R40 claim - minimum of £50? (Confirmed incorrect information)

Section62

Has anyone heard of a rule (introduced sometime since 2020) which means HMRC won't pay refunds (e.g. applied for on an R40) unless the amount due back to the taxpayer is at least £50?

Many thanks for any feedback.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Section62 said:

Has anyone heard of a rule (introduced sometime since 2020) which means HMRC won't pay refunds (e.g. applied for on an R40) unless the amount due back to the taxpayer is at least £50?

Many thanks for any feedback.

Nope.

What has happened which makes you think that could be the case??

Section62

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Section62 said:

Has anyone heard of a rule (introduced sometime since 2020) which means HMRC won't pay refunds (e.g. applied for on an R40) unless the amount due back to the taxpayer is at least £50?

Many thanks for any feedback.

Nope.

What has happened which makes you think that could be the case??

What I was told earlier by an HMRC 'customer services' person.

Nothing I could see in the R40 notes says anything about this supposed limit, and smaller claims have been paid Ok in the past.

(I was also told that an R40 is an "Expenses claim", apparently)

[Deleted User]

(I was also told that an R40 is an "Expenses claim", apparently)

Impressive!

sheramber

More details would help

Has a refubd been refused?

Section62

sheramber said:

More details would help

Has a refubd been refused?

Yes, to quote the letter from HMRC - "You must have paid tax in the year you spent money on the expenses you're claiming. How much you can claim depends on the rate you pay tax".  Which is obviously nonsensical in the context of an R40 claim for a modest amount of tax deducted by Halifax for a Reward account.

The HMRC advisor clarified this was because the amount claimed was less than £50 and therefore they considered the account "reconciled" with no refund due.  We don't refund amounts less than £50.

Similar R40 claims in previous years have been paid with no issue.

[Deleted User]

Section62 said:

sheramber said:

More details would help

Has a refubd been refused?

Yes, to quote the letter from HMRC - "You must have paid tax in the year you spent money on the expenses you're claiming. How much you can claim depends on the rate you pay tax".  Which is obviously nonsensical in the context of an R40 claim for a modest amount of tax deducted by Halifax for a Reward account.

The HMRC advisor clarified this was because the amount claimed was less than £50 and therefore they considered the account "reconciled" with no refund due.  We don't refund amounts less than £50.

Similar R40 claims in previous years have been paid with no issue.

This is complete rubbish. 

HMRC operate what are known as tolerances. 

Where the UNDERPAYMENT is low - under £49.99 - they are not corrected. 

Where the OVERPAYMENT is low - £9.99 or less - they are not corrected through the tax system as it is not cost-effective. However it CAN still be claimed if requested. 

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/paye-manual/paye91045

Unless matters have changed since I last looked.

Section62

[Deleted User] said:

Section62 said:

sheramber said:

More details would help

Has a refubd been refused?

Yes, to quote the letter from HMRC - "You must have paid tax in the year you spent money on the expenses you're claiming. How much you can claim depends on the rate you pay tax".  Which is obviously nonsensical in the context of an R40 claim for a modest amount of tax deducted by Halifax for a Reward account.

The HMRC advisor clarified this was because the amount claimed was less than £50 and therefore they considered the account "reconciled" with no refund due.  We don't refund amounts less than £50.

Similar R40 claims in previous years have been paid with no issue.

This is complete rubbish. 

HMRC operate what are known as tolerances. 

Where the UNDERPAYMENT is low - under £49.99 - they are not corrected. 

Where the OVERPAYMENT is low - £9.99 or less - they are not corrected through the tax system as it is not cost-effective. However it CAN still be claimed if requested. 

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/paye-manual/paye91045

Unless matters have changed since I last looked.

Thanks for this and the links.  It makes sense to me.  I'll see what HMRC have got in response.

Possibly one of the worst phone calls I've ever had with a public body.

Section62

Just to feedback on the outcome of several further calls with HMRC.

The advisor who said there was a £50 minimum that HMRC would pay back was talking nonsense.  Likewise their assertion that an R40 was an expenses claim was rubbish.  The 'OCAE18' standard letter should never have been sent in response to an R40 claim.

The correct situation is as per Ferro's post - an overpayment of £10 or more will trigger an automatic refund.  Overpayments of £9.99 or less will be refunded if the taxpayer makes a claim.  An R40 is a valid form of claim - there is no need for the taxpayer to write in separately to ask for repayment if they have already submited an R40.

A refund cheque is now in the post.

Thanks again to everyone for their comments.