HMRC will review thousands of suspended payments

The UK tax body is reviewing its decisions to benefit child benefits from around 23,500 claimants after they used travel data that left the country permanently.

Usually the benefit is released for eight weeks living outside the UK, but many people affected complain that HM Revenue and HMRC) stop the holiday at short notice.

The move came after MPS on the Treasury Select Committee demanded answers from the tax authority.

HMRC apologized for any errors and said anyone who thinks their benefits have been stopped incorrectly should contact them.

In September, the government began cracking down on child benefit which it believes will save £350m over five years.

The new system allows HMRC records to be compared with home office travel data, and the taxman uses these payments for thousands of families.

But it is now being reviewed in all cases after a growing number of complaints from people who said they were on holiday, and had returned to the UK after a short time away.

Eva Craven took a five-day vacation with her son to New York. He told the BBC’s box program that about 18 months after the trip he received a letter saying that the child benefited from the child.

The letter cited his trip to the US, saying there was no record of his return.

“It gave me a month basically to provide all the requested information to prove I was coming back to the UK,” he said.

“It’s a very big ask for something they’ve destroyed, and they should be able to hold themselves accountable.”

Eva’s child benefit has now been reinstated with missed payments.

The issue was first introduced in Northern Ireland, where some families were flown from the UK from Belfast, but then returned to Dublin – which is in the EU – before driving home.

Citizens of the UK and Ireland can travel freely between each other’s countries under the common travel area.

There are no passport checks when traveling across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which means that the UK government does not return to Northern Ireland.

It’s unclear how many mistakes were made overall, or how.

HMRC said the money box will review all cases in the past “using PAYE data and where to find continued UK employment and make the necessary payments”.

It aims to complete its review by the end of next week.

MPs on the Treasury Select Committee are also currently investigating.

Additional Reporting by Nick Edser