What's happening to my income tax?

milliemonster

Well

Following Martins email last week I was looking forward to getting an extra £60 this month in my salary so got the shock of life when I got in from work this evening to find my salary is down this month by £150 net, my tax code has changed from 496L last month to 335L this month on my payslip but I have had no letter from the tax office, can anyone explain why this has happened?, I have a company car but have had for the last 3 years and it hasn't changed (although my tax code seems to change every few months)

Please help, I can't afford this huge drop in my salary and don't understand why

ctm_2

Ring your tax office and ask why your code has changed, and what is in it. Most of the offices are open till 8pm.

milliemonster

trouble is no one answers the phone and i can't go in cos its in brighton and i live in the north of england!

rchddap1

Keep ringing them?

ctm_2

milliemonster wrote: »

trouble is no one answers the phone and i can't go in cos its in brighton and i live in the north of england!

What number are you ringing?

Go here http://search2.hmrc.gov.uk/kbroker/hmrc/locator/locator.jsp?type=1 put in your paye reference number or just the office number and ring that.

System

milliemonster wrote: »

trouble is no one answers the phone and i can't go in cos its in brighton and i live in the north of england!

You can go into any HMRC enquiry centre (appointment and 2 forms of ID required) and the staff there will sit with you and investigate any change in your code and if it's wrong they will send an eform to your tax office to get it amended.

milliemonster

It gets better, I have spoken to the tax office, they have told me that the code 496L does not exist and I have been on code K95 all year as far as they are concerned because I have had a company car, it has been changed to 355L as on my recent P11D sent in by my employer they have shown I no longer have the car and that is why I am now on 355L?????

I still have my company car and now I am totally confused!, it seems my code changes every few months as my net pay changes every few months and I am wondering if this is now my employers fault as they keep putting me on the wrong tax code. So I now need to contact payroll and ask them to send in a revised P11D showing that I do still have the company car so I can get put back on the right tax code, so I am still no clearer as to what wage I should be getting net each month (as it is varying by £200 net most months), what can I do about this as it's very frustrating when I am trying to budget!

Also, what happened to this extra £60 we were all supposed to be getting in Septembers salaries in response to the 10p tax shambles earlier this year? (I forgot to ask the tax office about this)

CLAPTON

just to say

-your tax code shouldn't change just because you salary changes... it should only change because your benefits in kind change or every April/May (governemnt budget increase in personal allowance) or exceptional this september.
-every time your code changes you should establish exactly why

-there was never an extra £60... what happens is a change in tax allowances of 600 so that normal code changed form 543L to 603L .. this had the effect for these 'normal' people of reducing their tax in september by 60 and then 10 per month thereafter.

your situation is masked by the other changes in your tax code... you need to look vey closely at your P11 and check that your tax code is correct

milliemonster

Thanks Clapton for your reply, my salary isn't changing all the time, sorry I didn't make myself clear, my benefits in kind haven't changed since I started this job over 3 years ago but my tax code changes at least every 3-4 months which results in my net pay going up or down by anything between a few pounds to £200 and this is what I don't understand, when I spoke to the tax office they told me I should have been on K95 all year but my employer has put me on different tax codes at least 3 times this year

CLAPTON

you need to check your benefits in kind closely... when your tax code changes you should receive a coding notice to explain the change (except the annual changes doesn't generally trigger a notice of coding)

a 'K' code is a negative allowance so your benefits in kind must be substantial (i.e. more than 5435 per annum) unless you are paying tax back from previous years.

Any

If the tax office is saying that you should have been on K code all year according to them and you are saying that not only you weren't, but also your employer changed the tax code, then I suggest you walk into your payroll department and ask them about this.
Payroll department should only change your tax code when HMRC tell them to do so and not when they feel like it.
Your employer also must give you a copy of your P11D form, how come you haven't noticed before that they didn't declare your car? Request a copy of this as well.