HMRC froze 23,000 families’ child benefit over incomplete travel data
Tens of thousands of parents have had their child benefits stopped by HMRC after traveling outside the UK.
Letters were sent to approximately 23,489 claimants from HMRC inquiring about their residence after spending time outside the country. Guard to create.
In most cases, travel plans lasted only a few days. Among those whose benefits were frozen were a woman who visited France for five days after her husband died, a man who went on a five-day holiday to Italy with his son, and a family who went on a trip to Australia via Gatwick.
Under current rules, those claiming child benefit can go abroad for up to eight weeks before the benefit is cut off in most cases. In exceptional circumstances such as the death of a family member or medical treatment, this period may be extended to up to 12 weeks.
HMRC apologized to families and admitted it had sent letters to 0.5 per cent of 6.9 million claimants and suspended payments while investigations continued. He said he believed aid had been suspended correctly in the “majority” of cases.
The tax office added that it was “urgently reviewing the current process and actively considering options.”
Child benefit is paid at two rates: £26.05 per week for the eldest or only child, and £17.25 for additional children. It is not affected by the two-child benefit cap, which prevents families from claiming additional universal credit for more than two children.
Music teacher Cerys took her three children from Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport on a day trip to the Netherlands. They set off at 6 a.m. and returned the same night.
“It feels like you’re being punished for leaving,” he said Guard. “Child benefit now says there is no evidence that I have returned with my family, so I have to provide a ridiculous amount of evidence to prove that I haven’t lived in Amsterdam since February.”
The mother-of-three said she initially thought the HMRC letter was a scam but now had to give authorities her original bank statements, letters from her children’s old and new schools and GP records.
He said he had universal credit records showing he was based in the UK and had recently moved from Liverpool to Newcastle. However, as this benefit is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and not HMRC, there appears to be no cross-checking.
HMRC said: “Whilst this affects a very small number of people claiming child benefit, we are very sorry for those whose payments have been incorrectly suspended. They need to respond to us as soon as possible so we can check their situation, reinstate payments and ensure no one is left out of pocket.”
“We moved quickly to change our approach, including checking employment data before suspending payments.”
- This article previously stated that letters were sent to approximately 35,000 families by HMRC. The correct figure was 23,489.
