Research and analysis
High Income Child Benefit Charge social research
HMRC commissioned research to understand the barriers to compliance.
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Details
In 2020 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) commissioned NatCen to conduct research to explore the barriers to compliance for the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
The research was qualitative, comprising 48 in-depth interviews with customers liable for the charge.
The main findings were:
- 2 key enablers that contributed to customers meeting their liability were awareness of the charge and their responsibilities at the point of becoming liable, and understanding that it was their responsibility to take action and the steps they needed to take
- participants were generally motivated to meet their responsibility, and non-compliance was not an active or intentional decision
- the main barriers to compliance included a lack of awareness of the charge, not accurately understanding High Income Child Benefit Charge/Child Benefit, having complex earnings, and not understanding the process of complying
- participants identified areas for further support, including raising awareness, improving customer understanding of their liability and better communication from HMRC