Do I need an accountant? If so - where do I find one and how much does it cost?

*jobags*

A bit of a saga here I'm afraid but any advice would be welcome

I have recently been given a K810 code:eek: :eek: :eek: and this month my take home pay has dropped like a stone

I am in full time employment and earn £38,939

I have a lease car (Toyota Verso) since Sept 05 - the lease is worked out so that I chose the car, the lease company told my employer how much it would cost (around £5,000 pa) and my employer pays 10% of my income (so it's in addition to my annual income) and I pay the remainder monthly - currently around £77

Someone in our Finance Department sold the idea to me - said it was like a 10% salary bonus - the more you earn, the more they pay the lease company

Despite my company informing the tax people straight away they seem to have sat on this info for a while before getting me in their sights

I was on Maternity Leave from 02/07 until 08/07 - I received 90% pay for 8 weeks, 50% for 12 weeks then nothing

I was informed in October that my Tax Code was going to be K11 - this was because they were assuming I got mileage payments in addition to the lease car - I don't, they stopped in Sept 05

I sent month 12 payslips for the last 3 years and P60's which confirmed I do not get any other payments

I then got a letter in December saying that my tax code was 72L based on the assumption that my benefit from the lease car was £4505 a year

In January I got a letter saying that my code was now K810 as the car benefit was worth £4725 and I also had unpaid tax of £1764

They are calling my lease car a company car - is there a difference

I don't really expect anyone to calculate anything for me but I have a few issues

1. Where did this unpaid tax of £1764 come from - is it because they dragged their heels assessing my tax from Sept 05?
(I see from my payslips that my code in 05/06 was 405L, in 06/07 it was 419L and until last Autumn it was 438L)

2. Does this K810 code look roughly right

3. Should I get it double checked and if so how do I find a Tax Accountant and roughly how much does it cost?

4. Will this K code just be for this financial year or will it be for longer?- I am getting rid of my lease car in Sept 09 and will never get one again!

I have no other income as far as I am aware and have every payslip going back to when I first started work in October 1977 (45p an hour!!!)

Any guidance would be appreciated - particualrly in relation to point 3

Thanks

Jo

fengirl_2

1. The underpayment appears to be from 07-08 and is estimated. It will be adjusted once your P11d for that year is looked at by your tax office - which could be a long time as they get thousands
2. Impossible to say if your code is right without knowing the value of your car as returned to HMRC by your employer.
3. I wouldn't pay an accountant to check it. You need your P11d from your employer for 07-08, your 07-08 P60 and any tax person on here can check it.
4. Once you let your car go, your code will be amended to include the benefit for the period Apr- Sept. You need to push your employer for notification of this so that you can deal with HMRC and get your code altered.
I wouldn't worry about it - while you owe HMRC, you are in control.

*jobags*

Thanks for that info Fengirl

After my original post I was thinking that perhaps the £1764 underpayment which they are reclaiming was in relation to outstanding tax from 05/06 and 06/07 - but you stated that is's in relation to 07/08 which actually makes sense looking at the figures

Does that mean that they've still got to get me for the underpayments from 2005/06 and 2006/07? :eek: :eek:

Just how high (or low if you know what I mean) can a tax code go?

This month my Gross was £3244 and my actual tax was £903.33, other deductions for lease car, pension, Nat Ins and Union took my total deductions to 53% of my salary and I'm struggling already - can they take even more off me and if so can I negotiate a longer period to pay it off?

Jo