HMRC - Tax Underpayment for 2007-2008

NatalieM_4

Hi There,

On Saturday I received a letter from HMRC asking for a tax underpayment of £628.11 from all the way back in 2007-2008.

However I believe their figures to be wrong but may have trouble proving it.

I started the tax year working for a company on a contract that expired in June. I have all the documentation for this.
I then moved onto a month long temping job with Reed for July - which I never received any payslips for so only have evidence of what tax was paid apart from the net amount which is displayed on my statement.

Before finally starting in August with my current employer which I have a nice P60 for.

Having worked out my gross earnings from Job 1 with my payslips and Job 3 with my P60 and adding in the net payment in my account from Reed, I can tell that my earnings were slightly more than what is on my tax calculation. Plus even without the information provided from Reed for what tax I did pay - I have also paid about £30 more tax than they have suggested.

Would I need to retrieve payslips from Reed in order to prove this, or would bank statements be sufficient? Getting these details from Reed would prove a nightmare as I tried at the time to obtain some form of pay breakdown but they were very bone idle in dealing with my request and I guess I thought it was only one month missing from my filing and wouldn't be a big deal.


I'm pretty aggrieved as they are saying they will be taking the payment back as soon as this coming April, in installments. However, I am now on maternity leave receiving only statutory pay and every penny counts at the moment so I can enjoy the 9 months off with my sons which I planned and budgeted well for.

Does anyone know if I can put the onus on HMRC to provide me with a further breakdown of the details they hold? Their tax calculation is extremely vague.

Thanks in advance

angelpie1000

Natalie.

Unfortunately the onus is on you to retain records to prove your income and tax paid. You would therefore need to prove the tax you paid.

If it's any consolation, you aren't alone in this situation, HMRC have been issuing similar notices to a huge number of taxpayers over the past few months.

There are a number of arguments you could submit, which include ESC A19. If you do a google search for "PAYE fiasco" you will find more details and a link to a sample letter you could send to challenge your position.

Above all, don't accept their first rejection letter, keep challenging!!

Good Luck
Karen

NatalieM_4

Thanks Karen.

That is a great help. I'll get stuck into challenging it.

jennifernil

I think you would be better to try and get some proof of what you really have earned/paid, so you can challenge their figures if they are wrong.

They will act on information from your employers, so you really need to have all the correct figures first. Did you have P45s to pass to your new employers? Or complete P46s? These are needed to get your tax code correct.

If you post some figures on earnings and tax deducted, and your code number(s) for 2007/08, someone will be able to check it for you.