How do I tell HMRC of my new account?

jmkgreen

Hi all,

I am expecting a tax refund large enough to to returned to my bank account. The letter triggering this was sent around February with my account details included. I was told I am in a queue for processing a few weeks ago, there seems no way of phoning a human to check on this nowadays however.

I would now like to change banks given there is finally some competition. Given the above, the must be a risk that HMRC send money to my soon to be old account (which will presumably bounce). Is there a way to essentially update the account they have for me on their records?

Zanderman

If you use the current account switching service, which I assume you would be doing (there's no reason not to), payments to your old account are forwarded onto your new one. 

Have a read up of what account switching is about here:  https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk/

(edited to add:  HMRC often send cheques anyway don't they?)

Dazed_and_C0nfused

jmkgreen said:

Hi all,

I am expecting a tax refund large enough to to returned to my bank account. The letter triggering this was sent around February with my account details included. I was told I am in a queue for processing a few weeks ago, there seems no way of phoning a human to check on this nowadays however.

I would now like to change banks given there is finally some competition. Given the above, the must be a risk that HMRC send money to my soon to be old account (which will presumably bounce). Is there a way to essentially update the account they have for me on their records?

What sort of tax refund is this?

jmkgreen

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

jmkgreen said:

Hi all,

I am expecting a tax refund large enough to to returned to my bank account. The letter triggering this was sent around February with my account details included. I was told I am in a queue for processing a few weeks ago, there seems no way of phoning a human to check on this nowadays however.

I would now like to change banks given there is finally some competition. Given the above, the must be a risk that HMRC send money to my soon to be old account (which will presumably bounce). Is there a way to essentially update the account they have for me on their records?

What sort of tax refund is this?

Capital Gains. A commercial transaction spanned two years, I paid up front in full and am now entitled to some back.

GeoffTF

Zanderman said:

If you use the current account switching service, which I assume you would be doing (there's no reason not to), payments to your old account are forwarded onto your new one. 

Have a read up of what account switching is about here:  https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk/

(edited to add:  HMRC often send cheques anyway don't they?)

My bank account is the nominated account for many fixed term savings accounts. The video on that link says that payments will be redirected. Is there a time limit on that? Five years perhaps? It also says the senders will be notified of my new bank details. With they all really change my nominated account details automatically? I have opened accounts where the bank has said that money will only be returned to the account from which it came.

friolento

If you use Twitter, you can contact @HMRCcustomers with your question, Mo to Sat 8am to 8pm

eskbanker

GeoffTF said:
The video on that link says that payments will be redirected. Is there a time limit on that? Five years perhaps? 

Redirection continues for as long as it's needed - while payments continue to be redirected that perpetuates it, and the service itself carries on, past a minimum of three years, until there's a blank 13 month period without any such redirections.

blue.peter

Zanderman said:

(edited to add:  HMRC often send cheques anyway don't they?)

Not if they can help it. These days, they actively try to avoid it.

If they have details of a bank account, they'll send the money directly to that account. And they encourage you to provide those details so that they can do this. (I recently completed a paper tax return for my mother, and that form had a question seeking bank account details for any refund.) In any case, the OP said that they'd included their account details in the letter requesting their tax return, so HMRC certainly can't be expected to issue a cheque in this case.

Zanderman

GeoffTF said:

Zanderman said:

If you use the current account switching service, which I assume you would be doing (there's no reason not to), payments to your old account are forwarded onto your new one. 

Have a read up of what account switching is about here:  https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk/

(edited to add:  HMRC often send cheques anyway don't they?)

My bank account is the nominated account for many fixed term savings accounts. The video on that link says that payments will be redirected. Is there a time limit on that? Five years perhaps? It also says the senders will be notified of my new bank details. With they all really change my nominated account details automatically? I have opened accounts where the bank has said that money will only be returned to the account from which it came.

As eskbanker says above redirection continues for 3 years and then indefinitely until there's over a year with no incoming payments. 

If you're really worried about future payments not getting forwarded then you can of course advise organisations of the the changes yourself, but the whole principle of the CASS switching service is you shouldn't need to (at least not for most things, assuming that 3 year minimum followed by 13 month rule isn't enough).

If you're really really worried then don't close the original account, keep it and open another with the same bank to do switches with. That way you get to switch bank (and bag any switching bonus) and have the reassurance that your original account is still there and working - you don't actually need to use it very often.

GeoffTF

Zanderman said:

GeoffTF said:

Zanderman said:

If you use the current account switching service, which I assume you would be doing (there's no reason not to), payments to your old account are forwarded onto your new one. 

Have a read up of what account switching is about here:  https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk/

(edited to add:  HMRC often send cheques anyway don't they?)

My bank account is the nominated account for many fixed term savings accounts. The video on that link says that payments will be redirected. Is there a time limit on that? Five years perhaps? It also says the senders will be notified of my new bank details. With they all really change my nominated account details automatically? I have opened accounts where the bank has said that money will only be returned to the account from which it came.

As eskbanker says above redirection continues for 3 years and then indefinitely until there's over a year with no incoming payments. 

If you're really worried about future payments not getting forwarded then you can of course advise organisations of the the changes yourself, but the whole principle of the CASS switching service is you shouldn't need to (at least not for most things, assuming that 3 year minimum followed by 13 month rule isn't enough).

If you're really really worried then don't close the original account, keep it and open another with the same bank to do switches with. That way you get to switch bank (and bag any switching bonus) and have the reassurance that your original account is still there and working - you don't actually need to use it very often.

Thanks very much to eskbanker for that. Changing the payment details for a term account would be too risky for me. One digit wrong and I would be in big trouble. When I am setting these accounts up, I send £1 first and make sure it arrives.

I am happy with my bank at present, but I did feel trapped. It is good to know that there is a risk free method of moving my account if that becomes expedient.

phillw

Zanderman said:
If you're really really worried then don't close the original account, keep it and open another with the same bank to do switches with. That way you get to switch bank (and bag any switching bonus) and have the reassurance that your original account is still there and working - you don't actually need to use it very often.

I would never switch the account that I use for incoming transactions. It also looks good when applying for credit and they ask you for an account and when you opened it.