Underpayment in Tax due to Benefit in kind

talkshowhostess

Hi there,
I have just been informed that while working for a major mobile telecoms company while in uni, I recieved healthcare insurance to the tune of £444. I left the company in May 2012, but it seems HMRC were only informed of this benefit at the end of the tax year. Because I no longer work there, I have been told over the phone that I owe for tax on that, and they wouldnt tell me over the phone, I am now stressing out.

However, can I dispute this as being the fault of my employer for not insuring I was taxed on this during my employment? Surely the people in payroll should have known that was taxable and insured I wasnt underpaying?

Any advice on how to word my letter to HMRC to dispute this would be greatly apreciated!

talkshowhostess

Thanks so much for the reply so fast! Can I ask, in your experience, my guess is I should expect to pay no more than 20% of that amount, which should be less than £100, and as I am a freelancer who changes jobs all the time, I am paying a week one rate at the moment so I am overpaying, I hoe this will be covered in this tax year... Thanks again... albeit crappy news.. I think i will write a letter anyway, they HMRC guy said they would try and chase up the employer so its worth a shot I guess...

p00hsticks

Did your previous employer not send you a P11D at the end of the tax year ? (usually around June time). This should tell you your benefits in kind and how much they are worth, so you can work out how much tax is due. It sounds like one was produced as a copy also gets sent to HMRC whcih is how they most likely found out about it.

If you'd stayed working for the same employer, then HMRC would then probably have adjusted your tax code for this and probably subsequent years (as they tend to assume that you received the same benefits each year) to cover the unpaid tax.

If you are working now, you can probably ask them to adjust your tax code for this year to pay it back if you don't have the money to hand, but make sure you check that they change it back to the default next year as you won;t still be getting the benefit.

talkshowhostess

I am sure thats the problem, that I left the job just as I would have been due to pay it back through tax... I am from Ireland, and this is all new to me, I thought I had it down but obviously I didnt realise there was so much more to it!! I work in the media on a contract basis so I think I will be looking for a good accountant now... But if anyone knows how much I can expect to pay, that would be great to know, as I hate worrying about a huge bill coming through..