£1250 TAX BILL AS ACCOUNTANT DIDN'T SUBMIT PAYROLL, WHAT CAN I DO AS ACCOUNTANT IGNORING ME?

Greatknieghton1

Hi, Thanks for looking... 

I had a small ltd company doing catering with a small turnover and I have received a £1250 tax bill from my 2018/2019 tax return, It seems my accountant/tax advisor did not submit payroll for my small company which employs my partner as we verbally discussed at the time of submitting my accounts which has led to the fine.

The company is no longer trading and on his advise he let the company be struck off although i was unaware he did so before he submitted payroll.
when I last managed to speak to him in march this yr he told me this on the phone and said he would retrospectively submit the payroll although since then he is now totally ignoring me after many many attempts to talk to him as HMRC are chasing this payment 

I have emailed, phoned, txt, everything and he is purposely ignoring me even after telling his secretary many times that this has put me in financial difficulty and really affecting my mental health as I cant afford to clear the fine and really didn't deserve it. 
Just as an extra the same accountant has got me late submission fine on 2 occasions ( I should of taken the warning then)

I wonder what I can do to get this resolved I am unsure if his company is regulated as I would complain to them although its not on the company website and didnt ask them yet as i know it will get their back up and i was hopeful they could/would still help although seems very unlikely after all this time also I only discussed this via telephone and have no paper evidence that he said he would submit the payroll

Thanks for reading and if you could offer any advise it wold be really appreciated. 

unholyangel

Clarification required. 

Operating PAYE would be a responsibility of the limited company. The limited company is legally separate from you as a person, it has it's own obligations, rights, interests etc. Any penalty for failing to operate PAYE would be levied on the company and wouldn't be shown anywhere on your Self Assessment tax return. 

So, what exactly have you received? Is it a penalty? If so, what kind of penalty? And is it indeed on your Self Assessment? 

Greatknieghton1

Hi, Thanks for taking the time to respond.

It is on my self assessment....
its a letter saying we still have not received payment for your overdue self assessment amount, 
there is a statement of liabilities tax calclation for 20182019 with it that shows 
pay from all employments
profit from self employment 
total income received 
mins personal allowance 
total income on which tax is due. 

it seems to me that the accountant has put all business earning through my personal tax when he was meant to submit the payroll to show my partners paid employment in the business

hope that makes sense 

Thanks v much

unholyangel

Greatknieghton1 said:

Hi, Thanks for taking the time to respond.

It is on my self assessment....
its a letter saying we still have not received payment for your overdue self assessment amount, 
there is a statement of liabilities tax calclation for 20182019 with it that shows 
pay from all employments
profit from self employment 
total income received 
mins personal allowance 
total income on which tax is due. 

it seems to me that the accountant has put all business earning through my personal tax when he was meant to submit the payroll to show my partners paid employment in the business

hope that makes sense 

Thanks v much

So not a penalty? Did you receive a statement of liabilities, a tax calculation or both? Tax calculation shows your liability for a particular year while the statement shows your "account balance" so to speak. 

Has your partner checked their personal tax account to see if:
a) your company was listed as an employer (and if so, for which dates) and,
b) if there were any PAYE earnings reported for her/him? 

Did you submit a previous return for the 2018/2019 year? If so how do the details on the new return differ from the details on the previous return? Is £1250 the amount on the statement of liability or the tax calcuation (or both)? 

uknick

I'm more than a little confused by this.

My reading is the OP ran a Ltd company and used an "accountant" to do the company payroll, tax and, I assume, Companies House, returns.

The accountant did not submit to HMRC PAYE information as requested by the OP.  This payroll information showed the OP's partner as an employee of the Ltd company.  A fine against the company may have been issued for this oversight.

The company ceased trading and was "struck off" before the payroll was submitted.

The OP has now received a tax bill against their 2018-19 self assessment as a) it is overdue and b) apparently the accountant put the Ltd profits against the OP as personal income.

Seems to be a right old Horlicks of a situation with an awful lot to be sorted out.

First, have somebody who knows what they're doing look at your self assessments as well as your Ltd company tax and accounting returns.  It doesn't need to be a qualified accountant, but you so get some protection if they are qualified, see below.  They'll be able to recreate what should have happened and, if you wish, write to HMRC (and maybe Companies House) on your behalf to try to sort it out.  This will cost, and you may wish to weigh up the cost of their time against what HMRC are asking for. 
  
Next, you should check the accountant's true professional status against the list of members held by the various CCAB members, i.e. ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW (if in the England or Wales).  If they are a true qualified member pursue it through their body as an official complaint.  A complaint such as you are inferring will be taken seriously.

[Deleted User]

Thinking outside the box - was a salary up to the LEL supposed to have been paid to the op’s partner? It wasn’t, obviously and paid to the op instead without tax.

20% of the LEL would approximately equate to the liability of £1250?