MSE News: Millions more forced to pay £100s in tax underpayments

m1974m

This is a dangerous MSE news item that is designed to invoke fear into us. I have taken the step to report it. The MSE site need to tread very carefully with yet another inappropriate attack. MSE need to remember that they are liable for what is published on this site.

suso

The article is so bad, was it written by chrismac ????

Former_MSE_Dan

Hi all,

Thanks for the helpful comments.

We've made a couple of updates to help clarify points of the story - however I feel that as a whole this is a worthwhile warning to taxpayers that a request for extra payments may be coming.

We have a huge, many-thousand word guide to how the income tax overpayments and underpayments work - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/check-tax-code - and this is linked to in the news story.

Actually the largest calculated underpayment that can be collected via PAYE is £2000

Thanks, I have updated this. Sometimes we use pre-written stories from the Press Association, but it is still our duty to fact-check, and I missed that on this one.

dori2o

The report is still very inaccurate, such as

employers failing to supply information relating to changes in working arrangements or company benefits.

The employer has no responsibility to report such changes in year, only at the year end via P60 and P11d, by which time it is too late.

You would be far better using the article to advise people of what THEIR responsibilities are when it comes to income tax and changes to their incomes/employer benefits/expenses, and what they should do when leaving/starting employments etc rather than using it as another excuse to bash HMRC and its staff staff. Some of whom come on here to help peoplewih their tax isses, at risk of disciplinary action by HMRC if they are caught doing so.

AirlieBird

dori2o wrote: »

Actually the largest calculated underpayment that can be collected via PAYE is £2000

It is at the minute, but the proposal is to increase it to £3,000 from April 2012. It seems secondary legislation will be laid before parliament to allow this to happen in the next month.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ConsultationDocuments&propertyType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_PROD1_031396

dori2o

AirlieBird wrote: »

It is at the minute, but the proposal is to increase it to £3,000 from April 2012. It seems secondary legislation will be laid before parliament to allow this to happen in the next month.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ConsultationDocuments&propertyType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_PROD1_031396

Learn something new everyday. However, we still must wait for it to be passed, but thanks for the information. I wish we had more of this information passed to us at work.

Still doesn't change the fact that the report, even after amendment, is still a clear example of shoddy reporting.

As I stated above, this would be the ideal opportunity to educate people in the basic personal responsbilities when it comes to personal income tax.

It's amazing the number of people (employers included) who do not know what to do with P45, and for that reason allow them to get lost, or even throw them away.

Who here knows what to do if you have no P45?

Who knows what the emergency code for 2011/12 is? or where to find out what it is?

What is the importance of a P60/P60U and who issues it?

How do you claim a tax refund?

What should I take with me when I first sign on for JSA/ESA?

What should I ensure I get from my old employer/from the DWP when I leave work/sign off JSA/ESA?

Surely it is better to give this kind of advice in the report, rather than scaremongering and trying to intensify relations between the general public and HMRC staff again? I personally could do without being shouted at by people who claim to ave information that we have messed up following reading reports in the DM or on websites such as this, when in fact it could be that the blame actually lies with the individual themselves. (They don't take kindly to being told this).

I'm still disappointed in this report and the fact that it is still giving factually incorrect information.

Pennywise

Have to agree with dori2o about this. MSE have got this one completely wrong. I'm not an apologist for HMRC and will criticise and complain about them when justified, but in this case, HMRC are doing their job, and actually doing it properly, just like they used to do before the foul-ups of the last 2-3 years. In actual fact, they're probably doing it quicker and more accurately than ever. So, really HMRC should be praised for getting people's tax right.

Criticising HMRC for doing things properly doesn't do MSE any favours. There are plenty of things that HMRC do wrong but whingeing about things they do right is counter-productive and dilutes the more accurate reporting and complaining about their weaknesses. Please, MSE, do the decent thing and either correct or remove the article.

Legion90

This article is very poorly written and mis-informed and i have never said anything like that previously. I feel HMRC are getting the blame for something that is the normal part of the PAYE process. It is NORMAL for there to be underpayments and overpayments.

Can MSE just advise the best thing for taxpayers to do rather than continuing to go on a HMRC bash.

m1974m

Thank you for all those who are continuing to post the problems with this article. Despite MSE Dan's "couple of updates" the article remains inaccurate and overcritical of HMRC. No-one has posted their support of the article. Either MSE are naive and ignorant, or there is a hidden agenda - I suspect the latter. The report is defamatory and this goes against forum rules. I will continue to report this article until it is removed.

pleasedelete

In year they can take tax underpayments with no cap. I had 11k (entire salary) taken in March with no warning.

Company and I both challenged it but they said it was allowed. It was an incorrect tax code which had been in place for entire year (debate whether it was company or hmrc at fault).