I didnt tell HMRC I stopped working. Am I in trouble?

[susanawan]

Ok so first of all I'm not proud of what I've done but I really need help.

Last year march I was getting income support and other benefits because I'm a single parent and I have a 5 yr old daughter. I was keen to get out of benefits and start working so I got a job as a trainee beauty therapist. It was not apprenticeship but train while you work so I was given 600 pounds a month as salary and I was working 42 hours a week. After about 2-3 months I had to leave the job but I didn't notify HMRC that I stopped working. I was scared that they would stop paying me working tax credits and child tax credits. I thought I would go back to benefits until I got another job but My employer ( who was giving me 600 p/m) never gave me any pay slips or even p60 That you are meant to get after yo stop working or p 45 or any document. So I was stuck with not applying for benefits and not telling hmrc about stopping work. Now Last month I called HMRC and told them that I have just stopped working ( koz I was done with being scared that they would find out, But now I'm scared that they will still find out . They said ok and the changes will take place in 28 days. Now I'm sooooooo scared that they will find out That i havent worked since 10 months. There must be a system for them to find out right?? Though there was no paper work but my employer took my N.I number before I started working so I believe Im going to be in trouble soon. I also sent HMRC my tax form stating I was working the same. Please don't judge me and just tell me what should I do. I havent heard anythin from HMRC since I told them that I've stopped working. Nothing about an investigation or anything bad.
What should I do now? Will they definitely find out that I wasn't working? Or should I just stay quiet and let the matter die as they know I'm not working anymore. Or should I just confess and may be they will b lenient that way
Please give me honest advice. Thank you so much

Well, it's sensible. So you know what you told them.

People take time out to give you decent advice and the only person you thank is the one who suggests that your employer may be at fault

I didn't judge you in the first instance but now I do. Just do what you need to do instead of searching for loopholes now. You can't vs that frightened or you'd do the simplest thing - as I suggested up thread

But you have lied because you are supposed to notify them after you stop working. You won't carry on getting tax credits unless you renew. Tax credits are nothing to do with your employer btw.

Was it a tax return or was it a tax credit renewal, you're still not being clear. Yes you should keep all financial statements and tax correspondence for several years. It is your responsibility to keep HMRC up to date not your employers , were you on PAYE ? If you had other sources of income some of those may be taxable.

Just come clean. Be worse for you if you wait for them to find out.

This is slightly aside, but even if an employer has an NI number, it means no guarantees. When I was made redundant on ML, I had a tears worth if payslips stating tax and NI deducted, but my employer hadnt paid any of it at all. He just kept it.

*YEARS

I didn't mean to offend anybody and I'm sorry about it all. It's not my employers fault. Its only my fault I know that very well. But we all make mistakes don't we :( Trust me circumstances made me do this as last resort. When I started working I was getting benefits before that. It was income support and there was no hurry as people say to work. But I wanted to do it because I wanted to get out of benefit system. Anyways an ugly divorce and lots of drama in my life made it impossible to do the right thing at that point in time. Now I'm ready to face the consequences and that's why I called them and told them that I stopped working. Now of course they are going to find out but I don have the guts to tell them just now so I said I'm going to wait and let them contact me. Hope it clears my situation atleast infront of you guys.
Lizs: It was a tax return form that we have to fill near the year end. Let's just see what happens and Thank you

and thank you every one for taking out your time to reply. I really appreciate it and I'm reading every comment and it's really helping. Thanx

No idea why you wouldn't tell them. They will come down harder on you if you wait for them to contact you. No point.
You say you're not proud of it, but you're not doing anything about it.

So you guys Think I should tell them? I can't call them I'm too scared. Should I write a confession letter?

Please don't beat yourself up about it. You won't be the first to do this and you're trying to make amends now. I would get in touch with them. No need to 'confess', just be calm and factual. And I'm not judging you. Sometimes, we make decisions that feel very right for our circumstances at the time.

If you don't feel ready to contact HMRC just now, then I would second what others have said and speak to Citizens Advice. They can be really helpful.

Take the stance of going for an appointment at the job centre, you'll need a bit of help sorting it all out

contact CAB like people have said and go from there. Be honest
Hope it all works out.

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate it. I am building up courage to go to CAB. But from what I've read on different blogs, they aren't of much help either.
So may be not a confession letter but an explanation letter. Or should I just wait. I know most of you are saying that I should contact them myself and I'm not trying to conceal anything ANYmore but I just want to wait and see what happens. I am not getting any WTc anymore anyway. So it's just last year. I am hoping that they just write me one day and ask for the last years WTc back and I can arrange payments. So I can move in with my partner and start Afresh. I don't want this new guy to run away as well because of my stupidity.

When did you last receive working tax credits?

It WILL be spotted so waiting isn't really an option.

my last WTC was about three weeks ago

You will be sent a renewal form anytime soon which asks you to confirm from April 2012 - April 2013 you were working 30 hours a week & what your earnings were.

So, are you going to lie on that form? If you don't send it back they stop your credits & may well want it ALL paid back not just the working part.

You have no option but to ring up & clear things up. CAB won't do this for you BTW as they are much too busy. At best they will reiterate what has been posted on here.

Just ring them up and sort it out now or keep watching the post until they chase you for it.

Ok Guys What I'm going to do is wait for the renewal forms to come in the post and Tell the truth in the form that I wasn't working and with it write a covering letter explaining my situation Instead of calling them (sorry too chicken to call:( ... ) . Please tell me what do you think?

P.S thank you everybody

I still would ring them & then you know where you are straight away. But it's your decision.

The CAB could ring on your behalf, but you would need to be sitting there to answer security questions. HMRC won't give much of a toss and will not say anything bad, they'll just recalculate and tell you what rate of repayment they want and then agree or disagree and that'll be it.

If it was a Tax Return , completed last October, then it would have been for income April 2011- April 2012. That is entirely separate from Tax Credits renewal or claim. You need to call whoever you spoke to last month and say you made a mistake and give them the real date your employment finished. Mistakes can be checked back years, producing bills out of the blue, and if they uncover one irregularity - yours or your employers' - later on they may well look even further back in case of others. Better to face up now, it may well not be as bad as you fear .