Self Assessment Penalty

incurable

I'd be grateful if anyone could offer a little advice on my problem.

Around 1998 I was self employed this ended in 2001 and I went paye with another company. I didn't fill in any more self assessment forms as stupidly I just thought they would notice I was on paye. Around 2008 after some letters I contacted my local tax office who said I should fill in the forms that where outstanding so I sent them in with self assentment income as £0 on each. Anyway it's come to a head again this year with a letter saying that the outstanding debt of just under £1000 will be taken from my tax code. I contacted the contact center and asked them to look into it, they responded with a letter saying I owed fines from 03/04 (£350) 04/05 (£350) and 05/06 (£210) why two are for £350 and one is £210 is a mystery.

In two of those years I was unemployed and the third on paye is there anyway to explain to the tax office that I shouldn't have to pay them or are they just going to take it no matter what I say?

I hope I've explained it properly and advanced thanks for any help.

Skint_yet_Again

incurable wrote: »

I'd be grateful if anyone could offer a little advice on my problem.

Around 1998 I was self employed this ended in 2001 and I went paye with another company. I didn't fill in any more self assessment forms as stupidly I just thought they would notice I was on paye. Around 2008 after some letters I contacted my local tax office who said I should fill in the forms that where outstanding so I sent them in with self assentment income as £0 on each. Anyway it's come to a head again this year with a letter saying that the outstanding debt of just under £1000 will be taken from my tax code. I contacted the contact center and asked them to look into it, they responded with a letter saying I owed fines from 03/04 (£350) 04/05 (£350) and 05/06 (£210) why two are for £350 and one is £210 is a mystery.

In two of those years I was unemployed and the third on paye is there anyway to explain to the tax office that I shouldn't have to pay them or are they just going to take it no matter what I say?

I hope I've explained it properly and advanced thanks for any help.

They should have given you a breakdown of the "fines". These should be listed as late tax return penalties or surcharges or interest.

If you did not complete returns for 2003/4 2004/5 or 2005/6 there would have been automatic penalties of £100 when the return was not received by the due date, and a further second penalty of £100 if you still had not filed your return 6 months after the due date. Interest would accrue on these penalties if they have not been paid.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/sammanual/SAM61020.htm

For the years in question you now strictly speaking out of time and it may be too late to do anything about this now. However old tax returns are still available to print off here

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100203175017/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk//sa/forms/content.htm

I think you will have to pay the penalties. However you could also try filling in the relevant years returns and send them to HMRC with a letter asking them if they will accept the returns even though the years are out of date.... but maybe unlikely they will accept them after all this time. If the returns are accepted and there is no additional liability to pay for those years then the penalties should be reduced to zero

Hope that helps