HMRC claiming interest on a debt from 2022
Discussion
Guys,
Quickie; I have had a letter from those nice boys and girls at HMRC saying that I owe then a couple of hundred quid, and if this isn't paid within 10 days they will pass it on to a debt collection agency. This is the first I have head of this, despite the letter claiming that they have tried to contact me several times about the matter.
I've called them (only 40 minutes in the phone queue - yay!
) and they eventually said that the debt relates to an underpayment on an amount paid on account dating back to July 2022. The debt is £150 or so, but they have added over £50's worth of interest. When I asked why they had left it for four years to contact me about it before sending a threatening letter they replied that I should have logged onto my online tax account where I could have seen this information.
I have paid the £150 but am struggling to justify paying their interest amount. It's only £57 but still sticks in the craw. Has anyone been here with HMRC before and do they have any suggestions on what the best thing to do is - cough up or fight it? And if the latter then how?
Thanks.
Quickie; I have had a letter from those nice boys and girls at HMRC saying that I owe then a couple of hundred quid, and if this isn't paid within 10 days they will pass it on to a debt collection agency. This is the first I have head of this, despite the letter claiming that they have tried to contact me several times about the matter.
I've called them (only 40 minutes in the phone queue - yay!
) and they eventually said that the debt relates to an underpayment on an amount paid on account dating back to July 2022. The debt is £150 or so, but they have added over £50's worth of interest. When I asked why they had left it for four years to contact me about it before sending a threatening letter they replied that I should have logged onto my online tax account where I could have seen this information. I have paid the £150 but am struggling to justify paying their interest amount. It's only £57 but still sticks in the craw. Has anyone been here with HMRC before and do they have any suggestions on what the best thing to do is - cough up or fight it? And if the latter then how?
Thanks.
2Btoo said:
When I asked why they had left it for four years to contact me about it before sending a threatening letter they replied that I should have logged onto my online tax account where I could have seen this information.
Wouldn't you log in each year for s/a purposes and see the sum owing factored into the total due?If you owe the money they should tell you, preferably by letter as e-mail isn't 100% reliable. Just saying 'We've parked it on a website, go and find it' isn't acceptable IMO. They manage to send me a letter every year saying I need to do a tax return, so they can send you one saying you have a debt to pay. I suppose it comes down to how much of an argument you want over £57.
I always pay up immediately and then try and chase up what they owe me in slow time. In some cases I have just written the money off even though they owe me thousands of pounds.
The most recent incident that I have had with HMRC was in December last year when I was fined £100 for not submitting my company accounts on time. They weren’t due until the end of February this year, but that didn’t stop the clowns sending me a penalty notice (which I duly paid). I have contacted them by telephone twice and the lack of knowledge and understanding on their part was something to behold. The sooner they replace most of them with AI the better.
The most recent incident that I have had with HMRC was in December last year when I was fined £100 for not submitting my company accounts on time. They weren’t due until the end of February this year, but that didn’t stop the clowns sending me a penalty notice (which I duly paid). I have contacted them by telephone twice and the lack of knowledge and understanding on their part was something to behold. The sooner they replace most of them with AI the better.
I took over as LPA for a relative who had had accrued something like £2,500 in unpaid and overdue tax owed plus the rolled up interest.
This was over 4 years or so.
My relative had by then developed full blown dementia and moved into a care home.
I offered to pay the tax owing but not the interest but they just ignored me and sent a further reminder adding even more interest.
I gave up waiting even more time on the telephone.
I emailed their CEO and asked that their complaints team get involved which they did and they sent an email address to communicate via.
I paid the tax and they waived the interest.
Boring story sorry and doesn’t help you but in your case I think both tax and interest are probably going to be hard to avoid paying.
If the shoe was on the other foot and they owed you tax from then they would add interest.
This was over 4 years or so.
My relative had by then developed full blown dementia and moved into a care home.
I offered to pay the tax owing but not the interest but they just ignored me and sent a further reminder adding even more interest.
I gave up waiting even more time on the telephone.
I emailed their CEO and asked that their complaints team get involved which they did and they sent an email address to communicate via.
I paid the tax and they waived the interest.
Boring story sorry and doesn’t help you but in your case I think both tax and interest are probably going to be hard to avoid paying.
If the shoe was on the other foot and they owed you tax from then they would add interest.
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