Underpayment - Wrong Code for 5 years!

Joe_Totale_2

Just recieved two P800T Tax Calculation letters for underpayments for 2008-9 and 2009-10.
Total underpayments = £936

Phoned HMRC, they said they didnt know where I'd got my wrong Tax Code from. After checking my last P60 and boxes of wage slips, I saw that this "wrong " Tax Code was on them all.

I've worked at the same Charity part-time (16 hrs) for the last 11 years, its my only job in all that time, seems I've had the same (wrong?! ) Tax Code for at least the last 5 years!!

Who's to blame? Me? My employer? Employers Accountants? HMRC ?

Mikeyorks

Fairly difficult to have the wrong tax code with a consistent job and - you make it sound - a single income stream?

What is the code - and do you have additional income?

Joe_Totale_2

Mikeyorks wrote: »

Fairly difficult to have the wrong tax code with a consistent job and - you make it sound - a single income stream?

What is the code - and do you have additional income?

Just the same job, however 3 years ago another company took over (Tupe) I kept on the same 16 hours a week, no other income except for WTC.

The code is 973T

PS Wife at home and kids at school, no other income comes into the house.

Mikeyorks

Joe_Totale wrote: »

The code is 973T

You've managed the 'difficult' then ...... that's (£9735) one very large Personal Allowance (PA). If it goes back 5 years ....... this is how the basic PA has been over that period :-

2004-05 4,745
2005-06 4,895
2006-07 5,035
2007-08 5,225
2008-09 6,035
2009-10 6,475

I can't relate 973 back to any of those. So - unless you have the original Coding Notice (P2) showing the 973T ....... can't really answer your question as to who is likely to have been at fault initially.

It's worth reflecting that the letter 'T' after the code does suggest it's one that was issued by HMRC. 'As there's something in the allowances that need to be kept under review'. Can you remember anything that made you entitled to significant extra allowances some 5 years ago??

Joe_Totale_2

Mikeyorks wrote: »

Can you remember anything that made you entitled to significant extra allowances some 5 years ago??

We had our 5th child - 5 years ago, other than that, nothing I recall.

Mikeyorks

Joe_Totale wrote: »

We had our 5th child - 5 years ago, other than that, nothing I recall.

Gosh - brave as well!

Can't be that - as coded allowances for children ceased some time before.

Worth looking for that P2. If you can find one from HMRC with that Code and the letter 'T' .......... I think they will need to hold their hands up at a lack of review? (unless they can prove to have issued a later one)

Joe_Totale_2

Well, after spending most of the night sorting through some old payslips from the same employer....

1999 tax code = 519H

2000/01 = 438L

2001/02 = 973T This also shows as final tax code on P60 of that year.

2000 was the year I took out a mortgage to buy our house, would that make any difference???

kickwhamstunner

You may have had the higher allowance from having CTC in your code 01/02. HMRC would have removed that at the start of the 04/05 year, but if your employer hasn't received the updated code, they may just have kept using the old one.

If you've been on this code all this time, you'll also be underpaid for years prior to 08/09, but they're not being looked at. Count yourself lucky you don't owe more, and phone them to get the code sorted going forward. Also, !!!!!slap your payroll department for not using some common sense and at least checking with you if the code was correct.

Pennywise

Make a claim under ESC A19 - I think this would apply as nothing changed in 08/9, and HMRC have clearly not been checking your tax for the earlier years, so it's a repeated problem spanning several years. Their usual "cop out" that they have until 5/4/11 to check 08/9 isn't really valid is the error clearly existed beforehand.

[Deleted User]

Also, !!!!!slap your payroll department for not using some common sense and at least checking with you if the code was correct.[/QUOTE]


Payroll departments are not usually in the habit of checking with 100's sometimes 1000's of employees if there Tax Code is correct!

Also it would not be very professional to question an employee on there personnal affairs and Tax allowances, it's not the employers business, their obligation is only to use the Tax Code instructed by HMRC.

Suffix T does suggest this code should have been temporary. I have seen this code before 973T the lady that had it was a young widow???

Your Employer should have the paperwork to support this code, even under TUPE your new Employer should have a copy

Joe_Totale_2

Many thanks for all the helpfull replies I've had.
This is really giving me sleepless nights:(.

I've wrote to HMRC saying that I regard the tax code mistake being due to an employer PAYE error and therefore it should be sorted by the companys accountants.

Should I change tack and go for the ESC A19 option?