Self assesment woes

[mickmcpaddy]

I submit my own self assessment as I have done for the past 7 years without any problems and I am well aware of the process to do it. The latest one I had to do (15-16) I needed to do before the deadline, one to sort the tax credits out and two to get the official figures to apply for a mortgage. So I submitted it on line sometime in November. Its a straightforward return and I find it easy enough to fill in and submit.

However despite doing all this well in advance of the deadline I have just recently received a letter off them declaring a £100 fine for not finishing and submitting the return, logging on it says the return is 95% complete. This is total bks, I am well aware that the site says "attention your return is not submitted until you send it to us by pressing the next button" or words to that effect, I have also got the PDF you download of the tax return you get after everything is done, it also has the tax calculation of what is owed in the summary of tax years on my account.

I didn't pay anything on the 31st of Jan though as I have a direct debit set up with them to pay off last years tax so just let it carry on. I did try phoning them but it went on for ages setting up the voice recognition thing and then cut the call off when that was complete, so I gave that up as a bad job, really do they think we have nothing better to do than chase them all the while.

So is this the latest wheeze to squeeze a couple of extra quid out of the gullible, or should I just take it on the chin and not bother.

[AndrewEH1]

You need to get through to an actual person and straighten this issue out.

The HMRC has web chat which are actually pretty good and getting you to the right person, although trying to find the link to it can be tricky.

Never call HMRC unless you need to, bloody hopeless especially at this time of year!

[Eric Mc]

Nah - who needs accountants.

[AndrewEH1]

Try this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-rev...

Or this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-rev...

[thebraketester]

So you had not fully submitted your return before the 31st Jan?

[mickmcpaddy]

Eric Mc said:

Nah - who needs accountants.

I'm an electrician but I don't cry when someone puts their own plug on.

AndrewEH1 said:

Try this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-rev...

Or this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-rev...

Cheers

"Webchat is unavailable at the moment because of technical problems."

Bunch of hopeless aholes

[mickmcpaddy]

thebraketester said:

So you had not fully submitted your return before the 31st Jan?

Well yes I have because what is owed from the tax calculation from it shows up in the account summary on "my account" page and I have a PDF of the tax return which I downloaded after I submitted the return. I may be wrong but I don't think you get the chance to download it before its finished do you?

[thebraketester]

mickmcpaddy said:

thebraketester said:

So you had not fully submitted your return before the 31st Jan?

Well yes I have because what is owed from the tax calculation from it shows up in the account summary on "my account" page and I have a PDF of the tax return which I downloaded after I submitted the return. I may be wrong but I don't think you get the chance to download it before its finished do you?

If it was submitted then It wouldnt hang at 95%. You have to keep pressing Next to finally submit the return.


It is possible to see how much tax you owe before making the final submission.

[AndrewEH1]

thebraketester said:

If it was submitted then It wouldnt hang at 95%. You have to keep pressing Next to finally submit the return.


It is possible to see how much tax you owe before making the final submission.

Yup, plus there's another PDF you are able to download which acts as your receipt of submission.

[mickmcpaddy]

Even in the extremely unlikely event I have cocked up and not submitted it properly they could have always dropped me an email or something to say are you aware that your return is started but not yet complete before the deadline but the second it was overdue the demanding letters came.

Companies like Amazon and ebay don't seem to have an issue reminding you there is something in your basket that is not yet paid for, cant be that hard to set up reminders.

[plasticpig]

I didn't submit my return until the 28th of January. Throughout January I received 4 text messages and 8 emails prompting me to complete my tax return from HMRC.

[Eric Mc]

mickmcpaddy said:

Eric Mc said:

Nah - who needs accountants.

I'm an electrician but I don't cry when someone puts their own plug on.

AndrewEH1 said:

Try this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-rev...

Or this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-rev...

Cheers

"Webchat is unavailable at the moment because of technical problems."

Bunch of hopeless aholes

And I don't cry when someone electrocutes themselves.

You will love Making Tax Digital.

[mickmcpaddy]

AndrewEH1 said:

thebraketester said:

If it was submitted then It wouldnt hang at 95%. You have to keep pressing Next to finally submit the return.


It is possible to see how much tax you owe before making the final submission.

Yup, plus there's another PDF you are able to download which acts as your receipt of submission.

This the thing though, its inconceivable that I would have just left it at 95%, I know how to fill it in and submit it, I've done it several times before, also someone was sat next to me helping with the figures etc. if I go back to it now its at the point where its asking if I wish to reduce the payments on account. There is no way I would have sat down to fill it in and then thought hey you know what I'll leave it 95% done and not bother with it anymore, what would be the advantage in doing that, the only possible answer is I'm stark raving mad.

[BoRED S2upid]

Send them an email they actually reply pretty quickly! It's probably because you didn't pay on the 31st. I didn't know you could set up a DD? If that's correct then you should never get a penalty?

[KevinCamaroSS]

mickmcpaddy said:

This the thing though, its inconceivable that I would have just left it at 95%, I know how to fill it in and submit it, I've done it several times before, also someone was sat next to me helping with the figures etc. if I go back to it now its at the point where its asking if I wish to reduce the payments on account. There is no way I would have sat down to fill it in and then thought hey you know what I'll leave it 95% done and not bother with it anymore, what would be the advantage in doing that, the only possible answer is I'm stark raving mad.

Did you receive the email confirmation of completion? If not, the chances are you missed some part of the send process such as the certification.

[AndrewEH1]

plasticpig said:

I didn't submit my return until the 28th of January. Throughout January I received 4 text messages and 8 emails prompting me to complete my tax return from HMRC.

I got the same, but waiting until 8pm on 31st

[schmunk]

BoRED S2upid said:

Send them an email they actually reply pretty quickly! It's probably because you didn't pay on the 31st. I didn't know you could set up a DD? If that's correct then you should never get a penalty?

The £100 penalty is for late filing, and is not related to the payment of tax (other than that until a few years ago it used to be waived if you didn't owe anything at 31 January - not true now).

There is a separate interest and penalty ("surcharge") regime for late payments.

[Eric Mc]

And the late filing penalty does not stay at £100 for very long either.

[kiethton]

Yeah we're struggling through this mess with my GF currently

A PAYE employee, had a single letter out of the blue last month saying there was a £100 fine for not submitting a return for 14/15. After this we've attempted to register to complete the return on 3 separate occasions, calling them 4 times, each time being promised a letter with an access code to allow it to happen. No letter has been received.

That's reminded me...need to call them again to try and sort it out as otherwise the "fine" and "interest" will be building (she's bloody PAYE with no other sources of income anyway!)

[schmunk]

kiethton said:

Yeah we're struggling through this mess with my GF currently

A PAYE employee, had a single letter out of the blue last month saying there was a £100 fine for not submitting a return for 14/15. After this we've attempted to register to complete the return on 3 separate occasions, calling them 4 times, each time being promised a letter with an access code to allow it to happen. No letter has been received.

That's reminded me...need to call them again to try and sort it out as otherwise the "fine" and "interest" will be building (she's bloody PAYE with no other sources of income anyway!)

If you think there's genuinely no reason for her to need to file a tax return, you'd be better calling HMRC and asking for it to be cancelled.

Call 0300 200 3310 (with a drink and some entertainment - it can take 30 minutes before they answer...) and they'll run through the questions in https://www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-a-tax-return.

If they confirm she doesn't need to file they can cancel the return and penalties, and stop any future filing requests being issued.