MSE News: Tax chaos Q&A: How to fight HMRC demands

Diana80_2

Mikeyorks wrote: »

Right. The £3978 at 20% gives you an underpayment of £795.60 if that is the sole reason? Does that more or less agree with the underpayment for 09-10?

And the remaining underpayment (circa £782) should stem from a benefit of around £3910.

If all of that is right? When did the 'loan benefit' originate? Do you have a P11D also for 07-08 .... and possibly earlier? Also .... picking up on something said earlier, does your 09-10 P60 (or last payslip) reflect code 647L?

The underpayment for 2008-2009 is quoted as £418.40, then the 2009-2010 one says £1,164.80 including the £418 from the year before. I still have the P11D from previous years too but right now i can't find them. However, on my PAYE Coding Notice for 2010-2011 it says my code is 338L. Loan from employer is quoted as £3095 so they knew about it!!

Mikeyorks

Diana80 wrote: »

The underpayment for 2008-2009 is quoted as £418.40, then the 2009-2010 one says £1,164.80 including the £418 from the year before.

Right .... but you quoted a total underpayment of £1578 in your first post? So I'd worked back to that as you only gave the 09-10 P11D figure.

I still have the P11D from previous years too but right now i can't find them. However, on my PAYE Coding Notice for 2010-2011 it says my code is 338L. Loan from employer is quoted as £3095 so they knew about it

..... which is why I was asking about earlier years. But I'd feel more comfortable knowing your Code for 09-10 .... before going any further? May be HMRC had some 'benefit' figures, but not the right ones. And .... have you tended to get P11Ds for this benefit prior to July following the tax year? You haven't had several all at once?

Diana80_2

Mikeyorks wrote: »

Right .... but you quoted a total underpayment of £1578 in your first post? So I'd worked back to that as you only gave the 09-10 P11D figure.



..... which is why I was asking about earlier years. But I'd feel more comfortable knowing your Code for 09-10 .... before going any further? May be HMRC had some 'benefit' figures, but not the right ones. And .... have you tended to get P11Ds for this benefit prior to July following the tax year? You haven't had several all at once?

Sorry - in my original post I added approximately both sums from the 2 P800 together not realising the second one included the first one.

My code for 09-10 was 622L

Mikeyorks

Diana80 wrote: »

My code for 09-10 was 622L

It should be 647L .... so there's £250 witheld for some reason. Might be useful to hunt out the P2 (Coding Notice) and see why?

On the assumption you've had P11Ds at regular annual intervals? You can't (back to the original post) suggest employer error as there's no evidence. But it could be that HMRC have had the actual figures and not acted on them? The fact your original 10-11 Code is correct starts to contradict that ..... but that may simply be the new PAYE system that issued that one correcting problems the previous one didn't.

It's worth following the guidance (see your 'What Happens Next' leaflet with the P800s) at 'HMRC delays in using information' ...... which is the link at the end of the first major para here :-

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/p800/paye-tax-calcs.htm

I would 'phone them in the first instance. Best of luck with it.

manamoose

pennypinchingmum wrote: »

Hello all,
Unfortunately we have today recieved a letter saying my husband has underpaid and owes (what is for us) a large amount of money. However it was for the tax year 08/09 and his employer sorts out all tax. So i'm hoping we can appeal but i'm unsure of how to do this so i'd like some advice?

hello, i hope someone finds this post useful. i too received the dreaded letter for the year 2008/9 saying i'd underpaid by £1158. i have proof that i had informed the inland revenue of the employment concerned (although they never asked to see the proof) and that they would've received this information years ago. This meant i could make a claim under the ESC A19, which says that you can have the tax written off if they informed you more than 12months after the end of the tax year within which they received the information.

having read the posts in this forum, i was preparing myself for a long drawnout claim which would probably not bring about any results.

but that is the reason for my post.

i rang the hmrc this morning and within half an hour my tax was written off. i was on hold for ages but it was worth the wait. he asked me if i had informed them of changes to employment etc and i said yes (he asked for no proof, although he did put me on hold for a few minutes whilst he read through my file) and then he asked me if i had any reason to believe i was underpaying tax that year, and i said no, which was a truely honest answer. he then said that as it was a fault of theirs, then he would have it written off, and will send me confirmation in writing.

i've seen all the arguments in this post as to whether or not this is "morally right" or whatever, but my financial situation now is not what it was back then, and there is no way i could've paid this back now. added to that, i am now running my own business and cannot pay back the tax in installments via PAYE. i've always worked hard and made sure the inland revenue have all the information they need.

anyway,

So, pennypinchingmum i hope this message hasnt come too late, but i just wanted to let you know that it is so worth fighting for if you believe you have done everything in your power to make sure they have the information they need. if they then fail to use this information, you have a right to claim.

rentawitch

Diana80 wrote: »

Yes, part of my mortgage is on a staff rate... but that's all.

sorry, looking at that form it's like reading chinese! I can't spot where the error happened. I don't know where to start! Sorry to sound so naive, but i am not a tax specialist...

Did you get this sorted out Diana. If not, send me a PM. Im a tax manager in a firm of chartered accountants and I can probably translate for you and see what they have done

itsmattuk

I just got another letter from HMRC - after writing to them several months ago - still saying I owe them over just under £3500 for the last 3 years. I had no idea this was going on, as my employees, both local government, had been incorrectly applying the correct tax code. I barely earn 1000 a month now and if they are going to take nearly £300 a month for 12 months to reclaim this back I'm going to be left with basically nothing to live off. Do I got any options? Like they obviously aren't going to write this off, if I call them up are they likely to allow me to pay this off over 24 months instead of 12? Should I write to them again? I'm not sure what my next step should be.

Thanks

Update:
Just called them up, they are seemingly not going to budge, but said I need to speak to their hardship team to work out a repayment. Is 3 years the maximum or do you think I can get them to repay over 4 years, as even over 3 years its just under £100 a month and that is a fair slice of my current (not very high) wage. I'll call them back on Monday as they couldn't get me through today and they close in a little over an hour.

Gas_Powered_Toothbrush

3 years is the maximum. If you're unable to come to an agreement with them that's 3 years or less, they'll transfer the debt to self assessment and start changing interest.

Mikeyorks

Gas_Powered_Toothbrush wrote: »

. If you're unable to come to an agreement with them that's 3 years or less, they'll transfer the debt to self assessment and start changing interest.

And if you do get to an agreement under the 3 years? Does than not also translate across to SA? Where else - other than coding out - do they have to put it where it can be monitored / accounted for?

Gas_Powered_Toothbrush

Agreements of three years or less will be dealt with by direct debit if they can't be coded out.