Telling Employer/NT Tax Code

peterkay369 · 12 January 2017 at 5:28PM

Hi all,

From what I understand when I am declared bankrupt I will go onto a NT tax code and the money will be paid to the OR instead. I havent told my employer about the bankruptcy/money issues however they know I am having personal difficulties as I recently handed in a doctors note due to my depression spiraling out of control and messing up my work. I would prefer for my employer to not know that I am bankrupt however will they find out when my tax code changes? Or do I have any obligation to tell them if they start asking more personal questions?

Thank you

JCS1 · 12 January 2017 at 6:13PM

peterkay369 wrote: »

Hi all,

From what I understand when I am declared bankrupt I will go onto a NT tax code and the money will be paid to the OR instead. I havent told my employer about the bankruptcy/money issues however they know I am having personal difficulties as I recently handed in a doctors note due to my depression spiraling out of control and messing up my work. I would prefer for my employer to not know that I am bankrupt however will they find out when my tax code changes? Or do I have any obligation to tell them if they start asking more personal questions?

Thank you

The reasons for the tax code are confidential between you and HMRC, so no need to tell employer or answer questions

TheGardener · 12 January 2017 at 6:37PM

If you have a large employer then the NT coding instruction will probably be processed by the payroll team without anyone really noticing. If you have a small employer someone may ask but you don't have to answer. I was informally asked by a puzzled finance officer and I just said I was in dispute with HMRC about an overpayment from a few years before and that HMRC has accepted there was an overpayment and had given me an NT until the dispute was resolved. I don't know or care if they believed me or not but no more was ever said about it...

peterkay369 · 12 January 2017 at 6:49PM

Thanks both! Its a relatively small company, 50 or so employees and gossip travels fast. Good idea about the HMRC dispute, I'll try that if anyone asks as if I dont say I expect people will look into it further but thats probably just me being paranoid!!

Thanks again

Mollie_Guinness15 · 13 January 2017 at 1:10PM

I work for a small company and saw the MD and came clean about my entire situation. He was very supportive and said one of his friends had been through the same.

LEK · 13 January 2017 at 2:40PM

I also work for a small company and had similar findings when I went BR back in July of last year, I'm good friends with both directors and explained my situation to one of them who were also very supportive. I believe HMRC simply write to your employer immediately instructing them / payroll to move you over to the NT tax code for reasons undisclosed.

I also discovered that the transition from going BR and then to the NT tax code happened very quickly, probably in the matter of a couple of weeks as by pay day in the August I was already on the NT tax code according to my wage slip.

Liam.

tigerfeet2006 · 13 January 2017 at 8:48PM

peterkay369 wrote: »

Thanks both! Its a relatively small company, 50 or so employees and gossip travels fast. Good idea about the HMRC dispute, I'll try that if anyone asks as if I dont say I expect people will look into it further but thats probably just me being paranoid!!

Thanks again

If anyone rings the HMRC to ask why you have been put on a NTC then they will get very short shrift from them and told it's none of their business under the DPA and all they have to do is give you a NTC as they have requested. HMRC take it very seriously.

If anyone in payroll tells anyone else about the NTC then they can be done under the DPA. It is private and confidential information.

[Deleted User] · 15 January 2017 at 11:45AM

I was in a very small company on a NT - nobody said anything, and I was good friends with the person that does payroll (who still doesn't know I was bankrupt), so it's just 'one of those things' - probably wasn't even noticed, and we were tiny.

Also you can, technically, have NT for various other reasons (e.g. you work in the entertainment industry as a performer/musician etc), but realistically if you work in any other sector the reason is bankruptcy and would be obvious to experienced payroll people.

Either way, it's confidential as stated above - unless your contract states you must disclose it (e.g. police/banking etc) then you don't need to and I wouldn't worry - just make something up about "calls & disputes with HMRC" or similar if ever asked.

Telling Employer/NT Tax Code

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