threatening letter from hmrc

[MrsGrahamBellForTheSkiSeason]

puzzling letter arrived from the hmrc, telling me I owe them 2k and they will send in debt collectors for it... First I have heard of it, all the more baffling since they sent me a tax refund last month of more than that amount.... No explanation or statement of account of couse, just a demand. Is this usual?

Yes, that's their standard letter I'm afraid.

First thing to establish is if it is personl tax it refers to or something else. It could be PAYE underpayment, possibly to do with P11Ds but that gets sent to a company not an individual. Do you run a payroll/P11D scheme?

So first check the UTR on it is your personal one. Then phone the helpline to establish exactly what it refers to, which tax year, and take it from there.

Normally if there is underpaid tax previously they wouldn't send you a refund till the debt is cleared, which makes me think it may not be your personal tax...