HMRC Help

[danonwheels]

Hi all, I've got to have dealings with the tax office and I don't understand any of what they're telling me or what I need to do about it.

Does anyone know if there is any help available to make sense of it at all please?

Thanks

 

[jugglingmum]

http://taxaid.org.uk/

This is a link to a charity that helps people, I don't know what the criteria is to help

Otherwise CAB might help.

Also if you phone them (it takes ages to get through) and explain your issues (ie diagnosis) I think they are meant to help

 

[nellbelles]

http://rotherhamcab.org.uk/

I wonder if the citizens advice bureau could help?

 

[Grannie G]

I was thinking about AgeUK.


http://www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matters/


Someone from AgeUK may be able to accompany you.

 

[danonwheels]

Bless you all, thank you. It's probably simple to sort but I just don't have a clue what they're on about.

 

[LadyA]

Bless you all, thank you. It's probably simple to sort but I just don't have a clue what they're on about.

Dan, to be honest, my income is now so low that they told me I don't need to do Tax Returns, thankfully. But when I did, I could never make head or tail what our Revenue were on about either!! So, that may not be anything to do with your diagnosis!! I used to fill out what I could on the form, and then phone them, and they would do all the calculations for me!

 

[Spamar]

Hi Dan, I'm the same as LadyA, complete block on taxes etc. When I had to fill out a tax form, I did realise I needed another one. It duly came and I was lost by line 2! Saw our local accountant was doing a deal that year, so threw the whole lot to him! Bit pricy, but so much easier! He's been doing it ever since, though I think, for the first time, I don't need to do one this year. [emoji106][emoji106]

 

[danonwheels]

I've never needed to do one as I've always been employed and tax has been taken at source through PAYE. They've told me I need to do one for the 2014 year as my employer didn't pay enough tax for me so I have an underpayment.

Then, and this doesn't make sense to me, they've told me they will send me a form to fill in and return as well as the information they need me to put on that form. My question to them was that if they have that information already why do they need me to send it to them. Then they told me I'm being punished for not filling in a tax return, which I've never needed to do and have no idea how to do or what it is. It's madness.

My understanding:

HMRC are sending me a form to fill in using figures they provide to return to them because I haven't paid enough tax. They already know what I've earned in the year in question and are sending me this info but need me to send it to them once they've sent it to me.

 

[Nannyfrance]

Until I became a full time carer for my Dad who has Alzheimers I was a volunteer with a charitable organisation called TaxHelp for Older People. Give them a call on 08456013321. If they can't help you over the phone, they may be able to arrange a home visit.


Sent from my iPhone using Talking Point

 

[Lawson58]

I haven't lived in UK since 2005. About three years ago I received a letter from HMRC telling me I needed to do tax returns. They knew where I lived to send the letter so why didn't they know that I had stopped work and last paid tax in UK in 2005?

We both receive small pensions from DWP but they didn't seem to have that information available either. Trying to deal with UK bureaucracy from the other side of the world is very frustrating to say the least.

 

[Spamar]

It's bad enough from here, Lawson. HMRC are well known to be really bad at what they do, hardly ever answer the phone, and give you a wrong assessment. Last year they told me I owed tax. Because I have an accountant, he sorted them and pointed to the right figures, which, of course, they already had, and no tax paid.
A few years ago I remember him saying he had been on the phone to them, but after 45 mins, they put the phone down! And I know there people on here who could you more stories as to how bad they are!

 

[Lawson58]

We frequently complain about our pension service here but generally our government website is pretty efficient and informative and a lot of things can be done online or downloaded. Our government doesn't like paying staff so cut back wherever they can and mostly it's OK but can be time consuming if you need face to face services.

Far from perfect but generally a whole better than UK. The thing I notice is that here various departments eg Medicare (our NHS), Centrelink (pensions) Tax Office etc are better connected and under certain circumstances can access each other's information and can consult with each other.

 

[danonwheels]

Wow glad it's not just me that finds them confusing then. After all that above they've not actually sent me the form and stuff they said they would so maybe they've realised it was an error or something. I don't know. Life's too short to worry about such things really.