im not sure if my tax codes are right or not

dithedancer

got a letter from accountant today detailing all the complaint letters he as sent and got no reply. still waiting, i even sent a email to Ed Miliband my local MP only thing he did was to ask his secretary for my NI number that was ages ago so that didn't help. the eight week wait to answer letters seems to be some kind of propaganda that is not true. i'llstopnow or i'll start to rant.

Caz3121

Truemanbrown wrote: »

A 'K' code normally occurs because you have underpaid a large amount of tax in a previous year or because your employers had filled in a Form P11D which showed that you had received benefits in kind or you are in receipt of state pension.

But going from the information supplied, you are in receipt of a state pension which is taxable and the Inland Revenue have altered you tax code based on the expected to be received during the year.

OP has already confirmed they are not in receipt of pension (they are 50) but HMRC seems to think they are

OP rather than chase the rebate at this point I think the priority is getting the tax code sorted (if they apply your earnings to the current tax code you do not have an overpayment) On the code notification letter there should be a number to contact if you do not agree with the coding information. Once that is fixed it will be clear to all that there is a refund due

dithedancer

Finally my accountant got a letter of apology from HMRC on the 3rd august, saying they are sorry for not replying to his 3 letters of complaint and that he should not have received the letter querying my employment status and my tax details are available for him to view, if he as any other queries to contact them on the telephone number at the top of the letter. Guess what? he can't get my details they are still unavailable to him also there is no phone number on the letterhead just the times of opening. He as wrote again telling them this also that he keeps getting cut off whenever he tries to phone. He has also requested they write to me explaining what as happened. wonder how long they will take to reply this time. Sorry for using this thread as some kind of diary but others might want to know what can happen.

Chris_Tax

dithedancer wrote: »

Finally my accountant got a letter of apology from HMRC on the 3rd august, saying they are sorry for not replying to his 3 letters of complaint and that he should not have received the letter querying my employment status and my tax details are available for him to view, if he as any other queries to contact them on the telephone number at the top of the letter. Guess what? he can't get my details they are still unavailable to him also there is no phone number on the letterhead just the times of opening. He as wrote again telling them this also that he keeps getting cut off whenever he tries to phone. He has also requested they write to me explaining what as happened. wonder how long they will take to reply this time. Sorry for using this thread as some kind of diary but others might want to know what can happen.

This is an absolute fiasco.

Several things to address:

Your friends Accountant appears to have dragged his feet a little, but hey, he's not getting paid so who can blame him?

Accountants can get instant access to HMRC via the telephone assuming a relevant authority (64-8) is in place.

You may have been incorrectly deprived of income, if, as you say your affairs were such that you shouldn't have lost your state benefit (this isn't my area; check into it.)

You absolutely are entitled to a refund, plus interest, albeit at an insultingly low rate.

This potentially spans from Sept 2008 to today. This covers tax years 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11 and the current 2011/12. You have three options to recover:

1. Submit an "Error & Overpayments Relief" Claim, this can be googled on HMRC's website. However, note this may be duplicating work the Accountant has already done.

It can also take a damn long time - HMRC have postal delays of up to 8 weeks (that is, to open it!!!!)

2. Register for Self-Assessment for 2010/11 and complete the 2010/11 Return online. This should provide you with around £1,300 in the pocket quite sharpish (but remember that 2010/11 will then be "dealt with".

You can't register and submit for any other years. To do so would trigger late submission charges. (and you can't do 2011/12 - the current year - yet).

3. A mixture of the above. i.e. Error & Overpayment claim for 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, completing the tax return for 2010/11, and notifying of incorrect coding for 2011/12.

It seems Accountants have a bad reputation here. If you'd had a reasonable Accountant on side from the word go this would have been sorted by now.

Even a lower end firm would have calculated your income tax liability correctly and ensured you had a refund. Fees can range from as little as £50+VAT. Well worth the money in my view.

You may also have grounds to a compensatory claim for deprivation of income due to HMRCs blatant error. You should contact the Adjudicators Office once HMRC tell you where to go (which they will - they won't agree any compensation).

Chris_Tax

dithedancer wrote: »

Finally my accountant got a letter of apology from HMRC on the 3rd august, saying they are sorry for not replying to his 3 letters of complaint and that he should not have received the letter querying my employment status and my tax details are available for him to view, if he as any other queries to contact them on the telephone number at the top of the letter. Guess what? he can't get my details they are still unavailable to him also there is no phone number on the letterhead just the times of opening. He as wrote again telling them this also that he keeps getting cut off whenever he tries to phone. He has also requested they write to me explaining what as happened. wonder how long they will take to reply this time. Sorry for using this thread as some kind of diary but others might want to know what can happen.

The fact that this Accountant is struggling to contact HMRC is a worry.I can call HMRC any working day of the week and speak to someone within 30 seconds.

That leads me to believe s/he's possibly not the person for the job.

dithedancer

Thanks for the advice. The last letter the accountant got from HMRC was to confirm that the 64-8 form was updated on their systems in February, but he still cannot get access to the information on his computer and he says in his letter to them that he keeps getting cut off when he tries to phone. which number his he trying to ring? if it is the number i have been trying, i told him this and that this is the reason i went to him in the first place.
I have read on some of the posts in this forum, that confusion arises if the accountant and the client both phone HMRC so i do not want to make things any worse if this is the case. I was going to ask another accountant for advice, and if he would to take up my case, but im not sure this would be a good idea either.

dithedancer

ive found a phone number on the HMRC site that says its a agent dedicated and agent priority line. should i pass it on to the accountant? 0845 366 7855

dithedancer

I managed to get through to HMRC and spoke to a man who said that he could change my tax code and sort this years tax, but the other years were in the hands of a complaints manager who had received ONE letter from my accountant. the following day he phoned back and said that he had managed to sort it all for me and a letter and cheque were in the post. SUCCESS, I received it in the post this morning for £3645, in the same post i got a letter from the accountant asking if i had been in contact with HMRC and if so could I drop in the figures they had come up with, which I did, only for him to drop a letter through my letter box tonight charging me £225 for his services, WHAT SERVICES, I DID THE WORK NOT HIM, HE ONLY HAD THE PAPERS 4 HOURS IN HIS OFFICE, AND HE WASN'T EVEN IN WHEN I GAVE THEM TO HIS SECRETARY WHO HAD PP'd THE LETTER, HOW DO I KNOW HE EVEN LOOKED AT THE FIGURES IF HE COULDN'T BE BOTHERED TO SIGN HIS NAME. To say he was going to do me a favour, i think i have been fleeced.