HMRC demanding £200 owed from 2014

HMRC demanding £200 owed from 2014

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Rufus Stone

Original Poster:

4,381 posts

43 months

Can they do this, is there no statutory time limit? This is the first correspondence on the matter.

I'm certain nothing is owed but a loathed to have to spend the time proving it.

The entity that supposedly owes it no longer exists.

Failing a deadline that applies to then, can just claim all records have now been destroyed to comply with data protection?

bennno

9,755 posts

256 months


How much of your time is £200 worth?

cliffords

302 posts

10 months

I would pay the £200 in a heart beat. Matter will be closed they will move on .They can legally pursue back taxes over 15 years . Don't tempt them .

caziques

2,426 posts

155 months


Surely even HMRC have to tell you what it's for?

If paid, what will stop them asking for 200 pounds for every subsequent year?

What is the core amount? how much is penalties and interest?

Rufus Stone

Original Poster:

4,381 posts

43 months

They claim it's PAYE owed by the employer. Some of it is interest from 2014.

paulrockliffe

14,808 posts

214 months

You have a statutory obligation to retain all of the records relevant to your returns there is no end date on that, so it's curtailed in practice by the legal limit on investigation. The time limits are different for different taxes, as if the office for tax simplification sits there doing nothing, but if an investigation into the last X years records uncovers a criminal matter then that brings 20 years of records in scope.

So I wouldnt go the GDPR route as destroying the records is an offence in itself, a more serious issue than the £200.

Rufus Stone

Original Poster:

4,381 posts

43 months

paulrockliffe said:
You have a statutory obligation to retain all of the records relevant to your returns there is no end date on that, so it's curtailed in practice by the legal limit on investigation. The time limits are different for different taxes, as if the office for tax simplification sits there doing nothing, but if an investigation into the last X years records uncovers a criminal matter then that brings 20 years of records in scope.

So I wouldnt go the GDPR route as destroying the records is an offence in itself, a more serious issue than the £200.
It's six years, not for ever.

https://www.gov.uk/running-a-limited-company/compa...

MustangGT

10,225 posts

267 months

Rufus Stone said:
They claim it's PAYE owed by the employer. Some of it is interest from 2014.
If this is the case, why are they pursuing you? They would be going after the company. If you can show that the company deducted the tax correctly then you have no debt to HMRC.

Rufus Stone

Original Poster:

4,381 posts

43 months

MustangGT said:
If this is the case, why are they pursuing you? They would be going after the company. If you can show that the company deducted the tax correctly then you have no debt to HMRC.
Because I was involved with the entity HMRC claims owes the PAYE tax.

I am trying to avoid the work having to prove nothing is owed.

StevieBee

11,725 posts

242 months

Rufus Stone said:
MustangGT said:
If this is the case, why are they pursuing you? They would be going after the company. If you can show that the company deducted the tax correctly then you have no debt to HMRC.
Because I was involved with the entity HMRC claims owes the PAYE tax.
Was the entity a limited company?

Rufus Stone

Original Poster:

4,381 posts

43 months

StevieBee said:
Was the entity a limited company?
No, a pension scheme.

Eric Mc

119,294 posts

252 months

paulrockliffe said:
You have a statutory obligation to retain all of the records relevant to your returns there is no end date on that, so it's curtailed in practice by the legal limit on investigation. The time limits are different for different taxes, as if the office for tax simplification sits there doing nothing, but if an investigation into the last X years records uncovers a criminal matter then that brings 20 years of records in scope.

So I wouldnt go the GDPR route as destroying the records is an offence in itself, a more serious issue than the £200.
The Office of Tax Simplification is definitely sitting doing nothing because it was abolished in Kwasi Kwertang's "non-Budget" Budget.

paulrockliffe

14,808 posts

214 months

Rufus Stone said:
Yes, for the purposes of the companies management act or whatever it's called it's 6 years. There are a number of other acts relating to different taxes that don't specify anything beyond you being required to retain records to evidence your returns, so the relevant time-frame for those is the time-frame where someone is able to challenge your return.

But if you destroy them after 6 years and an investigation into the 6 years records you do have unearths something that is suspected to be evasion then the statutory limitation that applies is under a different act and is 20 years. You don't have sufficient records under that act and you have no defence to whatever best judgement assessment the Tax Inspector comes up with.

Those acts themselves create an exemption under GDPR because it is reasonable and necessary for you to keep them for the purposes of running your business and most won't be personal data anyway.

My point was that saying you've destroyed records because GDPR told you to is not going to work.

Mr Overheads

2,354 posts

163 months

If the entity doesn't exist anymore, how can the entity pay it. Is there some reason that you would be personally liable for the entities debt?

Also are you sure it's not a scam, £200 from 9 years ago seems like the start of a scam, i.e. go in smallish, so they'll just pay it without question to avoid the hassle.

joropug

2,093 posts

176 months

Interesting timing but I had a demand for unpaid PAYE tax yesterday too, £700 ish from when I did part time work delivering groceries during the lockdowns.

I was expecting it last year and paid it same day, online using their portal.

They demanded the exact same amount , for the same tax year in the new letter.

Logging in online, it showed that I had underpaid £700, that they had received payment for the £700, but wanted another £700.

Hour on hold they said to ignore it….. ridiculous - I bet they would have accepted payment if I had just followed it blindly.

Ham_and_Jam

1,577 posts

84 months

Have you received this notification as an email or a letter?

Rufus Stone

Original Poster:

4,381 posts

43 months

Ham_and_Jam said:
Have you received this notification as an email or a letter?
Letter.

MustangGT

10,225 posts

267 months

Rufus Stone said:
MustangGT said:
If this is the case, why are they pursuing you? They would be going after the company. If you can show that the company deducted the tax correctly then you have no debt to HMRC.
Because I was involved with the entity HMRC claims owes the PAYE tax.

I am trying to avoid the work having to prove nothing is owed.
How were you involved with the pension fund?

Also, you say PAYE, that would indicate you were in receipt of a pension where you paid PAYE. If so, same point applies.

Are they chasing you, as an individual, or you as an officer of the pension fund?

Rufus Stone

Original Poster:

4,381 posts

43 months

MustangGT said:
How were you involved with the pension fund?

Also, you say PAYE, that would indicate you were in receipt of a pension where you paid PAYE. If so, same point applies.

Are they chasing you, as an individual, or you as an officer of the pension fund?
They are chasing the entity that no longer exists. They may not know that though.

Unless deliberate there appears to be a six year deadline and it's well past that. I think I'll write back and point that out and advise them the entity no longer exists too. Hopefully I will never hear from them again.