You may once have shared a home, and you may have children together, but how would you feel if you were forced to reveal how much you earn to an ex-partner? In what has become something of a political hot potato, the tax authority is preparing to do just that when a new tax on child benefit payments – the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge (HICBC) – comes into force next January. About 1.2m people earning above the £50,000 a year threshold are expected to find they have to pay more tax as a result of a partner claiming child benefit.

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