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

Burgerbuns

I was wondering which address these letters will be sent to?

I moved house a couple of months ago and notified my work's payroll of my new address. I was wondering which address they would send the letter to, if I'm due one.

Does my payroll notify HMRC of my new address or should I?

Not sure if my mail is being forwarded on my the new owners of my old place. They're not the most reliable people (yes, I know I can use the Post Office forwarding service).

Many thanks!

Mahmood_Reza

I would contact the tax office directly to check what address details they hold for you - they have been known to have 'old' information

alunharford

DarkConvict wrote: »

I'm a software engineer, so can say that the problem more likely lies in the actual tax system not the computer program. The program sure can cause issues but if the spec is wrong, the programmers do not understand the problem, the system will not magically fix anything.

The spec is fantastic! It's the finance act.

It reads like a sed script on other legislation, but I've never worked on a system with such a lovely complete specification that defines the problem exactly.

Yes, it's an absurdly complex system, but it's nothing compared to most in the financial sector (or in the scientific sector). I've worked on substantially more complex systems. I think I'd notice if I was 2 billion pounds out!

Paul_Herring

alunharford wrote: »

It reads like a sed script on other legislation,

.. made me chuckle anyway...

Paul_Herring

Incidentally, I've not seen a lot of this in the media:

Instead of employers deducting income tax then paying gross salaries to employees, the gross monthly payment would go to an HMRC-run tax “calculator”, which would then pass the net salary to the worker.

The reform would mean the end of traditional monthly payslips, because employers would no longer be able to tell workers how much tax they had paid each month.

[...]

Instead of a payslip detailing pay and deductions, workers would only find out how much income tax they had paid by asking HMRC.

I fail to see how this could possibly go wrong.

danmonkey

Why should people appeal against tax they have underpaid or be helped to find loopholes?

This is a morally objectionable stance to me as the rest of society has to pick up the tab if people don't pay their tax.

This is entirely different to reclaiming PPI or bank charges which are sheer profiteering. This is about schools, hospitals etc and making your fair contribution to society.

If you have underpaid tax, then accept this and pay it back.

I suspect most people will have realised that they were underpaying at some point.

danmonkey

pennypinchingmum wrote: »

How dare you assume this about people! My husband and i work very hard and have always kept our finances up to date we have never been in debt and never owed any money to anyone. We are simply not wishing to pay for other peoples incompetence in the tax office.

I should like to add that if we paid this underpayment we would then have to go into debt or work many more hours which would mean claiming childcare costs on tax credits. Potentially paying this back could mean for people not be able to pay rent eventually meaning they would have to rely more heavily on the state.

I would like to ask in future that you think about the upset you cause people who have just recieved a shock and are upset at having to pay back money that has already been allocated for food and education on an already incredibly tight budget.

Do you not realise that your husband has not paid enough tax, therefore he has not paid his fair share?

You have been living off an income that is unfairly subsidised by the rest of society - and if things are so tight then you have been living above your means.

I am currently in the midst of a year of paying back additional tax because my employer did not notify HMRC immediately of a change in benefits. Am I complaining? No.

Paul_Herring

pennypinchingmum wrote: »

We are simply not wishing to pay for other peoples incompetence in the tax office.

By the same reasoning, then, you would refuse to accept any payment from HMRC if you'd discovered you'd overpaid instead?

Thought not.

It is your responsibility to ensure you're paying the correct amount of tax, not HMRCs. When you get your P2, you should check to make sure it is correct, not just ignore it or throw it away.

PAYE is simply a system that allows people to spread the guestimated amount of tax throughout the year, instead of in one lump sum at the end of the year. If HMRC aren't supplied with the correct information to make that guestimate, then they can hardly be blamed for getting the tax codes wrong.

Granted HMRC do have some of the blame, but you'll notice that those that do supply HMRC with the correct information (via self assessment for example) won't be getting these notices.

winner12

Hi Danmonkey
In the same boat as you paying back a huge amount this year due to !!!! up 2009/2010 or should I say my OH is and guess what stung with underpaid for 2008/2009 too now

DarkConvict

alunharford wrote: »

The spec is fantastic! It's the finance act.

It reads like a sed script on other legislation, but I've never worked on a system with such a lovely complete specification that defines the problem exactly.

Yes, it's an absurdly complex system, but it's nothing compared to most in the financial sector (or in the scientific sector). I've worked on substantially more complex systems. I think I'd notice if I was 2 billion pounds out!

Minor rounding errors

Im glad there is a complete spec for it, i guess its down to people trying to understand it and not letting the cheapest bid, build the system.