HMRC are sending me mad...

stoneystretton

Anyway HMRC sorted it last year and she is up to date and repaying tax back over 3 years. Currently in the 2nd of 3.

CLAPTON

I'm a little confused but is this right?

1. for a number of years (5) she was paying too little tax?
2. can you say which years, as usually the HMRC dont go back more tha 6 years.
3. She was aware she was paying too little tax during these years.
4. She eventually told the HMRC or they noticed and they recalculated her back tax.
5.Rather than demand the tax back in one lump sum, they have spread the repayment over a 3 year period.
6. They have done this the standard way by adjusting her tax code.
7. She now believes that they made a mistake in working out the underpaid tax (for 2 years).
8. I'm unclear about this but this was to her advantage? .. which years does this apply to ?
9. She has now remembered that she didn't claim expenses which she could have done.... which years is this for.


So far the HMRC seems to have acted reasonably except for the bit about making a mistake to her advantage.

So what does she want to complain about?

CLAPTON

If a notice of coding was issued and her employer didn't act on it then its the employers fault rather than the HMRC. However she could have been proactive in talking to her employer and getting it sorted.

They adjust (reduce) her tax code for the whole year to reclaim back tax.
I afraid your friend is talking nonsense.


So as I see it, she is stressing about whether she should reclaim tax on her expenses but is concerned they might discover the untaxation from the previous years.

Without knowing the figures for this I rather inclined to think she has done quite well and I don't really understand why she's stressed about this.

In fact I think the HMRC has acted rather generously to phase the repayments over a period of time rather than demand it back as a lump sum.