The Edcawber Principle

Suffolk_lass

We cross posted - Do you recognise if your (tax deductible) pension contributions are on there?

Not sure if you would have done a tax return (most PAYE don't). Can you see the reduction (to your salary in this job) for the unpaid leave on there?

Is your tax code 1185L?

teapot2

Yes, I was wondering as to why you'd get this if you are on PAYE? I also think its good to phone HMRC and have them go through the figures in the letter and explain them so you hopefully get some clarity. I've always found them helpful though it sometimes takes a while to get through. If you are going to phone, I'd suggest doing it fairly soon, with the end of the year coming up they get much busier.

If its possible and you do owe the money would you prefer to have your tax code adjusted to take back the money rather than paying it out from your funds in a lump sum?

beanielou

Boo to the tax man

edinburgher

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

We cross posted - Do you recognise if your (tax deductible) pension contributions are on there?

Not sure if you would have done a tax return (most PAYE don't). Can you see the reduction (to your salary in this job) for the unpaid leave on there?

Is your tax code 1185L?

No tax return.

All I've got are figures for income, tax and savings. I'll try and dig out a P60 for two employers ago and see what they said in terms of deductions. I was paying heavily into my DC pension at that point because of salary sacrifice, wondering if they've somehow cocked it up because of that?

I didn't have the heart to dig out the paperwork last night - went for a jog instead, followed by a Chinese takeaway as Mrs E is off today

Suffolk_lass

The other possibility that occurred to me is that your current employer did not process the unpaid leave correctly and did not adjust your annual income to reflect the lower salary. SO while your salary was lower and adjusted, the PAYE update was not processed right.

I know what you mean about paperwork. We had to empty the trailer at the weekend - DH had been storing the contents of the roof in it (since the rat episode). - "Put it in the dining room, and I'll have a go at sorting it out" said I, thinking it was about 6 boxes.

There are 23 boxes or crates and two large bags :eek: I need to go through all of it. Needless to say I found better things to do yesterday and Monday - but it is just there. A monkey on my back.

And today is supposed to be happiness day - just to rub it in.

Moneyfordreams

No idea how to challenge it , but when that happened to me several years ago for £1700 ish they allowed me to payback at £50 a month after a tearful phone call. I was working extra shifts for the same employer but on 2 parts of the payroll. I knew I was getting taxed too little on what was considered to be 2nd job. That was for 3 years but they made another error and it ended up being only for 2 years.

edinburgher

@SL - unpaid leave not a factor. I mentioned unpaid leave as a comparison - i.e. my recent unpaid leave cost less per month than this !!!! up.

edinburgher

Have decided that life is too short. I don't have the tax nous to figure this one out and I spent a frustrating 1/2 hour on the phone to a man who I strongly suspect was not actually called "Peter" :rotfl:

There are several issues with the P800, but not all of them are negative. For example, I have been given the standard allowance of £11,500 for tax year 2017-2018, despite the fact that I have a letter in colour stating that my actual personal allowance was nearly £500 lower than this. I'm wary of stirring the pot and having it get worse.

I just pray that this will be the last unexpected demand. I have been directly employed by the local authority since June 2017, surely they can't !!!! up PAYE when I've not changed employer during the subsequent tax year? :eek:

Debsnewbudget

Are you in a union Ed as I know Unison had a tax dept to help people. If not, an accountant will generally offer a free half hour call in a similar way to solicitors.

Suffolk_lass

edinburgher wrote: »

@SL - unpaid leave not a factor. I mentioned unpaid leave as a comparison - i.e. my recent unpaid leave cost less per month than this !!!! up.

I realised that, but it could be the variation in year that lies behind this. Or your salary sacrifice/additional pension may have been misreported. My mention of it is that the tax code allocated to you is applied to your salary for the year at one twelfth a month. If your employer did not tell hmrc when you lowered your salary by taking unpaid leave, it would look to hmrc as though you had underpaid your tax and result in a tax code notice. Maybe check with your pay section to see if they can help, if you can bear to pursue it.