PAYE - Underpayment

shack48

HMRC informed me last August that I had been underpaying tax since April 2008. Having made enquiries it was revealed that this has happened because my employer hasn't applied PAYE correctly. Despite numerous letters to HMRC explaining this I cannot get them to investigate my employers liability they just keep telling me that they cant invoke ESC A19 and I must pay the outstanding amount.

I have made appointments at the local tax office and also phoned the national help line to be told I must write in and that I cannot speak to anyone face to face re this.

Whilst initially shocked by this I agree with the calculation but disagree that this is my liability.

Please can anyone advise me as to how I can get my points over to HMRC because since August last year nobody has listened.

Cat1

shack48 wrote: »

HMRC informed me last August that I had been underpaying tax since April 2008. Having made enquiries it was revealed that this has happened because my employer hasn't applied PAYE correctly. Despite numerous letters to HMRC explaining this I cannot get them to investigate my employers liability they just keep telling me that they cant invoke ESC A19 and I must pay the outstanding amount.

I have made appointments at the local tax office and also phoned the national help line to be told I must write in and that I cannot speak to anyone face to face re this.

Whilst initially shocked by this I agree with the calculation but disagree that this is my liability.
Please can anyone advise me as to how I can get my points over to HMRC because since August last year nobody has listened.

I work on an enquiry centre and we aren't allowed to enter into discussion about ESC A19. Have you spoken to someone from the P800 specialist team (UST?) The contact centre adviser should be able to connect you to one of the specialists or arrange for a call back.

You need to submit the proof that your employer has failed to operate PAYE correctly - HMRC don't investigate individual cases as far as I know

BoGoF

To pass liability on to your employer it has to be demonstrated that it was negligent conduct on their part and not just a simple mistake.

What exactly have they failed to do?

shack48

Cat1 wrote: »

I work on an enquiry centre and we aren't allowed to enter into discussion about ESC A19. Have you spoken to someone from the P800 specialist team (UST?) The contact centre adviser should be able to connect you to one of the specialists or arrange for a call back.

You need to submit the proof that your employer has failed to operate PAYE correctly - HMRC don't investigate individual cases as far as I know

Thanks anyway, but having spoken to the contact centre they tried to connect me to the department dealing with this but they refused to speak to me directly and told the contact centre to tell me to write in.

shack48

BoGoF wrote: »

To pass liability on to your employer it has to be demonstrated that it was negligent conduct on their part and not just a simple mistake.

What exactly have they failed to do?

They failed to act on the details on my P45 when I commenced employment and they put me on a wrong tax code.

John_Pierpoint

The problem you might have is showing that HMRC received information by 5 April 2009. Perhaps it only got to know in May 2009 when it received the annual return from your employer? It then has 12 months from the end of the tax year, which is 5 April 2011.

I too have been in the "piggy in the middle" situation with an organisation claiming to have deducted X in tax and HMRC claiming Y (should/must have been) deducted.

Is your employer prepared to back up your version of the facts?
(Is there any other evidence to show that your employer should be fined for incompetence - or is it just your payroll account that has been messed up?)

To get ESC A19 you have to provide an audit trail in writing. (I would hope, after all it is other tax payers' money HMRC is giving away).

Others on here have suggested that if you put something like "Official Complaint - Disputed Account" highlighted on your envelope, it will get picked out of the 3 month magic mystery tour that loses difficult to answer letters.

Little_Helper

Suggest you go the website of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group and use one of their template letters...they cover both employer and HMRC error