Personal tax account

dori2o · 10 March 2017 at 4:51PM

Quick questions people.

Do you use the personal tax account?

What do you think about the personal tax account?

If someone was to develop a flyer/handout for the Personal Tax Account either to promote its use or to provide assistance with its use what would you like to see on it/what should be included on it?

Thanks

badmemory · 10 March 2017 at 5:22PM

Are HMRC still using foreign companies (ie CRAs) to authenticate people before they can get access? I can't see anything on the website which would prove that I am me, if you see what I mean.

ETA Sorry that sounds a bit confrontational, whoops! What I would like to see on the website or wherever is some practical information on how it is done other than "start here". For instance if they send a 6 digit number to your mobile like they do for VAT, that would not work as the signal can be so bad it can take a couple of hours to get and texts to my landline are very difficult for me to hear. So I wouldn't want to get started in case I couldn't proceed.

Dazed_and_confused · 10 March 2017 at 6:07PM

Do you mean what should be included on the flyer or included on the personal tax account itself?

dori2o · 10 March 2017 at 9:44PM

badmemory wrote: »

Are HMRC still using foreign companies (ie CRAs) to authenticate people before they can get access? I can't see anything on the website which would prove that I am me, if you see what I mean.

ETA Sorry that sounds a bit confrontational, whoops! What I would like to see on the website or wherever is some practical information on how it is done other than "start here". For instance if they send a 6 digit number to your mobile like they do for VAT, that would not work as the signal can be so bad it can take a couple of hours to get and texts to my landline are very difficult for me to hear. So I wouldn't want to get started in case I couldn't proceed.

The tax account now has 2 seperate methods of verification. You can still use Gov.UK Verify which uses 3rd party companies to verify your identity such as Experian and the Post Office.

The preferred method however is built into the tax account. It utilises information that is held on your own tax/tax credits records to ask questions to verify yourself. This is done by providing information from your recent payslips, your P60, or your latest tax credits award if you have one. It can also verify you by using a valid UK passport.

The system uses the same 2 step verification/log in process that the VAT service does, it sends a 6 digit access code to the mobile/landline telephone number you provide when registering for the system.

Dazed_and_confused wrote: »

Do you mean what should be included on the flyer or included on the personal tax account itself?

What would you expect/hope to see on a leaflet which is encouraging people to register/sign up for an account.

Its not that those involved dont know what to include, but often people who work closely with a system can overlook things or misunderstand peoples needs.

badmemory · 10 March 2017 at 10:44PM

dori2o wrote: »

The tax account now has 2 seperate methods of verification. You can still use Gov.UK Verify which uses 3rd party companies to verify your identity such as Experian and the Post Office.

The preferred method however is built into the tax account. It utilises information that is held on your own tax/tax credits records to ask questions to verify yourself. This is done by providing information from your recent payslips, your P60, or your latest tax credits award if you have one. It can also verify you by using a valid UK passport.

The system uses the same 2 step verification/log in process that the VAT service does, it sends a 6 digit access code to the mobile/landline telephone number you provide when registering for the system.

I'm pleased that it is possible not to have to use external sites to verify although I would have trouble with the access code. This is the info I would like to see more readily available. So I would be looking at something along the lines of - these are the sorts of things you will be able to do & see - & this is what you will need to do to do that. A lot of people who may be interested may be scared off by the unknown and worried about getting it wrong - after all it can have serious financial consequences. This is why I don't file my SA online, I like to be able to see it.

booksurr · 10 March 2017 at 11:40PM

i am only aware of the existence of this "service" due to posts on here. It is not something I am aware of having consciously registered for and therefore I assume I have not.

I submit my SA online and, at this point in time, would not know where to find my personal tax account, nor what information it provides which is of any relevance to me given I know what I have submitted "my tax account" via SA.

If it is simply a record of how "my" tax has been spent, then it is of the same level of "usefulness" as the tax summary received in the post. There was a military expression for that: "Army Form A, Blank" (aka toilet paper) as that was the contribution to society generated by such bumpf. It keeps a few clerks in work, but achieves nothing else?

I will now go and research what this form is, and will post back on my further thoughts

teuchter66 · 11 March 2017 at 12:14AM

I've ben using mine since the service started and find it extremely useful.

I set mine up using the old Gov.uk verification which was a bit cumbersome but have helped a number of relatives set up theirs just using payslip data and they found it a very simple exercise.

I've never had a problem with the code to my mobile, it has always been instantaneous.

I am no longer required to fill in a Self Assessment but as far as I know the SA Return is completely separate from the Personal Tax Account.

My affairs are not particularly arduous but I do have 4 separate pensions in payment and I use the account mainly to check the tax codes provided to pensions providers.
As an example I recently used the account to amend the estimated sums I would receive in 2017/18 which resulted in HMRC adjusting my tax codes and their estimate of my total taxable earning and tax due thereon.
This is an exercise I have undertaken before the start of every tax year since I retired and would normally have required a long telephone call with a short chat after I got through to a human voice.

The PTA gives me all the detail I need about all my taxable income and tax paid on a monthly basis; and, although I no longer require it, a year by year breakdown of my National Insurance contribution record.

I find the account extremely useful and would recommend it to everyone who is in the PAYE system.
Although I must admit I have perhaps been lucky never having had any problems in my dealings with HRMC in the past, I think the Personal Tax Account is a great step forward in the use of technology.

Dazed_and_confused · 11 March 2017 at 12:17AM

booksurr

It is great for checking your national insurance record along with what state pension you are going to be entitled to and when it will be paid.

Haven't used it as much for tax stuff but from memory you can see how your tax code is made up and it has details of what your employer has paid you

dori2o · 12 March 2017 at 11:42AM

Just to add, with regards to receiving the access code, for those with poor mobile reception or who only have a tablet and not a mobile phone, you can also get past the access code issue by using a 3rd option. That is to use a QR code reader (those square barcode type things).

To do this you would need to download a 3rd party QR code reader onto your device. HMRC do not provide or recommend any particular app.

This would mean that those who have access to wireless internet but limited phone reception, and who are accessing the tax account by way of an Apple or Android device would still be able to log in to the tax account.

One further thing to be aware of is that the tax account sents a data burst to your tax records each time you log out/are timed out of the personal tax account.

This means that if there are any updates that need to be made you should always make them via the tax account where it is possible to do so rather than contacting HMRC to do it. If you were to contact HMRC seperately on the same day you had logged into the tax account and have not updated the tax account yourself, then it is possible that the data burst sent by the tax account would reverse the changes you had made with HMRC over the phone, reverting your records back to holding the original incorrect data.

Cook_County · 12 March 2017 at 12:18PM

Professional advisers are currently forbidden from accessing the PTA - so it is still only a half-cooked measure; which will be even more important when we move to MTD.

dori2o · 12 March 2017 at 12:48PM

There is an Agents tax account still in development. Whether this is a stand alone service or whether its a bolt on to the pta remains to be seen.

The agents still have the ability to submit tax returns via the agent portal which gives them access to the self assessment record, statements, SA302's etc. This wont change when the move to the new process is made.

The PTA is for individuals to take charge of their own tax affairs, just as it should be, given they are responsible for ensuring they pay the correct tax.

Personal tax account

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