Not a very merry Christmas for many owed tax by the HMRC

Published on December 31, 2010 by Crawfords Accounting

If it wasn’t bad enough being over taxed in the first place, not receiving the tax rebate that you are due to just about tops the situation off. It has been revealed that HM Revenue and Customs may have sent some tax rebate letters, informing employees of how much money they are owed, to incorrect addresses. This is due to people moving to different addresses. Not the best news to hear during one of the most expensive times of the year, with many Christmas presents to be purchased. If you have moved house that it is vital that you contact the HMRC to inform them of your new contact details.

The widespread tax rebates have occurred due to a fault with the Pay As You Earn tax system which put millions of people on the wrong tax code. 5.7 million letters are reported to have been sent by the HMRC and 4.3 million of these are regarding refunds.

Martin Lewis from Moneysavingexpert says: “The sheer scale of the tax code blunder is -monumental. More than 5million errors have already been found, with millions more suspected.”

It is a common assumption that employers take on the responsibility of informing the taxman of any changes of address, when as a matter of fact, it is up to the employee. It is estimated that 60% of all those who have moved house have not made this known to the HMRC. It is crucial that you check your tax code to check whether or not you are owed money by the taxman.

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