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Original poster

Is this normal for an accountant and HMRC to be constantly so far apart?

51 replies

Loulouboho · 03/02/2026 21:51

Two years in a row I pay an accountant to help me with my tax return and honestly my confidence in her is very wonky at this point.

Last tax return she told me I might have to pay ~£500-600 and then I got hit with a £9K demand. This year she told me I was due a >£5K tax rebate. They have offered me £250.

Why is this so different? I literally struggling to understand how to fill this and calculate it which is why I pay her to help me. I feel as though my confidence is just gone now in this accountant. Is this normal to get it so wrong?

OP posts:
Wowzel · 03/02/2026 21:52

No, my DH's accountant gets it really close to the amount due

Iwouldratherbemuckingout · 03/02/2026 21:56

No, that’s really poor. I would be seeking an explanation and a refund.

jelliebelly · 03/02/2026 22:00

No it isn’t normal they should pretty much match! She needs to explain to you why they don’t.

yoursweetpotatoesarebland · 03/02/2026 22:02

Definitely not normal! What does she say the reason is?

AlexisP90 · 03/02/2026 22:04

Im an accountant. Absolutely wild shes that far out.

I would go to someone else - and get them to check the last few years that have been submitted too...

justtheotheronemrswembley · 03/02/2026 22:04

What sort of an accountant is she - does she work for an accountancy practice? What are her qualifications?

justtheotheronemrswembley · 03/02/2026 22:05

Does she file the accounts with HMRC on your behalf, or just tell you what figures to input yourself?

HedgehogHome · 03/02/2026 22:27

Are you giving her all the info she needs?

spannasaurus · 03/02/2026 22:31

If she prepares your tax return she should be able to tell you the exact amount of tax payable

titchy · 03/02/2026 22:43

If she’s that far amount why isn’t she investigating what she’s done/the basis on which they have determined your liability? Surely that indicates to her that something has gone wrong - either with their calculations or what she’s done. You’re not paying her I hope…

MJagain · 03/02/2026 22:45

Loulouboho · 03/02/2026 21:51

Two years in a row I pay an accountant to help me with my tax return and honestly my confidence in her is very wonky at this point.

Last tax return she told me I might have to pay ~£500-600 and then I got hit with a £9K demand. This year she told me I was due a >£5K tax rebate. They have offered me £250.

Why is this so different? I literally struggling to understand how to fill this and calculate it which is why I pay her to help me. I feel as though my confidence is just gone now in this accountant. Is this normal to get it so wrong?

Not at all normal.
PM me if you want a better service.

tedibear · 03/02/2026 22:49

Are you sure she’s actually a qualified accountant? I say this as a qualified accountant, it should be very close if not bang on.

I’d be looking for a new accountant asap. I would also be asking her how the figures are so vastly different.

Bloozie · 03/02/2026 22:51

Yeah my accountant gets it pretty much spot on. You need to find a new one.

BreakingBroken · 03/02/2026 22:56

the local group that files taxes offers to pay the difference if they get it wrong.

lunar1 · 03/02/2026 22:57

My account deals with our personal returns and three business accounts, one year he rang me horrified he was £100 out! I wouldn’t be happy with an error like yours

Schoolchoicesucks · 03/02/2026 23:08

Is the accountant doing the filing for you or telling you what to fill in? Is the difference due to paying instalments for the next year? What has she said to explain the differences to you? If she can't explain it then I would definitely be asking someone else qualified to review and help in future.
How complex are your finances?

labradorservant · 03/02/2026 23:23

I’m was a tax account in a previous life. If our figures and HMRC were different we had to work out and explain why. Are you sure she’s qualified? Or are you giving her all the right figures/tax codes etc. although all easily accessible now.

Original poster
Loulouboho · 03/02/2026 23:53

Wow. Ok I am feeling much more confident about challenging her now. She’s she’s a qualified accountant. She handles filing. My taxes are not overly complex I think normally - bonus sometimes caused problems. She did my backdated filing as I was not up to date and it was great. Then past 2 years it’s just so wildly out. Last year I sold some employee shares in a US company which I guess was a bit complicated as I struggled to fine someone willing to deal with that. This year there is nothing more complicated than a bonus and some children’s savings accounts. I will challenge her again. HMRC did not explain the reason for the difference / I asked them but they were adamant they are right. She did not respond to my requests for clarification and said it was for HMRC to answer. I paid her about £300 for each return.

in terms of what info I have her it’s everything she said that she needed.

thanks

OP posts:
Bjorkdidit · 04/02/2026 05:02

It doesn't sound like you need an accountant to do your tax return. Are you a high earner, rather than self employed/limited company?

It's too late this year, but perhaps from next tax year just do your own return? For the 2025/6 tax year, you can do it any time from 6 April and have until the end of January 2027 to pay what you owe, although you might need to wait until you get your P60 from your employer and interest statements from banks.

When doing self assessment, it just asks you about where your income comes from and then you have to enter your figures. If there's anything you're not sure about, there's a link to help for each box.

But in any case, I'd do it sooner rather than later - waiting until near the deadline and then using an accountant at their busiest time of year when you could have had it sorted six months earlier seems a good way to make the whole process more stressful.

Although sometimes there's a 'lag' with what you owe and it takes time to catch up because of the time between the end of the tax year and the deadline for filing, also which year payments on account refer to. Could this be the reason for the discrepancy? Have you over or underpaid in previous years?

Maddy70 · 04/02/2026 05:44

No. Accountants are usual spot on. Find a different one

Bromptotoo · 04/02/2026 08:56

There should be two calculations. One by your accountant and the other by HMRC.

Can you compare the two and identify the differences?

ohtowinthelottery · 04/02/2026 09:10

Are you sure this doesn't relate to something backdated to earlier years.
DH has always been on PAYE with any interest on investments being reported direct to HMRC by the financial institutions. We are still paying for backdated adjustments from a few years ago even though he's been retired nearly 2 years. One reason was relating to P11D for healthcare scheme from employer (should have been submitted by HR), the other reason was down to massive underestimated i credit interest received due to interest on pension lump sums (pending us sorting out where to put them to be more tax efficient).

So HMRC are always playing catchup and adjusting things when you least accept it. Have lost count of the number of tax coding notices DH has received in the last 2 years, which for someone with straightforward tax affairs which don't even warrant a tax return, is ridiculous. I'm sure they do it deliberately so you can't work out WTF they're doing.

How long has your accountant been doing your returns and could it be something historic that they've not picked up on.

And don't get me started on how HMRC keep changing my tax code without telling me. I only know because my workplace pension fund send a paper statement each time the code changes. And I don't even earn enough to pay tax!

I think theta system is overcomplicated and a little bit of me dies inside every time I/ DH have to deal with them.

Caterina99 · 04/02/2026 09:25

No your accountant should be pretty much in agreement with HMRC, particularly if your tax affairs are straightforward as it is just entering information, not a matter of opinion that HMRC can disagree with.

Can you work out what is causing the difference? Although your accountant should do this for you!

Not that I’m defending her, but HMRC do make mistakes. I used to work in this area and we’d phone them (as the accountant) and ask why they’d done x and the only answer would be “it’s what the tax return says” - no it’s not - change it to what the tax return actually does say! They can also estimate for the current year and assume your income will remain the same. Your accountant should be on top of this though and explain this to you - if she is actually competent

Gabbycat245 · 04/02/2026 09:28

ohtowinthelottery · 04/02/2026 09:10

Are you sure this doesn't relate to something backdated to earlier years.
DH has always been on PAYE with any interest on investments being reported direct to HMRC by the financial institutions. We are still paying for backdated adjustments from a few years ago even though he's been retired nearly 2 years. One reason was relating to P11D for healthcare scheme from employer (should have been submitted by HR), the other reason was down to massive underestimated i credit interest received due to interest on pension lump sums (pending us sorting out where to put them to be more tax efficient).

So HMRC are always playing catchup and adjusting things when you least accept it. Have lost count of the number of tax coding notices DH has received in the last 2 years, which for someone with straightforward tax affairs which don't even warrant a tax return, is ridiculous. I'm sure they do it deliberately so you can't work out WTF they're doing.

How long has your accountant been doing your returns and could it be something historic that they've not picked up on.

And don't get me started on how HMRC keep changing my tax code without telling me. I only know because my workplace pension fund send a paper statement each time the code changes. And I don't even earn enough to pay tax!

I think theta system is overcomplicated and a little bit of me dies inside every time I/ DH have to deal with them.

This! I'm a higher rate tax payer who gets a couple if minor taxable benefits plus a varying bonus. I reckon I've had more than 10 tax code changes in the last year. It's wild.

idontgetitdoyou · 04/02/2026 09:41

I also sold some shares (a lot) in a US company last year and had to report the gain this time round. It was pretty complicated and took me a few goes to get right, and a couple of reviews with DH to sense check it. (We are not accountants).