HMRC Self Assessment Penalty - PAYE employee

[ecsrobin]

Evening, I hope I can ask some advise with regards to a letter I received today from HMRC, I have phoned them twice today so think I know what to do but just want to make sure that advice is correct as the second advice from HMRC was different to the first.


So I have been a PAYE employee for as long as I can remember. In October 2014 I left the MOD and started employment the next day with a new company. I was initially charged emergency tax which was made clear to me by HR as the MOD had not provided me with a P45 at that stage. I've since left them in May 2015 and again started the next working day with my current employer.

So today I received a letter from HMRC saying I'm fined £100 for not submitting a tax return for 14/15?? Obviously I immediately called HMRC and was told it was because I underpaid tax to the value of £160 and they had sent multiple letters (to which I have seen none) I explained that I'm a PAYE employee so do not fill out assessments and surely the error is with them by not amending my tax code to cover the shortfall? I also questioned the fact I actually took a £10k pay cut on leaving the MOD and was paying emergency tax so in my eyes they're more likely to owe me money?

So I am now sat here filling out a self assessment (the girls on the phone said I need to) but they also said I should contest the fine by writing a letter and not paying it. During this they said I need my P60's and I mentioned I didn't have one of them to hand and she gave me all the numbers, money earned and tax paid so I really can't see how they can't do the sums themselves?

So I'm after a bit of help compiling a suitable letter as I'm guessing it's my word against there's that I didn't receive letters.


I should also add I did register to check my tax online 2 weeks ago that was wrong (showing I was going to earn double what I actually was, the guy on the phone fixed the issue and sent a letter to confirm that and at no point was it stated I was owing them money)

Thanks in advance.

[ecsrobin]

Eric Mc said:

HMRC must have issued you, at some point in the past, with a formal notification to submit a Self Assessment tax return for tax year 2014/15. That would have been sent to you sometime after 6 April 2015. Do you recall getting that?
Did you check with HMRC if they actually issued this formal notice.

Many people who's main income is taxed under PAYE are still required to complete Self Assessment tax returns - and often they are more complex than simple "self employed" folks' returns.

I don't recall any correspondence except for today's letter and the one last week. I'm going to check with them what address they were using as I had a house share whilst working for one of the airlines so if it went there I certainly would have never seen it as I had moved back to my home address by that point.

For me I'm guessing the form is quite simple as I just have the 2 salaries from the P60 to input with no additional incomes.

[ecsrobin]

Further to that my fine is £100 yet states that over 3 months it should be £10 per day, I'm a year late according to them so surely the fine should be bigger?