HMRC a bit slow off the mark.

Tax Accountants might be able to figure this out.

I’ve just received a letter from HMRC telling me I need to do a SA return for… 2018?

The actual wording is “We’re writing t0 let you know that the last Self-Assessment (SA) tax return you’ll need to complete is for the year ended 5 April 2018.” then details about what I need to do.

I was PAYE before this date and have been ever since, and with the same employer throughout.  Never done any SA ever, at all. Never been told I need to do one.

Anyone with any idea why HMRC are now asking for this?

How strange, but it’s at the 6 year limit. Give them a call (I know this will waste your time) but you can’t ignore a HMRC letter !

They are asking you to do one, but it’s the last time they think you’ll need to do it.

Possible you have gone over some earnings threshold or they have lowered the threshold. It happened to me a few years back. The PAYE website isn’t too bad to fill in, providing your employer has sent the details and most is prepopulated. The first year is the hardest, both to get access to it and to work out what the questions actually mean. After that, each year is pretty much the same so just print and keep a copy of the first one you do.

As Fossy says, if you don’t mind being on hold for a few hours, give them a ring to find out why they are asking first.

Earned over 100k ?

If so self assement even though PAYE ?

Also Do not forget to claim for a higher rate of pension relief if 40% Rate or above as HMRC only apply 20% as standard

BUT you have to fill in a Self assessment

Anyone with any idea why HMRC are now asking for this?

For me it was child benefit and checking I wasn’t paid over the £50k threshold in years gone by.

Thanks for the answers.

I’ve tried calling but just get through to automated answers, which don’t allow me to speak to a human.

I’ve been earning roughly the same amount the whole time, so hitting thresholds might not be the issue.

I’ll give them another call and see if I can find the right combination to speak to a person.

Any inheritance or capital gains?

Try calling the international number.  It might not be free phone but you will probably get through faster. Remember that the call might be free but your time probably isnt

If all your income was PAYE, then it’s a very simple job of copying the numbers of your P60 for that year (and answering the child benefit question). If you had any other income… well, there’s your answer.

My experience in the past 2-3 years is they are utterly fhecken useless (2nd only to DVLA, amd tied with Border Farce).

I had 4 stac statements for last year, after I did a Self assessment.  4 different tax results, varying between them owing me several thousands, to me owing them a couple of grand. And in between.  My tax status is simple. 1x UK pension and 1x full time job. Nothing else.

Then they tried to blame me for doing a Self Assessment when I didn’t need to. Despite getting emails to say I had to. FFS squared.

Had to submit several formal complaints (hard to find on their Web site !) and escalate after the initial incompetent responses.  Then re-submit another complaint when I’d not heard back to the escalation in months.

Top tip.  Write EVERYTHING you do, say, and get told, down inc dates and times and names. Inc all the times they don’t answer or reply or cut you off.

My experience in the past 2-3 years is they are utterly fhecken useless (2nd only to DVLA, amd tied with Border Farce).

I’m not having that – no way are we going to be beaten by DVLA!

Sorry OP, I’m not on the personal taxation side. I think our phone lines close at 6 for speaking to real people.

Being a seadog, have you ever claimed SED?

If you every get a ‘random scrutiny’ check it really gets farcical. I had one when I was using a personal car for company work. Approximately 40,000 work miles and 8,000 personal. I added up the bills and split the costs 40:8 claiming the business mileage expenses but deducting the petrol that was paid at cost, not at a fixed rate.

I ended up on the phone with a bloke who asked why I was getting my car serviced 4 – 5 times a year. I explained that it had a 9,000 service interval which he told me was ridiculous and his Vauxhall Cavalier only needed servicing once a year. He also pointed out that buying 6 tyres was obvious fraud as my car only had 4 wheels and couldn’t believe that a powerful front drive car used it’s front tyres more quickly than it’s back tyres. Again, his Vauxhall was still on its original tyres 4 years after he bought it. After 3 months and countless emails, scanned receipts etc the letters stopped coming. When I eventually managed to get through on the phone I was told that the case against me had been dropped and I should stop wasting their time.

@paladin,  Seafarer – yes. SED – No, not currently due to work location and type.  I have claimed SED in the past, but that was FY 2011/12.

Looking back through my emails, miraculously most of 2018 is still there.  We had to let KPMG submit a return on our behalf, as we had complicated foreign tax thing going on because of working in the waters of another country.  I’m suspecting that it’s something to do with what they submitted.  Unfortunately I can’t find the return they they submitted.

@seadog101

Try calling the number on this page https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/tax-credits-enquiries

I called them last Thursday and got through to a human in 27 minutes. According to google 11am on Thursday is one of the best times to call them.

According to google 11am on Thursday is one of the best times to call them

(Unplugs phone)

There is a special circle in hell for HMRC. I have had so many issues with them over the years despite being strictly PAYE with no other income. Grossly incompetent is several levels above where HMRC are currently. I would counter that by saying that there are some operatives who soar above the rest unfortunately it is very difficult to get through to them.

We had to let KPMG submit a return on our behalf, as we had complicated foreign tax thing going on because of working in the waters of another country.

Well, there you go.

+1 on a human at HMRC can be helpful.

That said, I have experienced amazing incompetence and what I considered deliberate nastiness from HMRC, leading to both investigation of 4 years of my self employment (I was 33p out over 4 years, in my favour, all documented) and all sorts of weird shenanigans around tax credits as well. The final Tax Credit conversation with a manager made me realise that there a different levels of both competence and authority within HMRC, with the manager finally admitting that no-one really understood the calculations or why a computer said we owed money still, when in fact it was likely I have overpaid back again and seeing as it was 5 years in the past we should all move on….

There is a special circle in hell for HMRC. I have had so many issues with them over the years despite being strictly PAYE with no other income. Grossly incompetent is several levels above where HMRC are currently. I would counter that by saying that there are some operatives who soar above the rest unfortunately it is very difficult to get through to them.

I’ve heard, apparently, that as soon as someone at HMRC is skilled in tax affairs, they jump ship to one of the accountancy firms.  Understandable if it’s a lucrative move.

MOABs conversation sounds like one of mine years ago when you could visit their office and chat with a human across a desk. I questioned my £2K bill and they did the maths in front of me, got to within £250 of their own figure and said “thats close enough”. As it meant me paying them even more I said that “close enough, is not good enough”. They seem surprised at my attitude. Eventually the bill was reduced by about £500, but as the complaints process had taken me past a deadline I had to pay in full and could not pay via PAYE even though we spent the extra time correcting their error.

We had to let KPMG submit a return on our behalf, as we had complicated foreign tax thing going on because of working in the waters of another country.

Well, there you go.

We were in the same situation for the 5 years before, and nothing was amiss then? No follow up about completing SA myself.

Fortunately, I’ve managed to dig out all the paperwork. Gives me something to work off.

I’ve heard, apparently, that as soon as someone at HMRC is skilled in tax affairs, they jump ship to one of the accountancy firms. Understandable if it’s a lucrative move.

I can neither nor deny….

Now we stop the training just short of “skilled” to improve the retention….

I’ve managed to dig out all the paperwork.

Good news. Good luck. Hopefully the third party wasn’t using a scheme that’s been flagged up for investigation.

I hate dealing with HMRC, plenty of horror stores to report… their error, your hassle/cost seems to be entirely normalised.

their error, your hassle/cost seems to be entirely normalised

This. Most definitely this!

likely I have overpaid back again and seeing as it was 5 years in the past we should all move on….

They wouldn’t be saying that if they thought you owed them money, that’s for sure!!