HMRC have sent me a cheque!

andrewthomas2008

Hi All,

This question is on behalf of my mother who has been sent a cheque of £300 from the HMRC which states she has made over payments in tax.

She does not want to cash the cheque as she thinks they may ask for it back at a later date.

She works full time as a civil servant and has only ever had 1 job, so she is not sure why they have sent her the cheque.

Could anyone let me know if she should just deposit the cheque into her account or should she call up first and clarify that they wont be asking for the money back at a later date.

Any help is very much appreciated.

Regards

Andrew

P.S.

Enjoy the Bank Holiday Weekend

notanewuser

Bank it.

I had a cheque recently because the bank deducted too much tax from the interest on my savings. There should be a calculation of the overpayment that comes at the same time as (but not with) the cheque. What does that say?

andrewthomas2008

Thanks for the reply.

The calculation says Tax overpaid is £336.90
Repayment due is £336.90.

But can the HMRC ask her for the money back at a later date.

notanewuser

andrewthomas2008 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

The calculation says Tax overpaid is £336.90
Repayment due is £336.90.

But can the HMRC ask her for the money back at a later date.

You need to look more closely at the calculation and check that they have the correct figures.

Can you post up what it says?

McKneff

If she works as a civil servant, surely she has the nouse to have knowledge of basic paye system.

Does she have a P60 for the relevant year. She could work it out from that.

seven-day-weekend

Bank the cheque but don't spend the money.

DCFC79

Pay it into a savings account and let it sit there until IF and when they ask for it back.

comeandgo

There should be a letter sent in another post, usually you get it the same day or there about, and it will explain why the overpayment. It will detail gross wages and tax already paid and the tax that should have been paid. I am very surprised your mum does not understand the tax system if she is civil servant. Not that all civil servants would understand it, just that she must have a good level of intellegence.

comeandgo

Can HMRC ask for the money back at a later date - of course they can if further information becomes available to them.

notanewuser

comeandgo wrote: »

There should be a letter sent in another post, usually you get it the same day or there about, and it will explain why the overpayment. It will detail gross wages and tax already paid and the tax that should have been paid. I am very surprised your mum does not understand the tax system if she is civil servant. Not that all civil servants would understand it, just that she must have a good level of intellegence.

:huh:

............

zerog

Think of it this way, if they do ask for it back, and you haven't banked it, then you'll have to pay them the money first and then ask them to trace their own cheque to prove that you didn't bank it...

You might say you could just send the cheque back, but what if they only ask for £100?