The tax man......

I have just recieved a letter from my friendly neighbourhood taxman informing me that he has no record of me paying tax since April 2004

Now i know i have been paying it (kinda hard not to when you are on PAYE) but even so my butt puckered up when i got the letter, i`ve been with the same employer for 3 years so how can this sort of thing happen ?

What do you reckon, should i be panicking ? (every time i deal with the taxman i come off second best - lol)

[Spiderman]

Lyn will be along any second to explain it all for you. Watch.

I would think that if you can show them your P60 forms from the past couple of years you will be fine, they will show exactly how much tax you've paid.

EDIT: just had a word with my mum who's been doing payroll & wages for years...

Your P60 forms will indeed show you how much tax you've paid so hopefully you've kept them...

Check your NI number is correct on your last payslip, if there's been an error with it this could be why the tax office has written to you.

Write back to the tax office giving them your employer's details - your employer will have records showing how much tax you & they have been paying.

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Lyn will be along any second to explain it all for you. Watch.

You knew I was online helping Ed with his word thread hence you not saying will be along later. :P

Ok, PAYE. Theoretically, your employer takes deductions and pays them over to the Revenue. However, it isnt unknown for some employers to issue wage slips showing youve "paid" the tax, but they never pay it over to what was the IR and now HMRC.

If that were the case here, the Revenue take a very dim view of that and your employer will be in heaps load more crap than you can imagine. Secondly, and the problem for you, is that you still OWE the tax and have to pay it.

Ok my advice is:

1. Check with your employers. Make sure your details are correct. And ask them if theyve paid the tax over to the Revenue. You may have to ask them for dates/times/reference numbers to prove to the Revenue it has been paid so if you company accounts team are helpful you should be ok. If theyve not paid and are about to be found out, expect hassle.

2. Contact the Revenue ASAP. Dont leave it. Put it in writing. Explain you've paid PAYE. Enclose copies of payslips/P60s supporting this. Provide full details of the company and ask them to check their payments. And then ask them to check their records again. It may be an error on the Revenues part.

Fingers crossed for you its a beaureaucratic error.

El Saxo - just because a bit of paper says you've paid doesnt mean your company actually has paid the revenue. Yes its fraud and as said, if the Revenue get wind of it, the directors will be in the biggest pile of crap going.

[Spiderman]

Originally Posted by lynw

You knew I was online helping Ed with his word thread hence you not saying will be along later. :P

.

One of the blokes at work got a bill for £1500 for not sending in the last three years tax returns. He told them he hadnt had a tax return before in his life so they sent him the last three years forms to fill in. Funny thing was they had no record of sending him tax returns either. #
After much faffing about it worked out he owed them £1.53 which he sent them and was tol he wont have to fill in a tax return for the next few years.
And we're on PAYE as well.
H

Originally Posted by lynw

You knew I was online helping Ed with his word thread hence you not saying will be along later. :P

Ok, PAYE. Theoretically, your employer takes deductions and pays them over to the Revenue. However, it isnt unknown for some employers to issue wage slips showing youve "paid" the tax, but they never pay it over to what was the IR and now HMRC.

If that were the case here, the Revenue take a very dim view of that and your employer will be in heaps load more crap than you can imagine. Secondly, and the problem for you, is that you still OWE the tax and have to pay it.

Ok my advice is:

1. Check with your employers. Make sure your details are correct. And ask them if theyve paid the tax over to the Revenue. You may have to ask them for dates/times/reference numbers to prove to the Revenue it has been paid so if you company accounts team are helpful you should be ok. If theyve not paid and are about to be found out, expect hassle.

2. Contact the RevDont leave it. Put it in writing. Explain you've paid PAYE. Enclose copies of payslips/P60s supporting this. Provide full details of the company and ask them to check their payments. And then ask them to check their records again. It may be an error on the Revenues part.enue ASAP.

Fingers crossed for you its a beaureaucratic error.

El Saxo - just because a bit of paper says you've paid doesnt mean your company actually has paid the revenue. Yes its fraud and as said, if the Revenue get wind of it, the directors will be in the biggest pile of crap going.

ERm.... WTF! I dont keep payslips past 4 months, P60s are kept no longer than 5 months. Reason? A) my parents brought me up that way. B) Fraud. I was qualified in fraud detection and prevention at NU, their advice was dont keep these documents longer than the timescales longer than those above. Ive burned all the rest!

Screw the tax office.. sue you're employer for stress, anxiety etc - theres money to be made, trust me!

Thanx Lynw - you are a star

Will post off the relevant p60`s and see what happens.

[timwilky]

I really wish the taxman would look at the cowboy operation my son works for, he has been there for 18 months, never had a payslip,P60.

He was told to get CIS registered which he did and they have never used him under CIS regs. Still he has just announced after last nights bombshell that his pay is to go up from £125/week to £200 but will be paid in a cheque.

What was that on his bed last night whilst having the father son chat. A tax return. errrrr I think someone is in for a nasty moment.


On the point of tax deducted/not paid. My younger brother was hit with this a good few years ago. The first he knew was when he got into work to find customs seals on the doors, we had a friend in the tax office who was ballastic because he was planning a raid and customs got in first.

So my brother goes to sign on and told your not entitled to benifits you have not made any NI contributions for the past 3 years. Shows them his P60s and wage slips to date, sorry you have not made any contributions go away.

Originally Posted by getyerkneedown

ERm.... WTF! I dont keep payslips past 4 months, P60s are kept no longer than 5 months. Reason? A) my parents brought me up that way. B) Fraud. I was qualified in fraud detection and prevention at NU, their advice was dont keep these documents longer than the timescales longer than those above. Ive burned all the rest!

Screw the tax office.. sue you're employer for stress, anxiety etc - theres money to be made, trust me!

I cant wait to hear the rant when the taxman sends you a bill for underpaid tax and because youve destroyed all your documents you wont be able to prove them wrong. Trust me, if you cant prove what you paid the taxman can assess and no tribunal will support an appeal by you because you destroyed your documents.

You should ALWAYS keep your P60s at least. Your employer CANT reissue them and they are the ONLY evidence of the amount of tax you paid that the revenue will accept other than payslips.

Your P60 is an ANNUAL document - you really should keep them for at least 4 - 6 years - because thats how long the Revenue can go back for. Even longer if they suspect more tax loss.

Joe, I keep all my documents. If the Revenue EVER query anything I can prove what Ive paid with payslips and my P60s. And at no point have I ever been subject to fraud with it.