PAYE Overpayment Notification But Company Now Closed

[mogga71]

Last week I received a notification from the HMRC informing the Company that it had paid too much tax last year (approx £450) and for me to adjust future payments in order to compensate (as I did last year).

The problem is that the Company was recently dissolved. Has anybody got any ideas where do I stand with this? Can I get the HMRC to send the cheque to me instead? I was the only salaried employee so its me who has paid too much. If was for a small amount I would let it go.

You can bet your bottom dollar that if it were the other way round and I owed them money they would be chasing me.

Some help would be greatly appreciated.

[northernladuk]

Some interesting comments on overpayments to dissolved companies here..

PAYE47070 - Employer returns: employer return - overpayments: Bona Vacantia and dissolved limited companies

Someone in exactly your situation here, not the news you want to hear though..

Overpayment to Revenue, company now dissolved - UK Business Forums

Some info about Bona Vacantia here

BVG1050 - Bona Vacantia: Treatment of payments

Didn't take it all in but it doesn't appear you are on the winning side here...

[minstrel]

Looking at NLUK's links it sounds like they are unlikely to give you the money personally.

I had a similar situation with Corporation Tax interest when I wound up a company. The CT was paid immediately before company was wound up which was earlier than the 9 months after year end when it was due. It accrued interest (only around £20) but in that scenario they were happy to pay a cheque made out to me personally.

If you haven't closed your company bank account you could ask HMRC to pay it into that account and then withdraw it immediately.

[northernladuk]

If you haven't closed your company bank account you could ask HMRC to pay it into that account and then withdraw it immediately.

Are you guessing here? If the company doesn't exist then you cannot withdraw the money from the account. There is no one authorised to make transactions and anything in there becomes the crowns.

[jamesbrown]

Are you guessing here? If the company doesn't exist then you cannot withdraw the money from the account. There is no one authorised to make transactions and anything in there becomes the crowns.

Yep, in my understanding, CH will instruct the bank to freeze the account on dissolution and any assets (but not liabilities) will then belong to the Crown. AFAIK, restoring the company is going to cost more than £450.... i.e. the OP will probably have to chalk this one up to experience.

[minstrel]

Are you guessing here? If the company doesn't exist then you cannot withdraw the money from the account. There is no one authorised to make transactions and anything in there becomes the crowns.

In theory you are right, in practice I've found that's not always the case.

I certainly wouldn't risk leaving money in bank account before striking off, but technically internet banking doesn't stop working the day company is struck off.

It probably varies from bank to bank and systems may have changed since I tried it.

You can easily test by transferring £1 from your personal account to your struck off business account and then transferring it back again.

[northernladuk]

In theory you are right, in practice I've found that's not always the case.

Why, how many companies have you had struck off?

I certainly wouldn't risk leaving money in bank account before striking off, but technically internet banking doesn't stop working the day company is struck off.

It probably varies from bank to bank and systems may have changed since I tried it.

You can easily test by transferring £1 from your personal account to your struck off business account and then transferring it back again.

Erm, useful advice... thanks

[minstrel]

Why, how many companies have you had struck off?

I've only tried it with one. I phoned bank up to close the account and they wouldn't accept instruction unless it was in writing. I didn't bother writing and found the account still "worked".

[Clare@InTouch]

Last week I received a notification from the HMRC informing the Company that it had paid too much tax last year (approx £450) and for me to adjust future payments in order to compensate (as I did last year).

The problem is that the Company was recently dissolved. Has anybody got any ideas where do I stand with this? Can I get the HMRC to send the cheque to me instead? I was the only salaried employee so its me who has paid too much. If was for a small amount I would let it go.

You can bet your bottom dollar that if it were the other way round and I owed them money they would be chasing me.

Some help would be greatly appreciated.

Just to add that it's not you who is owed the money - it's your company. You, as the employee, should have had any tax refund you were due paid through your net wage. That's what leads to a refund being due to the company for PAYE - the company has paid you the tax refund you're due and it then collects the refund from HMRC.

[tractor]

Last week I received a notification from the HMRC informing the Company that it had paid too much tax last year (approx £450) and for me to adjust future payments in order to compensate (as I did last year).

The problem is that the Company was recently dissolved. Has anybody got any ideas where do I stand with this? Can I get the HMRC to send the cheque to me instead? I was the only salaried employee so its me who has paid too much. If was for a small amount I would let it go.

You can bet your bottom dollar that if it were the other way round and I owed them money they would be chasing me.

Some help would be greatly appreciated.

It is not clear whether you are talking about corporation tax or paye. If it is PAYE and your company did not refund it, you should easily be able to prove it and the revenue will refund it to you.

If, as Claire says, the company had refunded you and not reclaimed it from hmrc, you are onto a loser.

If it was corporation tax, you are onto a loser and will never see it.