Help with underpayment of tax

countrygirl84

I'm posting this in the hope that somebody can help me....
In September 2007 I changed jobs, I left NatWest and joined Sellafield. Sellafield became my main employer and I put NatWest as my second employer as I hoped to work for a few days now and again to boost up my income. NatWest didn't change my tax code to BR and therefore kept paying money into my bank account every month that they claimed was overpayment of tax. I questioned them at the time about it and told them that I shouldn't be receiving the money but it continued. Eventually it was sorted and they stopped paying me money. I called HMRC at the time and clearly stted to them on numerous occasions that I had now underpaid tax as NatWest had been giving me taxebates and they shouldn't have been. On each occasion HMRC told me not to worry and that at the end of the tax year they would do a recalculation and take any underpyment off me over the following tax year. I heard nothing from them. In December 2010 I received a letter from them stating that I owed them money and that they would be taking it out of my wages during tax year 2010/2011. I argued with them at the time saying that it wasn't my fault and that I had clearly informed them and my previous employers bubt that nobody had taken any notice of me. Lots of letters were passed back and forth and I seemed to be getting nowhere. I requested a copy of my calls and have just received them. I have listened to the calls and I clearly state on them that I had probably underpaid and they told me not to worry and that they would do a calculation at the end of the tax year (April 2008).
My argument with them is that they were aware of the situation and they didn't do anything about it within a reasonable timescale. I have read somewhere that if you can prove they were well aware of the situation and they didn't do anything then you can fight your case.
So, my question is this... Can anybody help me in trying to argue my case with them? Templates for letters? Or wording? Anything? It takes so long to pass correspondence to and from HMRC that I want to be very clear on what I say and have a valid argument. I am now on maternity and receiving only £125 per week and they are still taking this underpayment from me.

countrygirl84

I have found this link.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/reclaim/2011/03/thousands-get-tax-demands-written-off-using-hmrc-loophole

countrygirl84

Quick update. I've now contacted their telephone helpline and after spending 51 minutes on the phone (25 minutes of this on hold), they're looking into this A19 thing.

chrismac1

First a warning - I am a dodgy Lake District accountant per the HMRC stooges on this site. However, I am happy to stand by the track record of people I've helped on here over the past 2 years, and I reckon I have something like a 95% win-loss record over HMRC. So you can look at previous posts and make your own mind up.

Not even one of the stooges would surely question that you've behaved as a reasonable taxpayer. Esc A19 or just writing off this debt should be what any reasonable tax body would do, clearly it's ridiculous to wait 2 and a half years and then start taxing you.

If you look into the - too many to mention - Esc A19 posts on this site, you'll see that most of the wins come only after 3 or 4 letters. In fact this is common with HMRC, even when they know they are up against accountants who are clearly not going to be intimidated by them into throwing in the towel.

So if you get rejected by phone, apply in writing. When they reply, if they reject your letter, see if anything in their letter is specific to your case. Often they just spit out standard rejection letters without bothering to read what you have written. So at the very least keep writing until you reach the stage where someone in HMRC has clearly bothered to read your letter properly.

Mikeyorks

countrygirl84 wrote: »

I'm posting this in the hope that somebody can help me....
.

I'm a bit puzzled what you're after. You had the underpayment letter (P800?) well over a year ago? And they've coded the underpayment out in 10-11 ..... which tax year completes in 2 x pay days. So you've presumably paid the majority back? ESC A19 works in that HMRC will give up an underpayment (time limits apply) where they've had information they haven't acted upon. They won't offset an overpayment for another year against a year where ESC A19 applies - but I've never known them repay tax specifically recovered against an underpayment where ESC A19 subsequently applies. However...

You have 2 courses open. The first is to claim employer error. But I think that fails at the first hurdle if :

and I put NatWest as my second employer

.... that reference isn't to a P46 you filed with NatWest? It would appear you left yourself on the NatWest payroll - hence the continuing refunds. So presumably no P45 from them? Which puts employer error as a very outside chance?
The 2nd route is ESC A19 - which requires HMRC to have information they didn't act upon. And for you to believe your affairs were in order. You clearly fail that aspect - as you knew things weren't in order.

However - you drew that to HMRC attention, which I believe obviates that aspect as it essentially restarts the clock. And the information you provided is considered to be information that HMRC should have acted upon (first bullet) - and promised to do so.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/pommanual/PAYE95045.htm

As they failed - then ESC A19 is the right route to go down. But, as earlier, I don't think they have any leeway to backdate the concession to prior to starting to recover the underpayment at the start of 10-11. You can but try.

I would write - not leave it to the 'phone call - and leave it as simply stating you alerted them to the underpayment as it started to arise. And they have failed to act upon that information - despite promising to do so. Quote the date / time - small subset of the transcript fron the recording you have. And leave it at that.