Tax refund question

bertman

Hope someone can give me a bit of a heads up on this one..

I have submitted my tax returns for the last financial year, our situation has changed quite a lot during that time. We had our own business which was sold and my wife now has a full time job.

We have had letters stating we are due a refund and the money has already been paid into the bank - great news so we think - But, there is a note on the letters that state this hasn't been checked and if it is found to be wrong then they will claim the money back.

Surely the HMRC wouldn't just pay out money without checking - I would assume that we are just one of hundreds of thousand who have had money back. How long should we wait before assumiong the money is ours to keep?

System

It's called self-assessment and HMRC operate a process first and check later system on the assumption that the form has been completed correctly. They assume that the taxpayer will seek help from a qualified person if they are unsure of what they are doing.

chrismac1

Providing your tax return has been completely properly and you've claimed any deductible business expenses in accordance with the rules, you are fine.

suso

bertman wrote: »

Hope someone can give me a bit of a heads up on this one..

I have submitted my tax returns for the last financial year, our situation has changed quite a lot during that time. We had our own business which was sold and my wife now has a full time job.

We have had letters stating we are due a refund and the money has already been paid into the bank - great news so we think - But, there is a note on the letters that state this hasn't been checked and if it is found to be wrong then they will claim the money back.

Surely the HMRC wouldn't just pay out money without checking - I would assume that we are just one of hundreds of thousand who have had money back. How long should we wait before assumiong the money is ours to keep?

it is called Self Assesment, you have signed a legal document declaring your income for the year.

They are saying that they have not checked the figures on the return and if you have claimed too much or entered incorrect figures then they will recalculate the tax due and if you have had a refund too much they will demand it back