Just been ****ed by the taxman...
Discussion
Ok, i work for a college, have done on their salaried books since about 03. Prior to that i was contracted using an agency called protocol who specialise in agency lecturers. Anyway, after i was taken on by the college on their books they still used to offer overtime hours using protocol to fill them. On this basis i did normal hours plus overtime for a while there, no issues or so i thought.
I get a bill this morning from HMRC saying that i underpaid my tax by about a grand and a half on this basis, in other words even though the college and the agency worked closely together some f
kwit didnt combine the two payments before paying the tax out of them. Imm now expected to pay this back.
Reading the small print on the hmrc paperwork it says there are some circumstances where underpayment charges can be contested, one being the onus is on the employer to correctly set up the tax payments, not a paye employee.
My question is this, has anyone ever contested a paye underpayment on the basis the employer should have got this right, particularly when it was their choice to cost overtime hours out through an agency even for their own staff? Im bloody livid about this, ive got a bill from 2005 o my doorstep and im dumbfounded by it.
ETA for clarification, i stopped doing agency overtime on this basis in about 2006/7 approx.
I get a bill this morning from HMRC saying that i underpaid my tax by about a grand and a half on this basis, in other words even though the college and the agency worked closely together some f

Reading the small print on the hmrc paperwork it says there are some circumstances where underpayment charges can be contested, one being the onus is on the employer to correctly set up the tax payments, not a paye employee.
My question is this, has anyone ever contested a paye underpayment on the basis the employer should have got this right, particularly when it was their choice to cost overtime hours out through an agency even for their own staff? Im bloody livid about this, ive got a bill from 2005 o my doorstep and im dumbfounded by it.
ETA for clarification, i stopped doing agency overtime on this basis in about 2006/7 approx.
Eric Mc said:
You are referring to extra statutory concession A11.
For this to work you need to show -
you realised at the time there was a problem
you contacted HMRC to rectify the problem
you have documentary evidence to support the above
I hope you are not a tax lecturer
Cheers for the reply Eric and no im not!For this to work you need to show -
you realised at the time there was a problem
you contacted HMRC to rectify the problem
you have documentary evidence to support the above
I hope you are not a tax lecturer

I had no idea there was a problem, im just a normal PAYE employee, i assumed the college and agency working toether as closely as they did would have worked this out already. I contacted hmrc in july this year over noticing i had a different tax code to the rest of the staff which they admitted was wrong and hae now adjusted.
Im blown away by this, a shock bill of fifteen hundred quid out of nowhere.
Deva Link said:
Would an employer and an agency ever work together in the wway the OP hoped? Seems unlikely to me as they're necessarily completely separate entities.
Can only guess the extra pay has taken you into 40% territory and you were taxed at basic rate?
We're not talking about big salary stuff here, just more than i was apparently entitled to.Can only guess the extra pay has taken you into 40% territory and you were taxed at basic rate?
To give you an idea of the closeness of working relationship between the college and protocol they even had a permanent member of their staff in our hr department through this period. It was a legitimate working business partnership, not an arbitrary setup by any means.
So fed up to just lose that sort of money, im usually really careful with cash. Im tempted to just pay the thing before they start deducting it and have done with it.
Mattt said:
This isn't meant to be a dig at the OP, but I'm always amazed when you hear stories like this - before I went to Self Assessment, I always used to check my PAYE earnings vs tax each year to ensure I paid the correct tax (well to check I hadn't paid too much).
None taken. In hindsight i should have checked but its te sort of thing that as a paye employe you really shouldnt have to. Also i wouldnt have known had i looked.Cheers for the tip. Worked it out if i try to stick a couple of hundred each month aside i can be ready to pay it off in one hit just before the tax office would start adjusting my salary (they reckon april 2012 is when it would start coming out).
Just feels a bit hollow saving up for sod all!
Just feels a bit hollow saving up for sod all!
The two words that always crop up in these types of situtaions - "I assumed...".
Unfortunately, in the world of PAYE, ALL the parties involved have a part to play in getting things right -
the employer(s)
HMRC
the taxpayer
EVERYBODY should have an idea how much tax they should pay based on their gross salaries and their annual personal tax allowances.
If that is all someone has to take into account when calculating their overall tax liability, the computation is not that difficult. It only takes about ten minutes with a calculator to work out what the liability should be. If the liability is less, then there is a strong possibility that you are underpaying your tax and may have to notify HMRC that there is a problem.
The key to all this is having a basic knowledge of how the PAYE Tax Coding system works. It's not that difficult but very few people take any time out to get their heads around tax codes.
I know it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it's a worthwhile skill to learn as it will help avoid these types of problems arising.
Unfortunately, in the world of PAYE, ALL the parties involved have a part to play in getting things right -
the employer(s)
HMRC
the taxpayer
EVERYBODY should have an idea how much tax they should pay based on their gross salaries and their annual personal tax allowances.
If that is all someone has to take into account when calculating their overall tax liability, the computation is not that difficult. It only takes about ten minutes with a calculator to work out what the liability should be. If the liability is less, then there is a strong possibility that you are underpaying your tax and may have to notify HMRC that there is a problem.
The key to all this is having a basic knowledge of how the PAYE Tax Coding system works. It's not that difficult but very few people take any time out to get their heads around tax codes.
I know it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it's a worthwhile skill to learn as it will help avoid these types of problems arising.
Eric Mc said:
The two words that always crop up in these types of situtaions - "I assumed...".
Unfortunately, in the world of PAYE, ALL the parties involved have a part to play in getting things right -
the employer(s)
HMRC
the taxpayer
EVERYBODY should have an idea how much tax they should pay based on their gross salaries and their annual personal tax allowances.
If that is all someone has to take into account when calculating their overall tax liability, the computation is not that difficult. It only takes about ten minutes with a calculator to work out what the liability should be. If the liability is less, then there is a strong possibility that you are underpaying your tax and may have to notify HMRC that there is a problem.
The key to all this is having a basic knowledge of how the PAYE Tax Coding system works. It's not that difficult but very few people take any time out to get their heads around tax codes.
I know it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it's a worthwhile skill to learn as it will help avoid these types of problems arising.
Never have done in the past but certainly will in the future. To say im pissed off about it is an understatement.Unfortunately, in the world of PAYE, ALL the parties involved have a part to play in getting things right -
the employer(s)
HMRC
the taxpayer
EVERYBODY should have an idea how much tax they should pay based on their gross salaries and their annual personal tax allowances.
If that is all someone has to take into account when calculating their overall tax liability, the computation is not that difficult. It only takes about ten minutes with a calculator to work out what the liability should be. If the liability is less, then there is a strong possibility that you are underpaying your tax and may have to notify HMRC that there is a problem.
The key to all this is having a basic knowledge of how the PAYE Tax Coding system works. It's not that difficult but very few people take any time out to get their heads around tax codes.
I know it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it's a worthwhile skill to learn as it will help avoid these types of problems arising.
Deva Link said:
Have you checked that what they're asking you for is correct?
Unfortunately it is, yes. Like i said im a little pissed off that the employer and agency didnt get the figures right between them at the time. I made the assumption someone whose job it was to get my tax right wasnt a f


They wont start taking money until the new tax year so im going to set a bit aside each month between now and then and pay it off in one hit. Im not having my salary deducted at source like some f

Y282 said:
Unfortunately it is, yes. Like i said im a little pissed off that the employer and agency didnt get the figures right between them at the time. I made the assumption someone whose job it was to get my tax right wasnt a f
kwitted
of the highest order and have been charged fifteen hundred quid for the privilege. I'll be standing over the f
kers next time as they fill it out.
It's your job to make sure your tax is correct. Employers just work on the tax code HMRC sends them. 


Y282 said:
They wont start taking money until the new tax year so im going to set a bit aside each month between now and then and pay it off in one hit. Im not having my salary deducted at source like some f
king student.
Not sure how that's going to work - normally they just send you a bill or adjust your code and recover month by month.
Eric Mc said:
If the amount they want to collect from you is under £2,000, they will do so by adjusting your curent tax code. If it is over £2,000, they will want you to pay it in full by cheque/direct bank payment etc.
The letter accompanying it said itll start being taken in the new 2012 tax tear spread over one year of eqyal payments.Y282 said:
Eric Mc said:
If the amount they want to collect from you is under £2,000, they will do so by adjusting your curent tax code. If it is over £2,000, they will want you to pay it in full by cheque/direct bank payment etc.
The letter accompanying it said itll start being taken in the new 2012 tax tear spread over one year of eqyal payments.Eric Mc said:
Y282 said:
Eric Mc said:
If the amount they want to collect from you is under £2,000, they will do so by adjusting your curent tax code. If it is over £2,000, they will want you to pay it in full by cheque/direct bank payment etc.
The letter accompanying it said itll start being taken in the new 2012 tax tear spread over one year of eqyal payments.Good job innit, imagine not being ble to afford to lose that per month.
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