Can I tell HMRC to bog off for tax on account?

[tribpot]

I know I can't really but I'm just dead annoyed. Dh has a small income from rent and so pays a correspondingly small amount of tax on it.

HMRC in their infinite wisdom have decided they want more than he paid in total for 06-07 on account for 07-08. Oh, and they wanted some of it in April (although didn't tell me) so are charging interest on that amount already.

As far as I can see, this means they get to reap the interest on the sum for the whole of the rest of the tax year, just for fun.

hi trib

You can propose a smaller amount on account if you can show a reason why the projected amount could be inaccurate.

Also, well worth appealing any charge/interest on the amount they claim to be outstanding since April.

Sometimes they can be quite human on the phone and a letter explaining extenuating circs can be successful.

Hi lummox, how are you all doing?!

I think the only extenuating circumstance is that I want to tell them to bog off. Don't think they would respond well to that.

I just think it's a bit mean. I don't have to pay all my tax up front at the start(ish) of the tax year.

All good here, thanks. Had our first experience of hosting a birthday party for ds1's third.

Harrowing.

Tax on account is a pita, but I've always been self employed so never had the joy of paying as I went along. It seems that the thinking behind all the tax rules relating to non-employees is that everyone is cheating, so HMRC will try to get their money somehow or another.

How's your 3 year old going?

you're not paying up front - one of the great things is that you don't have to pay tax as the money comes in like you do if you get paid a salary. Instead you pay later. So for what they guess you earn from April - September 2008 you pay the tax in Jan 09, and for what they guess you earn October 08 - March 09 you pay up in July 09. If you were paye you'd have paid April 08's tax in April 08, but instead you pay in Jan 09. What's not to like?

Normally the On Account payments are exaclty half what you actually paid last year. If yours isn't phone them and ask them why

Thanks missingtheaction. This is only the second year that dh has had to do a self-assessment (when I say dh I mean me obviously since he wouldn't know one end of the form from the other ).

On 7th April this year they decided to charge just over half of what dh paid last year, and then on 31 July decided to charge the same again, and I have to pay the lot by 31st July. This doesn't sound right, and worryingly like later in the year they might charge us some more? The tax will probably be less this year (minus the abolition of the 10p tax band of course) as the flat has been empty for some months and had some fairly chunky repair work done on it.

the 7th April charge should probably have been paid on 31 Jan (and self-assesed by yourself as such). This would be a payment on account for 07/08. The payment on 31 Jul is the 2nd payment on account for 07/08. If there is one you would have a balancing charge in Jan 09.

The 07/08 tax year has now ended, therefore do your return NOW. You will then know the actual tax due, and can reduce the payments on account (thereby mitigating some of the interest) if it is lower than last year.

You are paying in arrears though.

Right, it's all beginning to make sense now, whilst I retain my position that I want to tell HMRC to bog off.

However, you're right, I want to get the tax return asap as it was a lot more stressful prevaricating about doing the last one than it was actually getting the bloody thing done.

I propose a simplification to the tax system: no-one pays any.

I do see one problem with my scheme, which is that as a public sector employee I would not have a job, as I have just destroyed the public sector.

Trib I am the same about forms- easier to do them but I never do, I expend ten times as much energy worrying about them.

OIf you have tax questions just call the. The enquiries staff know that errors are made and they are fine (used to be one years ago).

I am totally the same re doing them (and I am an accountant). For the last few years our have gone in in late Dec/Jan. Every year I vow to do them yearly. This year I actually did, think I did mine in April. I am still shocked.

We ALL want to tell HMRC to bog off, but it is a necessary evil. Unlike tax credits, which is just evil.

Ah now you see, you're on to something re: tax credits, as I have to deal with them at the moment too.

This time last year they made a payment for a single day and then stopped paying us and demanded money back. I paid up cos I knew we'd been overpaid the previous year, never thought about it again. However, I got the annual review form (which informed me dh and I had separated last year, news to us). And it would appear because I didn't send back last year's annual review the claim was stopped.

Except I did send it back, but I didn't realise if they sent you two annual review forms, one addressed to dh and one to you but both asking for details of both incomes, you had to send them both back.

Nothing to be done now, claim has ended. But they still want to know if the £1.56 they paid us for that day was too much. And if I want to reclaim I have to start again from now, aka more form-filling.

Fortunately when I had to fill in dh's claim form for Disability Living Allowance (the mother of all forms, I put it off for about a year because I assumed he wouldn't get anything) I got help from Carers Leeds to do it. Now I think there should be some kind of support service to help fill in all forms! And not just for carers!

Update, apparently telling you you separated is just "how to make the system work", bee-zarre. Well, I've filled in my forms and will send them separately to cost them twice the (second class) postage.

I really should update my tax credits, H left nearly 3 months ago and while we didn't qualify when together I will now. I am already in the system as I applied the year when ds1 was born but we were just over the limit. Just really don't want the hassle.

Chasing, sorry your H has left Deffo worth putting another claim in if you think you might get something from the gouging gits helpful folk.

I know, just need to get round to it. And doing it is just another nail in the coffin I suppose.