Under payment advice required

kmac79

I was told by the tax office today I owe them £600+

I worked part time in a bar earning between £70 and £90 a week, so no tax was being taken from my wage. This was originally my main job, however towards the end of my employment I was given a full time job with another company and kept this job for pocket money.

The other job became my main employer according to the girl in the tax office so they would have all my allowances use so my original employer should then have started taking 20% tax from me, they never did. I questioned this several times with both employers and was told at all times everything was correct. Now in 2012 its become clear someone got it badly wrong.

Can anyone help me out on this. Can this tax be claimed from me, as I was under the impression everything was all correct every year until now, and in fact had I not contacted them regarding something totally separate right now they would still be none the wiser. I am not trying to dodge it, but I trusted my employers to get everything right as it was PAYE, I had no hand in my own tax, perhaps if I had I would have paid it correctly. Is my employer the one at fault for jetting this happen, because I know of at least 2 others who had 2 jobs while there, the same will have happened to them.

Mikeyorks

As you kept the part time job there was no P45 to give to the new employer. So you would have completed a P46 (?) ....... which box did you tick?

kmac79

I know it was one stating that was my MAIN job, as it was since it was full time. There wasn't another box stating 2 jobs I don't think. I did take advice from the boss of the 2nd job which box to tick because obviously I had the other job.
Just checked out a p46 form and it must have changed since I did it because there was no box to tick for 2nd job I am sure of it, otherwise I would have ticked that so as not to land myself in the proverbial like now.

Mikeyorks

kmac79 wrote: »

it must have changed since I did it because there was no box to tick for 2nd job I am sure of it, otherwise I would have ticked that so as not to land myself in the proverbial like now.

It hasn't changed materially. The box which would have put you on 'BR' because you had a 2nd job has been that way for as long as I remember.
If you wanted that job to have all your allowances and the part time job to become secondary then you personally needed to contact HMRC to arrange that. Your employers can't do it for you.

kmac79

I had no idea I had to do anything otherwise I would have done it. I don't want to be in this position on a low wage, a single working mother with 2 young kids. £600 is a lot of cash I am going to struggle to find in the foreseeable future.
The girl at the tax office told me the full time job would have become my main job, does what you just said mean she doesn't have a clue what she's on about? You say I should have called, she says its automatic. I stand no chance if I am already being given the wrong advice by them
Also, on the p46 form it clearly has a box for a 2nd job......if its not changed how did I manage to tick the wrong one? I mean that as a question to myself....surely I am not that stupid, especially if I took advice on the box to tick because I had another job.....the other person must have missed it also.

Mikeyorks

Which year(s) do the underpayments relate to?

kmac79

08/09

It's so long ago, sadly I kept nothing from my employment then as I thought with us being in 11/12 tax year and nothing coming back from it I had been ok.....

Mikeyorks

OK. I can't really comment on why the girl you spoke to said that - as I don't know the context. But a simple P46 doesn't allow for you to instruct which should be the main job. Indeed - in the situation you describe - it certainly doesn't allow for you to invert where your personal allowance is utilised. Had the P46 been completed correctly then that would - I suspect - have led you to contact HMRC as your main source of income would be deducting 20% on everything. And you would have had unused allowances at the part time job.

Fast forward to the P8oo you have received. If you had been paying tax or NI on the part time job I'd be more confident of this - but I would be tempted to ask for ESC A19 to be applied. On the basis HMRC had information about both jobs at a much earlier stage than this (and you believed your affairs were in order). The detail is both here :

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/esc/esc.htm

........ and in the Notes with your P8oo. The fact you completed a P46 - albeit incorrectly - alerted them to the new / adduitional job. But this may fail if they were unaware of the part time job because you were under the tax / NI thresholds.

If all else fails - you can ask they Code out the £6oo over 3 years. I take it the situation with the jobs was resolved after 08/09?

kmac79

Yeah, I left the original part time one, went full time in my other job, I did take on another part timer after a few months but I was being taxed the 20% by the 2nd job which was correct I am hoping. I didn't keep that job for long though and just went back to the 1 full time position.

I appreciate your help here, I have no idea about any of this and stupidly rely on the tax office and my employers to do things correctly in my ignorance.

Mikeyorks

Did you use to get a P60 from the (08-09) part time job? As that would suggest the employer was advising HMRC of your pay details at least. And therefore give a lot more credence to the ESC A19 claim.

kmac79

Yeah I received a p60, but I didn't keep the copy I got from my employer. I got one from both jobs.