for his failure to notify his chargeability to the high income child benefit charge (HICBC). These covered the years 2012-13 to 2014-15 and 2017-18 to 2018-19. He said he had received no notification about the charge until February 2021 he had not received the nudge letters HMRC said it had sent him in 2019; he paid the sum owing in full within a month of becoming aware of it; and he had not known he was receiving child benefit.

The First-tier Tribunal was satisfied that HMRC sent the nudge letters. It had the taxpayer’s correct address and were not returned undelivered. On balance the tribunal considered the taxpayer received the letters the significance being that they warned him to notify chargeability.

The judge was also satisfied that HMRC had taken steps to make taxpayers ‘generally as a class...