Tax Bill for Pensioner on Benefits

bigfootmum

Hello Newbie here

I have an elderly uncle (85 years old) who gets a state pension and housing benefit, he lives in local authority sheltered housing. He was very ill earlier this year and struggled to keep his place clean and social services ended up getting involved. This resulted in a £500 deep clean which was covered by social services as he didn't have the means to pay for it and the housing scheme manager was worried about the state of his flat and the health risk to other tenants. 

He has just received a tax bill for £115.40 for the tax year 24-25 and has asked me to look into it. He isn't online and doesn't have a mobile phone and struggles to read and has cataracts, it just gets better!!

I'm wondering if it would just be easier to pay the bill and forget about it or do I try to challange HMRC on his behalf? 

It shows his state pension/state benefits as £13,147.16 for the year with the PA of £12,570 so the bill is 20% against the £577 = £115.40 which is likely the payment for the cleaning service he had to have to stay in the housing scheme he is in. 

Any advice? 

noitsnotme

Forgetting about the cleaning bill for now, is £13147 all from the pension?  If so, then like many pensioners, tax will be due as their income is over the personal allowance.  This is the fallout from pensions increasing while the PA is frozen.

Isthisforreal99

Not seeing the relation between the cleaning bill and the tax bill unless you think he could claim a tax deduction for the cleaning?

If so, the answer is no. Many pensioners who only get state pension are liable to tax as the level of their pension is above the personal allowance figure so there is nothing to 'challenge' 

la531983

The £500 wont have been classed as income (well would be surprised if it was), if hes received £13147 in state pension then yes, he has a legitimate tax bill that needs settling

Tax when you get a pension: What’s taxed - GOV.UK

How much is his pension per week/4 weeks?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

bigfootmum said:

Hello Newbie here

I have an elderly uncle (85 years old) who gets a state pension and housing benefit, he lives in local authority sheltered housing. He was very ill earlier this year and struggled to keep his place clean and social services ended up getting involved. This resulted in a £500 deep clean which was covered by social services as he didn't have the means to pay for it and the housing scheme manager was worried about the state of his flat and the health risk to other tenants. 

He has just received a tax bill for £115.40 for the tax year 24-25 and has asked me to look into it. He isn't online and doesn't have a mobile phone and struggles to read and has cataracts, it just gets better!!

I'm wondering if it would just be easier to pay the bill and forget about it or do I try to challange HMRC on his behalf? 

It shows his state pension/state benefits as £13,147.16 for the year with the PA of £12,570 so the bill is 20% against the £577 = £115.40 which is likely the payment for the cleaning service he had to have to stay in the housing scheme he is in. 

Any advice? 

Why in earth do you think the cleaning bill has any relevance to it?

How would HMRC even know about that?

It sounds like he's simply got a State Pension which is greater than his Personal Allowance.  Meaning he has tax to pay.

No problem with you checking the figures, just remember State Pension can be paid weekly or 4 weekly.  It is never paid monthly.

bigfootmum

Isthisforreal99 said:

Not seeing the relation between the cleaning bill and the tax bill unless you think he could claim a tax deduction for the cleaning?

If so, the answer is no. Many pensioners who only get state pension are liable to tax as the level of their pension is above the personal allowance figure so there is nothing to 'challenge' 

Good point, now I think about it, that wouldn't be reported as income but its a benefit of sorts. 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

bigfootmum said:

Isthisforreal99 said:

Not seeing the relation between the cleaning bill and the tax bill unless you think he could claim a tax deduction for the cleaning?

If so, the answer is no. Many pensioners who only get state pension are liable to tax as the level of their pension is above the personal allowance figure so there is nothing to 'challenge' 

Good point, now I think about it, that wouldn't be reported as income but its a benefit of sorts. 

And no doubt not a taxable one.

bigfootmum

He currently gets £264.86 a week, so that's going to be over the threshold this year if PA remains the same. OK, thanks for this, I'll get it paid for him.

la531983

Going forward advise him to save a fiver a week in a pot to settle the tax bill that comes next year.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

bigfootmum said:

He currently gets £264.86 a week, so that's going to be over the threshold this year if PA remains the same. OK, thanks for this, I'll get it paid for him.

The dual triple lock and frozen Personal Allowance policies means he can expect quite sharp increases in the bill for the foreseeable future.

bigfootmum

Thanks all for the quick advice, I'll pay the bill for him and get him saving a fiver a week from now on.