Urgent problem with HMRC

[badass]

You are being shafted. There has been an error somewhere because 57 quid to turn into 1200 in two years, are they a credit card company now?

If you're on PAYE with no other income then they're clearly in the wrong. The problem for you is because of the time that's lapsed you can't appealv diretly to them. Are they taking you to court? I would empty my account of money leaving a 1k for bills in the meantime until the matter is resolved.

Talk to someone who can deal with them for you. Keep your savings below 3k as well.

This is why the internet is a great place to get advice.

People still provide it whether they have a clue about the subject or not!

[badass]

I would get professional advice on this matter. Certainly start with the CAB, they will generally put you in touch with a CAB solicitor.

Best advice in the entire thread. I have used the CAB in the past and have found them incredibly helpful.

Even if you are PAYE you may still be required to file a tax return - they aren't just a requirement of the self employed.

You might have investment income or other income not taxed at source, or you might have income that aggregated might push you into a higher tax bracket.

You personally may not, but HMRC may not know that. They can require you to fill in a tax return in any tax year, and may have done so - sending it to your old address.

However, back to you the fact that your employer didn't inform you of your change of address sounds like good grounds for appeal.

So you could register and complete tax returns for the missing years, or write to HMRC asking for a paper form and cite your reasons for not completing one earlier.

(Usual disclaimer, I am not a lawyer or a tax accountant)

Also sound advice. One thing I have discovered dealing with HMRC on behalf of friends and for myself is that there is a lot of grey area in terms of tax and fines. When there is a grey area and HMRC are dealing with an individual and not a legal type, they tend to go for maximum tax take/fine/whatever they can get out of you and in some cases go after more money than they are ever legally entitled to.

The other thing is that as mentioned earlier, like any organisation, there are some helpful, competent staff and some who are the reason so many people hate HMRC. Collect names when you talk to people and take notes. Ask for their names before anything else.

Once you find someone helpful and competent, it's worth trying to keep your dealings with them. I don't know whether that's possible now as HMRC is a different beast than it was 10 years ago, however it's worth a try.

[peterb]

This link may be useful both to neon planet and anyone else in a similar situation (changed address and need to inform HMRC)

https://www.gov.uk/tell-hmrc-change-address

[Jowsey]

Just to reiterate the above, if HMRC aren't playing ball with you, or even giving you the chance to have an open discussion, you will need to seek professional advice.

I'm not a 100% sure you'll require direct legal advice from a solicitors as I've seen the personal tax department for the company I work for deal with many issues like this. These things very rarely go to any form of court, it's normally a few letters back and forth and the odd phone call.

I would certainly visit a CAB and I would probably suggest ringing a local accountancy firm not long after. Regarding the inclusion of any professional they'll normally (in my experience) hold a chat with you to get a scope of the issue for free, but from that point you really need to get an agreed fee as the hourly fees can get scary. A decent accountant will happily give you a fixed fee and as long as you're upfront about all the possible niggles then they will have no recourse to charge further. YMMV, of course!

Hope that helps.

This link may be useful both to neon planet and anyone else in a similar situation (changed address and need to inform HMRC)

https://www.gov.uk/tell-hmrc-change-address

Thanks, it's terribly embarrassing that you realise HMRC does not hold your correct address after you've had more than a years cumulative time spent in personal tax! (In my defence, it was obviously in the capacity as agent of someone registered for self assessment!)