HRMC registered me for self assessment
Discussion
Just received a letter from HRMC stating that they have registered me for self assessment. They did the same a few years ago and eventually got bored with my simple tax returns as I'm PAYE with straightforward ISA based savings, no secondary sources of income, etc. so told me not to submit them any more.
As this appears to be a fishing expedition from HRMC is there any way I can get them to back down on the self assessment as filling in the form is a PITA and a waste of both my time and theirs?
As this appears to be a fishing expedition from HRMC is there any way I can get them to back down on the self assessment as filling in the form is a PITA and a waste of both my time and theirs?
You can try but they like to use Self Assessment to check on your finances for people they think have higher than average net worth. If they think you need to fill one in then you need to convince them otherwise. More info here http://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/tax-basics/do-i...
If your finances really are that simple then filling in the form shouldn't be that much of a PITA.
If your finances really are that simple then filling in the form shouldn't be that much of a PITA.
I'll try giving them a ring to see if they will leave me alone.
Last time I did a return, which was a good few years ago, the website was just awful on every level. I work in web development and if a project I worked on produced such a poor system I wouldn't put it on my CV as I would think it would impact my chance of future work it was that poor. It was like the design was performed by a committee of monkeys that had heard of the internet second hand from somebody who had never seen it.
Couple that with a draconian username/password system involving letters sent via the postal service rather than email like a normal website and my procrastination over when to fill in my return meant something that would have taken an hour or two instead took weeks of elapsed time that pushed right up to the deadline.
Last time I did a return, which was a good few years ago, the website was just awful on every level. I work in web development and if a project I worked on produced such a poor system I wouldn't put it on my CV as I would think it would impact my chance of future work it was that poor. It was like the design was performed by a committee of monkeys that had heard of the internet second hand from somebody who had never seen it.
Couple that with a draconian username/password system involving letters sent via the postal service rather than email like a normal website and my procrastination over when to fill in my return meant something that would have taken an hour or two instead took weeks of elapsed time that pushed right up to the deadline.
I think the system must have improved since you last used it as its not bad at all now and I don't like online stuff.
Logging on once you are registered isn't too much of a faff. Just user / password and they send a code via text.
You can save and change details at any stage up to the final submission and I've used it in the past to double check how much tax I'll pay on a given dividend and adjust the amount based on how much I need the money and how much tax I can afford to pay ahead of the final submission.
If you owe anything you can also pay easily online although the worldpay system they use now does look a little dodgy at first.
Logging on once you are registered isn't too much of a faff. Just user / password and they send a code via text.
You can save and change details at any stage up to the final submission and I've used it in the past to double check how much tax I'll pay on a given dividend and adjust the amount based on how much I need the money and how much tax I can afford to pay ahead of the final submission.
If you owe anything you can also pay easily online although the worldpay system they use now does look a little dodgy at first.
The website has improved a bit, but it's basically just form filling and it doesn't need to be much more clever than it currently is.
The registration process is a bit tedious but you just do it once and it's not entirely unreasonable that there's a couple of steps in the process given the purposes of the website.
The site does the job now, I'm not sure I'd want too many more of my taxpayer's money being thrown at whichever overpriced services company wrote it...
The registration process is a bit tedious but you just do it once and it's not entirely unreasonable that there's a couple of steps in the process given the purposes of the website.
The site does the job now, I'm not sure I'd want too many more of my taxpayer's money being thrown at whichever overpriced services company wrote it...
PhilboSE said:
If your finances really are that simple then filling in the form shouldn't be that much of a PITA.
Copy two numbers off your P60 and the job's done.Something must have caught their attention. Big expenses? Lot's of additional benefits? "Employer" whose PAYE returns HMRC doesn't trust? Name turning up on capital transactions in HMRCs computer?
rockin said:
Copy two numbers off your P60 and the job's done.
Something must have caught their attention. Big expenses? Lot's of additional benefits? "Employer" whose PAYE returns HMRC doesn't trust? Name turning up on capital transactions in HMRCs computer?
Last time I did it it was the info of the P60, my annual savings statements (I have a few but all uncomplex ISAs or similar) that I will need to request as everything is digital now, and I put in my mileage as at the time I had a company car allowance but used my own car. If I have to do that now that will be annoying as my current company's expense system has no easy way to get the total.Something must have caught their attention. Big expenses? Lot's of additional benefits? "Employer" whose PAYE returns HMRC doesn't trust? Name turning up on capital transactions in HMRCs computer?
Expenses are mostly mileage/meals, everything else is directly paid for by work, less than a grands worth a month on average. Might be my employer as I work for a Chinese owned firm. I haven't bought anything big in years other than a few cars. Not sure if it is my biannual bonus triggering it, it is roughly 15% of annual salary every 6 months?
tankplanker said:
ast time I did it it was the info of the P60, my annual savings statements (I have a few but all uncomplex ISAs or similar) that I will need to request as everything is digital now,
You don't include ISAstankplanker said:
and I put in my mileage as at the time I had a company car allowance but used my own car. If I have to do that now that will be annoying as my current company's expense system has no easy way to get the total.
With the best will in the world, HMRC are going to need to be told the total somehow in order to calculate your rebate. Unless you're paid at the maximum rate anyway.tankplanker said:
Expenses are mostly mileage/meals, everything else is directly paid for by work, less than a grands worth a month on average. Might be my employer as I work for a Chinese owned firm.
Every firm I've worked for (including the current tiddly one, which I'm a director of) has had a dispensation for expenses so they don't have to be included.It essentially lists the MONETARY value of the mileage you have actually been PAID by your employer.
It is declared as if it is a taxable Benefit in Kind. If you want to ensure you aren't TAXED on this amount, you need to make a corresponding claim for the same amount as an EXPENSE on the Employment Supplementary Pages of your Self Assessment tax return.
The expense claim cancels out the Benefit in Kind declaration.
It's all a bit convoluted but that is what you are expected to do.
It is declared as if it is a taxable Benefit in Kind. If you want to ensure you aren't TAXED on this amount, you need to make a corresponding claim for the same amount as an EXPENSE on the Employment Supplementary Pages of your Self Assessment tax return.
The expense claim cancels out the Benefit in Kind declaration.
It's all a bit convoluted but that is what you are expected to do.
Armitage.Shanks said:
What happens if you get paid business mileage @45pppm up to 10k miles in your own car? I thought this was free from tax as it's the max HMRC allowance and didn't need to be disclosed?
P11D only issued if you are paid at a higher rate and they need to work out the tax to take off?
The opposite is also true, if your employer pays less you can claim the taxable percentage back of the difference between the company mileage rate and the HRMC rate. So in my case I was paid 15p a mile and the HRMC rate for the same car was 45p a mile, so I could claim the tax back on the difference. I don't know if it is still the case as it has been a while since I did this.P11D only issued if you are paid at a higher rate and they need to work out the tax to take off?
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