Two "Unique" Tax References

[gadgetman]

I received a fixed penalty demand for non submission of my PAYE return in Jan, which was odd because it was sent in by my accountants at the start of Jan.

Even odder was the fact that the cheque for the tax was cashed on Jan 15th.

My accountant lodged an appeal but after receiving yet another demand I rang HRMC this week to query the situation. They told me they had not record of the return or, more worryingly, the payment.

Luckily the rep at HMRC I spoke to was on the ball and after a little digging she came back and announced that I actually have two tax records, with different UTRs dating back from 1997/98 at different tax offices. Sure enough the 'other' record showed receipt of the return and the payment. I left it with her to sort out!

Anyone else ever heard of this? I'm confused as to how it has gone on for so long with nobody noticing and how it could have happened in the first place.

[Ardesco]

I received a fixed penalty demand for non submission of my PAYE return in Jan, which was odd because it was sent in by my accountants at the start of Jan.

Even odder was the fact that the cheque for the tax was cashed on Jan 15th.

My accountant lodged an appeal but after receiving yet another demand I rang HRMC this week to query the situation. They told me they had not record of the return or, more worryingly, the payment.

Luckily the rep at HMRC I spoke to was on the ball and after a little digging she came back and announced that I actually have two tax records, with different UTRs dating back from 1997/98 at different tax offices. Sure enough the 'other' record showed receipt of the return and the payment. I left it with her to sort out!

Anyone else ever heard of this? I'm confused as to how it has gone on for so long with nobody noticing and how it could have happened in the first place.

Might be slightly different situation, but you have a PAYE account and a Self Assessment account. PAYE doesn't know what SA do and vice versa. I had this last year where I had paid tax through the company via PAYE and then had demands and late payment letters from the SA lot. Took about a month for them to work out where the money had gone and lots of phone calls on my part, it was a real pain in the ass.

On the positive side they refunded me all the charges, so no lasting damage.

[Moscow Mule]

I received a fixed penalty demand for non submission of my PAYE return in Jan, which was odd because it was sent in by my accountants at the start of Jan.

Even odder was the fact that the cheque for the tax was cashed on Jan 15th.

My accountant lodged an appeal but after receiving yet another demand I rang HRMC this week to query the situation. They told me they had not record of the return or, more worryingly, the payment.

Luckily the rep at HMRC I spoke to was on the ball and after a little digging she came back and announced that I actually have two tax records, with different UTRs dating back from 1997/98 at different tax offices. Sure enough the 'other' record showed receipt of the return and the payment. I left it with her to sort out!

Anyone else ever heard of this? I'm confused as to how it has gone on for so long with nobody noticing and how it could have happened in the first place.

Yes, it's common when you start your own business. Happened to me last year. Easier to speak to the nice people rather than write letters which are often ignored...

[cailin maith]

Happens all the time...

[ChimpMaster]

Prepare to be investigated for falling outside of the "norm" ...

[NotAllThere]

Anyone else ever heard of this? I'm confused as to how it has gone on for so long with nobody noticing and how it could have happened in the first place.

It happened to a guy I know who ran a double glazing company. It took years to sort out, especially as he had to deal with the CIS.

How could it happen? Skilled, competent people rarely work as civil servants.