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Help with self assessment nightmare
mrsiwannabefree
Posts: 102 Forumite
in Cutting tax
Hi
My brother is self employed and does his self assessment forms and returns them each year by post.
He recently split with his wife and has moved back in with my mum, I wrote to the tax office to inform them of his change of address.
Since then he has been inundated with letters, at least 1 a day!
Firstly they wrote to say that they hadn't received a sa form for 2007/8, then they wrote to say they hadn't received a sa form for 2010/11.
So I contacted his wife who said that they'd definitely been sent off but that she never kept copies. So I wrote to the tax office saying that they had been sent.
They're now sending late penalty fees totalling £1600 so far and say that they have got his sa form for 2007/8 but haven't received any since then!
His wife says she's got no copies of any paperwork or receipts (I think she has binned everything after the split!)
I've no idea what to do now that I can't even recreate the returns for each year and the penalty fees are piling up!
He's also getting letters address to him saying he's been overpaid child tax credit, but he's never claimed it. He's got letters addressed to his wife at my mum's too and she's never lived there.
I've tried to register him online for sa returns but they say he's already registered so now I've been hanging on the phone for half an hour trying to talk to someone.
What is my next step to help him sort this giant mess out? Can he authorise them to talk to me on a permanent basis as he's out from 5.30 in the morning and doesn't get home til 7
I'd appreciate any advice you can give us
My brother is self employed and does his self assessment forms and returns them each year by post.
He recently split with his wife and has moved back in with my mum, I wrote to the tax office to inform them of his change of address.
Since then he has been inundated with letters, at least 1 a day!
Firstly they wrote to say that they hadn't received a sa form for 2007/8, then they wrote to say they hadn't received a sa form for 2010/11.
So I contacted his wife who said that they'd definitely been sent off but that she never kept copies. So I wrote to the tax office saying that they had been sent.
They're now sending late penalty fees totalling £1600 so far and say that they have got his sa form for 2007/8 but haven't received any since then!
His wife says she's got no copies of any paperwork or receipts (I think she has binned everything after the split!)
I've no idea what to do now that I can't even recreate the returns for each year and the penalty fees are piling up!
He's also getting letters address to him saying he's been overpaid child tax credit, but he's never claimed it. He's got letters addressed to his wife at my mum's too and she's never lived there.
I've tried to register him online for sa returns but they say he's already registered so now I've been hanging on the phone for half an hour trying to talk to someone.
What is my next step to help him sort this giant mess out? Can he authorise them to talk to me on a permanent basis as he's out from 5.30 in the morning and doesn't get home til 7
I'd appreciate any advice you can give us
0
Comments
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Was he doing paper returns, or online? If he is registered online I think there should be records for previous years.Signature removed for peace of mind0
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He was doing paper returns, he knows they were sent off every year and in good time, but they're saying they haven't received them0
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If he wants you act on his behalf, he will need to sign a 64-8
64-8 - Authorising your agent
On this page:
Forms
64-8 (PDF, 188KB) Form 64-8 authorises us to communicate with an accountant, tax agent or adviser acting on your behalf. The form covers authorisation for individual tax affairs (partnerships, trusts, tax credits and individuals under PAYE) and business taxes (VAT, PAYE for employers and Corporation Tax). If you're a personal representative you can use form 64-8 in certain circumstances to ask HMRC to deal directly with an agent.
Alternatively your tax agent or adviser can use HM Revenue & Customs' online authorisation service - which is quick and secure.
Read more about applying for agent authorisation online
http://search2.hmrc.gov.uk/kb5/hmrc/forms/view.page?formid=14&record=cZuAgB_KEpk
which can be downloaded OR he can a sign a letter authorising you to act on his behalf.
Unless he can produce his returns he *MAY* have to pay the fines especially as he hasnt retained the records.
Get him to sign up for online filing then returns cant get lost again (unless the computer says no !).0 -
Has he been getting statements and making payments to HMRC?The only thing that is constant is change.0
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I do think that you/your brother needs to write to HMRC setting out all the information you gave above.0
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If he wants you act on his behalf, he will need to sign a 64-8
64-8 - Authorising your agent
On this page:
Forms
64-8 (PDF, 188KB) Form 64-8 authorises us to communicate with an accountant, tax agent or adviser acting on your behalf. The form covers authorisation for individual tax affairs (partnerships, trusts, tax credits and individuals under PAYE) and business taxes (VAT, PAYE for employers and Corporation Tax). If you're a personal representative you can use form 64-8 in certain circumstances to ask HMRC to deal directly with an agent.
Alternatively your tax agent or adviser can use HM Revenue & Customs' online authorisation service - which is quick and secure.
Read more about applying for agent authorisation online
http://search2.hmrc.gov.uk/kb5/hmrc/forms/view.page?formid=14&record=cZuAgB_KEpk
which can be downloaded OR he can a sign a letter authorising you to act on his behalf.
Unless he can produce his returns he *MAY* have to pay the fines especially as he hasnt retained the records.
Get him to sign up for online filing then returns cant get lost again (unless the computer says no !).
The computer did say no! So he's ringing HMRC today to sort it out as they are open on Saturdays now.
We've posted a letter today authorising me to act on his behalf, thanks for you help0 -
zygurat789 wrote: »Has he been getting statements and making payments to HMRC?
Before I advised HMRC of a change of address he didn't ever get any correspondence from them. Each year he has been entitled to a refund but hasn't had it, he's tried in the past to get to the bottom of why they're not refunding overpaid tax but they give him a different excuse each time, which is why I'm now trying to help him sort all of this out0 -
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Tax legislation for years up to and including 2010/11 meant penalties were limited to the tax outstanding at 31 January following the tax year. So if refunds were due then this just leaves 2011/12 outstanding and 2012/13 due by jan 2014.
I would therefore file 2011/12 ASAP even if you estimate it (there's a box to tick) and the adjust it later.Running challenge 2014 = 689k / 800k0 -
Tax legislation for years up to and including 2010/11 meant penalties were limited to the tax outstanding at 31 January following the tax year. So if refunds were due then this just leaves 2011/12 outstanding and 2012/13 due by jan 2014.
I would therefore file 2011/12 ASAP even if you estimate it (there's a box to tick) and the adjust it later.
Thanks for the advice I'll get that done this weekend0
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