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Original poster

hmrc have said I owe them £865

10 replies

timeforabrewnow · 01/12/2017 19:11

which was news to me as I have been paying PAYE tax all year. When I looked closely at the letter it turns out my employers have given them wrong figures and said that I earned nearly £40,000 last year (I wish!!) - (my earnings are no more than £28,000 tops)

I have phoned my salaries and wages dept and emailed them across the relevant info, but I am bricking it slightly that this will turn into a difficult mess.

HMRC were reasonably helpful, and said employers quite often makes mistakes like these Confused

Anyone out there with happy stories of a similar problem that was easily resolved?

OP posts:
JennyHolzersGhost · 01/12/2017 19:13

Sounds like you’ve overpaid ? In which case they’ll refund you and change your tax code for next year to accurately reflect your salary. It’s normallt pretty routine.

Hauntedlobster · 01/12/2017 19:14

If you haven’t earned it surely all you need to do is show payslips and p60?

topcat2014 · 01/12/2017 19:20

Don't panic - it is fixable. You need to ring the hmrc helpline: 0300 200 3300 with your NI number and P60.

What are the figures on your P60, and we might be able to check.

If anything, I would expect you to have underpaid.

Original poster
timeforabrewnow · 01/12/2017 19:21

@haunted - yes I have my p60 - you'd think it would be simple. HMRC person on phone said my employers had to re-send the correct figures in....

OP posts:
topcat2014 · 01/12/2017 19:21

Don't forget to bollock your employers;

Original poster
timeforabrewnow · 01/12/2017 19:26

@topcat sorry - didn't explain it well - on the letter there are two figures, the first one of total earnings for £27,658 and then a second one of £12,000 - which is completely spurious as I didn't earn 12000 on top of my regular job.

The extra tax is after both have been added together.

OP posts:
Original poster
timeforabrewnow · 01/12/2017 19:27

Hmmm - not sure about bollocking them - if I was in the USA I could sue them maybe

OP posts:
HumpHumpWhale · 01/12/2017 19:30

I know it's a lot easier said than done, but don't worry about this. HMRC are really reasonable and not at all interested in taking tax that isn't owed. Even if you did owe it, you wouldn't have to pay it all in one go, it would be spread out over time. It'll be fine and they will 100% not make you fork over a big chunk of cash at any point.

Kazzyhoward · 02/12/2017 12:02

When you say two lines, do they both show the same employer name? Do both lines say "employment"? The devil is in the detail, look at the wording not just the numbers.

If so, it could be that the employer have changed payroll systems mid-way which has ended up showing as two different employments.

If not, it could be that HMRC have wrongly allocated a completely different person's earnings to you - their database is certainly not infallible.

topcat2014 · 03/12/2017 11:23

Another vote for 'updating systems'. If your employer has done this, there are often two 'records' for each person at HMRC with different payroll ID numbers. Funny how the second amount is £12,000 - sounds like a 'dummy' salary of £1000 per month was put in to set up the record, and then not removed.

As you can see, you don't owe the tax - and your employer would agree. Up to the employer to assist where they can - but HMRC can be tricky about speaking to employers if they think it is an employee matter.

Sorry for the admin hassle you will have - but it is fixable with nothing owing.

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