Hi everyone In the last month HMRC have twice sent cheques for income tax repayments through the post to me, both for an identical amount and for the same year that, as it turns out, I have in fact already declared through online self-assessment and already received repayment for direct to my bank account quite a while ago! One of these cheques is already in the mail to the bank before I realised it is a repeat, and upon querying with HMRC they have said yes it is a mistake please destroy it. Since then another has arrived through the post! Does anyone know where I stand on this, as one of the attached letters does say quite clearly that if a person underpays tax through no fault of their own because they did declare their earnings accurately then it is HMRC's problem, not the taxpayer? Thanks for your help!

just wondering if anyone knows im going to court tommorow for bankruptcy,two weeks ago hmrc sent in an afficer to my house and they put a distraint walking possesion on my car,which now the auctioneers are going to come and pick up on thursday.if i get my bankruptcy order tommorow will they be able to take the car?

After 2 October, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will use its legal powers to pursue those who have failed to submit self-assessment forms and have tax payments outstanding. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19798919

Good afternoon, I will attempt to give you all the relevant facts in the hope that someone can please point me in the correct direction. Since being made redundant I am now retraining in a different industry. My employer is kind enough to pay my uni fees in regards to my day release degree course. My degree course is a vital professional qualification in my new career. I have been told I can claim from HMRC the cost of the textbooks for my degree course and the cost of my 1 day a week train ticket to uni back. Is this correct? I have trawled the internet and HMRC website for hours but keep going round in circles and getting no closer to the answer. In my current trainee role I am on a modest salary and PAYE. In order to help ends meet I also work part time evenings and weekends in my friends shop. NB these earnings are also subjected to PAYE. Any help / pointers gratefully appreciated cheers

Hello everyone, this is my first post! I'm currently a student at uni, prior to starting uni whilst I was at school I had a job for Youngs doing the washing up in one of their pubs. I worked 7 hours a week on £7ph so I earned around £2500 a year. I have however received a P800 from HMRC saying that I under paid tax by £575 whilst I was there. I asked for further info and they sent me a breakdown of the figures that said I earned £14500! This is absolutely false! I rang Youngs and they said on their system it had me down as earning that much. The trouble is that I was paid in cash each week by my manager so I never received any payslips/official documents. I'm really unsure what to do as it seems I can't prove that I only did 7 hours a week washing the dishes! (They've obviously put me down as a full time barman or something) The manager I worked for has left the company although I could get in contact with him and ask him to write to Youngs with the hours I actually worked? I also think that surely Youngs must be able to prove that I earned that much- i.e through payslips, P60s or records of account transfers. I'm perfectly willing to open up my accounts to HMRC and they will be able to see that no transfers from Youngs were ever made (unless they propse that they paid me £1200 in cash each month!) Anyway, any thoughts on the matter would be really helpful as I really can't afford to pay nearly £600 of tax that I don't even owe! (poor student and all that) Thanks guys

Hi everybody, thanks to the ones that are reading this and trying to help. I have a Limited Company, and I have a Corporation Tax that I couldn't pay in full yet. (this years). The amount is around £10k , I was trying to set up a time to pay with HMRC but they didn't want to because I was taking dividends. Of course, I am using the old trick of a low salary and the rest as dividends, suggested by all accountants. So I rely on the dividends every month to be able to subsist. The thing is I can and I want to pay this, but I can't do it at once, but I can afford up to £1000 per month. The DCA is legal because HMRC was taking about that company before (to me).. and now they have confirmed that the debt was passed to the DCA. So it should be fine. The DCA is " CCS COLLECT" and the letter says: Dear........ Due to: H M Revenue and Customs Amount Due... Acc No / Payment Ref... Our Client HMRC has authorised us to recover the full amount due to them as detailed above. CCSCollect is working with HMRC to collect tax debts and you will already have received notification of this under separate cover. You can further verify that CCSCollect has the authotity to act by visiting their website. http://www.................................. Please make payment within the next 7 days of the date of this letter using one of the methods stated overleaf. If you have a genuine reason why payment has not been made previously and, of which we are unaware, please contact us without delay and one of our agents will be able to discuss the matter and advise you of the appropriate next steps. Settlement is preferred withouth the need for further action so call us now on 0844 873 5780 ------------------------------ So the seven days finishes in 2. I want to pay £1000 per month, but I was planning to offer £500 just to go up just in case. Do you think they are gonna accept? What should I do? Call? Write? What? Please. HELP!!!!!!! Thanks a lot

I am not sure whether this is right part of the forum in which to post. I am so stressed at the moment. I started making money from my hobby a few years ago. I have an unpaid tax bill of £1996 which last year I set up an agreement to pay back. Unfortunately after some problems with cashflow and a family bereavement I didn't keep up with it (I realise this was my fault) I received a letter this morning stating that they are cancelling the arrangement. I called to try and reinstate the arrangement and was told that unless I can pay them £1800 TODAY they will continue their action and send officers round to seize my goods or declare me bankrupt within the week. The only thing I own is my car which is (just about) worth 2k but I need my car obviously with 2 small children. Everything else was purchased by my husband. I am absolutely terrified. Please help me

I received a tax bill of just over £800 earlier in the year from HMRC (sole trader income tax), I didn't have the money available to pay in full so started paying weekly instalments through my banks online banking, about 5 weeks ago I received a reminder showing what's still owed so I sent a letter back saying I'm unable to pay in full but will make a weekly payment with the intention of settling in full within the next few weeks. I continued to make weekly payments and heard nothing more till this morning when I received a letter which says: Over the last few weeks I have paid off about 40% of what is owed but can't come up with the total amount between now and 17 September. When I wrote to them I never sent an Income & Expenditure form, I should of but I didn't and kicking myself for it now. My total business assets are valued at about £900 and if they were seized it would leave me with no income as I rely on them, I have a car I use for my business (also worth about £900) which is also relied on for business. The registered address for my business is my home address. I have very low earnings and once I pay council tax, bills, food etc there's usually none or very little left so I can't see what difference HMRC going to court would make, the amount I can afford to pay every week would still be the same. Would it make any difference if I was to write another letter to them offering weekly instalments but include an Income & Expenditure form this time? Would they accept it or just go to court anyway?

When ordering goods (for example on the Internet) from outside the EU, import VAT is not due if value of goods is less than £15: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/buying.htm#3 What if one makes multiple orders from the same retailer, each of them of less than £15 of value? Would the HMRC count these as a single order and impose VAT or treat them as individual items? Thank you

Hi I am new to these forums - I have an outstanding debt of about £7000 with the HRMC which has been referred to DLC . I cannot afford to pay in one lump sum. What is my next course of action ? Can I offer to make monthly payments ? Should I pay HMRC or DLC ? What is the least they will generally accept ? I have received one letter one text and one phone call so far none of which I have answered. I have read in the forums about solutions but these generally refer to loans and credit cards and not income tax. Any help gratefully received.

http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/Pages/pr_210812_HMRC.aspx?auto=True&l1link=pages%2Fnews.aspx&l1title=News%20and%20press&l2link=news%2FPages%2Fdefault.aspx&l2title=Press%20Releases

Revenue & Customs is facing a growing storm of protest over plans to force taxpayers to take responsibility for checking their tax code. Accountants and tax campaigners are calling on the Revenue to reverse the proposals, which they argue will make taxpayers pay for mistakes made by the taxman. The row revolves around Extra Statutory Concession A19 – part of the Revenue’s rule book. This rule means taxes can be waived if a taxpayer supplied all the necessary information, but tax officials failed to use it promptly and correctly in calculating their tax bill. The rule simply requires that a taxpayer must ‘reasonably have believed’ their tax affairs were in order. The Revenue has proposed changing the rules and replacing the emphasis on reasonable belief with ‘taxpayers responsibilities’, requiring taxpayers to check their own tax codes. Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2183751/Fury-Revenue--Customs-tells-taxpayers-check-code.html#ixzz22mRpU9JN

I have been sent a letter from a DCA called Consumer Credit Services acting on behalf of HMRC. I'm self employed and I have been trying to pay off a tax bill dating from January 31st of this year totalling £9,500 of which I have paid off until this date £7000. Leaving amount due of around £2,500 + a bit of interest. I did not contact HMRC which is a mistake on my part - figured it would be paid off sooner and wouldn't need a payment plan or anything. However they have now escalated this to a DCA to collect a total of £3983 (which is an outdated amount after £1,400 was paid off after date of DCAs letter). My question is how do I go about paying this, I would prefer to pay off remaining balance to HMRC - I can afford around £1000 per month give or take a few £100. Should I respond to the DCA letter saying the amount is incorrect? And then pay their correct balance off once they respond? Or just continue to pay HMRC what I can until the debt is gone, probably 2 months. I'm just not sure who takes priority I'm assuming HMRC would rather I kept paying direct into their account. Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi there! As you might recall I had posted before, citing that I was registered as a self employed individual while also registered as a director for a company. For the year I recieved a compliance check (for both the limited company and my self assessment) about 80% of my income derived from me invoicing my limited company, and 20% from me invoicing (as an individual) other clients. The commission work I did was artistic short term project orientated. So I had the visit, and they went through my income and expenses, and seemed satisfied that the numbers added up. They had noted though that I had not included my income from invoicing my company (as salary) on my SA and had placed it in my self employed income. They also queried about my projects - considering whether an investigation might be necessary to determine employment status (would that be IR35?) I didn't hear anything for about 3 weeks and recieved an email requesting information on any projects (that were done with this and that individual) - that surprised me? Because while I can disclose that information it has nothing to do with my earnings? They ask to confirm information on said projects with individuals even though they occur outside the period for compliance investigation. So im just wondering - at what point does their requests for information become unreasonable or just well fishing?

Ive been paying an amount to HMRC over a £600 amount owed in 2007/08. At least I thought I was paying it back through my wages. Although I work sporadically. I received a letter back in March asking me to fill in a self assessment form although Ive never been self employed. Anyway I took this to an accountant to fill in. Ive received two more demands which amounts to £1200. I contacted them on 13th July to say I couldnt understand what this relates to. They said they'd close the case. Anyway today a week later, I get a letter saying the demand is for the outstanding amount plus interest. I thought I was paying this off through my wages but it seems not. Other than taking it out of my wages I have no money to pay it. What do I don ow? I've tried to telephone them but I cant get through to a human. Can they make me bankrupt? Im annoyed as its ruined my weekend and I will be worrying about this all weekend now.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100018627/taxman-gets-a-bloody-nose-in-court-but-630000-people-face-deadline-this-month/

Hi, In 2007-08 i left my employer and started a new job. However i was never given a p46 on starting out. Recently i recieved a demand letter from HMRC claiming i had underpaid tax and therefore needed to pay £835.09 next year. I appealed this and hmrc admits the employer should have provided me a p46,but it was also my responsibility to inform them of any changes that might affect my personal tax allowance. Can anyone advice on how to go about this as i have appealed twice and hmrc have stuck to their guns. Thanks

Hello. I was made redundant in June 2010, but due to long length of service and it being 'voluntary' it was a very generous settlement. The problem is HMRC wrote to me on January 31st this year to say that I had underpaid tax on it by £6,833.60. This was set out with a P800 form. The tax year in question is quoted as year ended 5 April 2011. After speaking to them, they advised I go back to my employer and check with them as to how they based their calculations at the time of my final payment, and to provide breakdowns of this. I have written to them twice now, and have had no reply. Obviously HMRC are keen for a resolution on this. I would therefore be grateful for any advice on how I should proceed. Having re-read my separation agreement, their is a clause in there that absolves my ex-employer from any problems that may arise with regards to PAYE tax claims from HMRC, which pretty much seems to rule out taking up any complaint with them. I am also a bit annoyed that it has taken HMRC this long to get around to notifying me of the problem. I appreciate that at the end of the day the only advice may be that there is nothing I can do other make arrangements with HMRC to pay this amount. If so, please feel free to tell me that! What I would like to know particularly is how I can ensure that they are entitled to this full amount, and if there is any way for me to register a strong complaint over their delay in handling this (a delay which has caused me some frustration, and put me a bit in a hole regarding my current plans).

A month ago I received a reminder from HMRC that my NIC (as self employed) is due for payment no later than 31 July 2012. This morning I received a threatening Letter Before Action letter from Fredrickson International with regard to this debt. I rang them and asked them to explain how I can be taken to court for non payment when it isn't overdue. Stupid woman told me I could pay it now or set up a repayment plan. I don't want to do that. I told her I'd intended paying it in the next few weeks anyway, but on the strength of their letter I will delay it until the end of July. Now either HMRC have got a bit ahead of themselves in passing this over, or Fredrickson have somehow got hold of personal information - and how did they get it?

I have received a letter from HMRC Debt Management and Banking stating and overpayment of £557.85. The letter states "We have already told you about the overpayment of tax credits detailed above" and says I must repay by 28/03/2012. They have never written to me about this overpayment. I called and eventually after going through 3 depts was told that this related to 2003/4, the first year of this scheme. Me and my partner declared our incomes as specified at the time. During the year, I took a new position at a higher salary. When the next years forms came , we declared this income. We didn't declare it during the year as it was a new scheme and we didn't have a clue that we had to. HMRC took back some of the overpayments over the next few years out of subsequent claims. In 2008, we separated, my ex didn't claim for a year and then submitted a new claim. She has also received a copy of the letter with the same amount stated. I received no notifications subsequent to stopping claiming until this one, indeed have received two tax rebates from HMRC in the intervening years. question 1, does the 6 years debt rule apply to HMRC ?? 2 I am currently on Jobseekers after end of contract in January, can this be affected? any advice much appreciated Thanks Matty

Hi there, I need a bit of advice as i am trying to claim a tax refund from HMRC but keep coming up against brick walls. I am currently employed and have been since 2006. In 2006 i was registered as Self-employed and kept HMRC up to date with all my employment records. For the year 2010/11 there was a bit of an overlap as they had not deleted my self-employment records so i had 2 tax references - one being a self-employed reference and the other being an employed reference. To clear this matter up, they asked me to complete a tax return which i happily did online. On completion of the tax return, it stated that i was entitled to a refund of £1,295.40 within this employment. When i received my statement through, it said that i was not entitled to anything and that i had nothing to pay either. On calling the tax office, they stated that i did indeed have an overpayment due to me but needed to complete a paper form as the deadline for online returns had been closed. I sent the tax office a letter with my P60 for the year 2010/11 disputing the claim that i needed to complete another tax return to which was replied: Dear Mr xxxxxx, Thank you for your letter dated 01 July 2011 and attached P60. I note that you are disputing whether a 2010-11 Self Assessment Income Tax Return needs to be completed. You submitted an on-line return after nil charge had been made for the year 2010-11. We cannot accept an on-line Tax Return once a year has been closed. We issued you with a paper return with an employer page. This is to be completed by 30 October 2011 for paper returns and 31 January 2012 on-line. Once a return has been issued, it needs to be completed by law. I trust this now explains the position. Any refund due will be made on receipt of the Return. i return your P60 for the year 2010-11 herewith. Yours sincerely Mrs J xxxx Unfortunately, i'm still confused. I submitted my return on the 12th May 2011 online so clearly met the deadline. Within the form i completed was an employer page which i completed. Therefore, what exactly is the difference between them assessing my online form and me having to complete a paper form containing all the same information? I submit forms online as it is more convenient for me due to the fact that i have to drive to the nearest postbox, i also assumed (stupidly) that it would be more efficient. I have also misplaced the form they sent me and am unable to submit a new form online. Also, on checking my online summary it clearly states that i am due a refund, so why is it so difficult to actually get?? Some advice and possibly an explanation would be greatly appreciated. Kindest regards, Littlelion2010

Hi I am a contractor and I work self employed. I travel around the country visiting various work sites which usually means I have to stay in accommodation for that week. I worked mainly in Swansea for just under a year, travelling from my home address which is also my buisness address at weekends. The tax man is not allowing my mileage claim from my home address to the work site in Swansea then returning to my home address, staying in temporary accomodation through the week. He is saying that the travel fom my home address and work site then back again are personal miles. I am disputing this saying I would not be travelling these miles if it wasnt for my work so all the miles are buisness miles. He is allowing the miles between my temporary accommodation and work. Is he right to disallow these miles

Last year me and my partner were entitled to working tax credits, this year we are not due to the change in the threshold amount. Last year my wife earned less than we had told them she would by the tune of £4k due to maternity leave and loss of management position. This year I received a letter stating we are not entitled to tax credits and they have now withdrawn our entitlement. I phoned today (as I only got my P60 today) to tell them about our difference in earnings last year and was told they cannot correct the amount we could of claimed because our entitlement is now withdrawn! This is a rip off surely, if we had earned £4K more than we told them I am sure they would be chasing me for the overpayment but it seems if it is the other way round they just tell you to go away. Is there any way I can claim what we should have got last year or not? they say not as we are now withdrawn!!!

Hi, I’m new to the forum and have a question regarding Experian and my details. Last week I called HMRC about getting tax credits and they said that they need to run some security checks with experian. I was a bit shocked by this and was reluctant to give them my previous address as a security question. I think I may have bad debts from that address as a result of a couple of months of unpaid bills when I left. It was 2 years ago after a really traumatic period of my life - I had to get out of a pretty awful situation. I’m trying to work towards getting into a position though now where I can get any money owed - resolved and sort out my credit rating. I can’t do this yet as I have little money and I’m trying to get a business venture off the ground. I’m just wondering what entails with these so called security checks? - Will HMRC have passed on details to Experian, my current address\DOB and any links they have to my old address (HMRC do have all my previous address on file as far as I know). I am on the electoral register at my new place and have not been contacted by any DCA’s although I don’t think there has been any association (yet) with my old address. Like I say - I have every intention of getting this mess sorted out once I am back on my feet. Thanks in advance for any help with this matter. Ed

n September 2009 I took up a post as a part time lecturer in London. I live in Norwich which is approximately 100 miles away. My post although part time (20 hours) would mean I would have to spend at least 2 - 3 nights in term time only in London. My ex husband agreed that in lieu of any child support (which he had not paid for many years and I have documented evidence of trying to pursue him through the CSA) he would look after my son (instead of me paying for a babysitter or asking a friend to have him while I was away). I was in receipt of Child Benefit, CHild Tax and Working Families Tax Credit based on my income of £15,000. pa I had mortgage as well as other debts and commitments including an IVA. There was no way I could afford to work without the benefits as I had to pay for my own travel to and from London. I accepted the job as it was a fantastic career opportunity in a very specialised field (dance) and, as I had been working on my Phd for 5 years this was an amazing opportunity and a career move rather than just a job. In the first term September/Oct 2009 January 2010 my workload was heavy and I was getting used to a new job and spending probably 4 nights per week in London and having my son at the weekends. At no time did my ex suggest that we split the WFTC to help him with any costs, and as I was paying for a roof over my son's head and food and other things I didn't see that there was any difficulty. My son was happy staying at his dads and it enabled me to settle into a demanding and sometimes stressful new job. At no time did I relinquish responsibility or ask my ex to take on full care ofmy child At no time did he suggest we split the WFTC/CT to help him out. in May 2010, at a time when, paradoxically my workload eased, I was marking essays at home and my son was spending perhaps one or two nights at his dads plus every other weekend (as we'd always agreed) that my benefits stopped without any notice and I was left with a monthly shortfall of some £600. This meant I was instantly cast into a very difficult position. Without the benefits I was entitled to, I could no longer afford to pay for travel, I got behind with my mortgage and the whole position of my already precarious finances got worse.. It was because my ex had decided to claim the benefits himself. He (and still has) had a long term partner, although they don't live together, she lives two houses away and effectively they share their lives (and I presume financial lives) At the time I was single and had no support from anyone else. Paradoxically when I was asking him for child support he claimed he was not working, when he realised he could claim WFTC, his workload increased. As of June 2010 I was more or less at home as the academic year had finished and I insisted that my son stay with me and see his father once or twice a week. However, as he was 12 nearly 13, this was quite difficult to enforce and he would often stay there more (against my wishes). Over the summer holiday period of July/Aug 2010 my son was staying with me as normal and seeing his dad maybe one or two nights a week and alternate weekends. At this time I was awarded back the Child Benefit that was suspended as my ex had also applied for it. By September 2010 I was in serious financial difficulties and having to borrow money from family to stay afloat. My mortgage was in arrears and I was finding it hard to go on. I became depressed and frustrated with trying to communicate unsuccessfully with HMRC, and my MP Simon Wright had also got involved. October and November 2010 were equally stressful as a new academic year began and I was no nearer to resolving the situation. I made sure I was not staying late at work and coming home as soon as I could and, as a result my work suffered. By November 2010 I knew I could not carry on and repossession orders were issued for my house as I was now 3 or four payments behind… By this time I was considering resigning my post as I could not afford to travel to work and I was depressed and stressed. December 2010 was when things came to a head and I did infact resign my post with great sadness and started claiming JSA. Since January 2011 I have not been working, instead I have worked on finishing my Phd and applying for other academic posts, none of which have been successful. it is now a year since I had my benefits stopped. My son has been depressed and now lives more or less with his dad because on JSA I can't afford to keep us going the way we used to. I've got to the appeal stage, but have been told by HMRC that they are still dealing with a back log of appeals since 2010! If I had known that this situation would have arisen, I would have taken great pains to find alternative care for my son, or perhaps moved to London. I relied on the benefits I received to enable me to work. Now I am not working and claiming more benefits I fail to see how this has been a fair or successful outcome for anyone, let my son. I resigned my post, which does not look great on my work record and further more, I feel very aggrieved that I was put in this position. I had worked very hard to get the job and I was very good at it. My son has been living with me and staying with his dad but HMRC insist that from May 2010 I no longer had responsibility for him Anyone else had a similar situation? any ideas if I will be successful in claiming anything back. This has ruined my life! thanks Abby