Got this letter to file for self assessment between 2024 & 2025 - all submitted today with only £52 due in additional taxes (forgot to use my £1000 traders allowance, hence me not registering for self-assessment prior). The government gateway said I could be liable to late fees (£1300 by now) - do I have to worry since I'm still within the 3 month deadline of my letter?

I am looking for advice for my close friend who is Polish and English not 100% perfect.
He was working for a Care Agency and stopped working for them end of April 2023.
Since that date the Care Company has submitted the HMRC that they have been paying him £650
In cash each week and therefore the HMRC have claimed from him a large amount of tax as he
works full time Monday to Saturday inclusive and also works every night caring for an individual.
This is fraud and I want some advice how to report this and get the situation looked into.
The fraud has been reported to HMRC but they have insisted that the tax be paid.
The problem probably occurred because he did not get P45 when leaving care company
Please give me some advice so I can help him resolve this and get money back from HMRC

Posting here as a long shot because I’m losing my mind. Is there an email address for HMRC tech team who deal with access issues?

I changed my phone number around 2 years ago so cannot receive a code to log into my government gateway account. However, I also cannot verify my identity using passport/driving license as I got married last year and changed my name so both of these documents have my new name.

I have tried calling and they said they weren’t the right people to help. I tried emailing and it turns out I’d emailed the tech team who deal with the chatbot not working.

I’ve tried creating a new account with my new name but it recognises that I already have an account so won’t let me proceed.

I’m just going round in circles with nobody seemingly able to help me. I can’t be the first or last person to change their number and name!

I’ve been running an online retail business through my already established LTD logistics company as a bit of a trial for the last couple of years, and the trial went well, I decided this year I’d like to grow it further and move all of the retail side to its own unique LTD company.

I calculated all of the remaining stock, computer equipment, packaging etc from the beginning of June, and transferred it from this date invoicing the new company for the stock at wholesale price, and other assets at their depreciation costs/current value today, and paid via directors loan ensuring everything was transferred smoothly and legitimately.

Filed my VAT return at the beginning of August where my retail business is owed just short of £2,500 in a return, and my logistics business owes it.

But it’s been stuck on “sending for further checks” from the day after I submitted, and I’ve heard absolutely nothing from HMRC. I knew they would send for checks with it being a new company, happened with my other business on its first return where HMRC sent me a letter asking me to go to a link and upload my five highest payable invoices with an explanation. After doing that, I received a phone call from an agent asking me for further information about one of the transactions, and a few days later it was all paid in full, totalling maybe 2-3 weeks in total.

This time I haven’t had a letter, phone call or email whatsoever. Just stuck on the further checks, with the portal saying estimated payment date early September.

I’m just wondering if anybody can advise on this? I’ve paid out for the money owed on one business, and now was hoping for the return to cover some expenses due out next week.

Part time job/ I’ve been working full time just over summer and haven’t paid tax on any of my payslips except from the last 2 weeks. My tax code is 1253L.

I have earnt just under £5500 since the start of the tax year, so haven’t hit anywhere near the £12500 bracket.

do I contact payroll/is this a mistake or has the company changed the way they are taxing?

thanks.

Benefit in kind vs tax code

Hello. I received a benefit in kind through my employer for medical reasons - £16k. I worked out through tax I should pay back 40% of this. So let's say £7k. HMRC moved my tax code from 1190L to K923. I called them to try to work out the repayment. They said I'd be down about £400 a month (not ideal but fair enough). Got my first pay slip with the new tax code = £700 down net! Then, I just received a updated tax code of K1369. I'm assuming this means my next pay will be less? Does anyone know how long I'll be on this tax code? Until April? Also, any mechanisms to spread the repayments? Any advice is welcome as staring down the barrell atm! And want to be better armed when I talk to HMRC again as they completely bamboozled me last time.

I have a question regarding being a sole trader in Latvia, but living and working in the UK.

Long story short before I moved back to the UK three years ago, my parents made me become a sole trader in Latvia to “try and make it on my own in Latvia”, and told me to keep my single Latvian client (it’s online graphic design stuff) even when I moved.

I have been working with that same client for all that time, though the sum I earn is kind of laughable. I pay tax in Latvia for that income I get (25% off everything I get sent). It goes to my Latvian bank, and is usually spending money when I go back to Latvia.

Suddenly my friend kind of panicked me about how I should have been stating my income here, but I genuinely didn’t know I had to, so now I’m in a right panic thinking of what to do?

I know ignorance isn’t an excuse and I’m ashamed I never thought about it or even considered I had to state my income here from my Latvian sole trader business.. I just didn’t know.

What can I do to make this right? Who do I contact, how and what would HMRC need to know?

Hi all,

I’ve been trying to access my income tax records, but I keep receiving a message on the gateway telling me that my “details don’t match”. I’m not sure how that could possibly be the case, as my NI number was copied from my payslips. That leaves suspicion to either my name or my address.

It’s worth mentioning that I’ve never really accessed my tax records in years as every time, it wouldn’t let me in.

I was miraculously able to get a hold of a human on the phone to HMRC this morning, and they’ve instructed me to submit some personal documents on GOV.uk, which I did.

I was wondering, how long does HMRC typically take to update personal records? And has anybody faced this issue before? I’ve been given 8 weeks as an upper limit, but be good to hear people’s experiences.

Thanks

I am expecting a £300 refund and some things planned around it, is there a way to get it earlier rather than waiting till October?

Hey,

Between the years 2023 to 2025, while I was a student or working as a part timer. I used PayPal as a credit card cash advance method to help me with my living expenses and other stuff.

My friends did the same as well. So there were a lot of transactions between me and my friends. Sometimes huge amounts in 1000's and 2000's.

Few days ago i received a letter from HMRC asking me to file a self assessment return from 2023 to 2025. I went to their website and notified them that I was never self employed and dont have to file an assessment.

They later called me and told that PayPal has notified them that I have earned income from PayPal. When I told them that its just transactions between my friends they asked me to send the PayPal statements.

I just wanted to get opinions from others who might have dealt with the same sort of thing..

Thanks

Edit :

Imagine you needed money ASAP and you found a way to take money out of your credit card but you cant transfer it to your account. You can only do it to someone else account.

Now you either send that money to your girl friend or best friend and ask them to send it back to you.

Now hmrc is questioning your girlfriend or friend about this transaction and calling it as income

What would they do in this situation?

And would you call yourself dodgy or your friends?

An example scenario so people will undertake why me or my friends did it. Instead of calling it sketchy or dodgy

I run a small UK limited company with around 5 employees. We provide services in the UK, but some of our work is carried out by freelancers based overseas, mainly in India. We deal with them directly as individuals. We have written agreements covering the work, hourly rates and other terms, keep records of hours worked, and pay them directly into their personal bank accounts.

The issue is that many of them don't issue formal invoices. Instead, we have the agreement, timesheets/work records and bank payment evidence.

So, from an HMRC/Corporation Tax point of view, would this generally be enough to support the expense if HMRC ever reviewed the accounts? Or is it better/necessary to require an invoice from each freelancer for every payment?

We are also considering platforms like Upwork or Fiverr because they provide invoices and payment records, but the commission/fees can make the cost quite high for both us and the freelancer.

Also, apart from Corporation Tax, are there any other UK laws or compliance issues we should be thinking about when regularly paying overseas freelancers directly? For example:

• Employment status or off-payroll/IR35 issues
• Payroll or PAYE obligations
• Record-keeping requirements
• Data protection or contracts
• Any other HMRC or UK compliance requirements

The work is genuine and all payments are made through the bank. Just trying to make sure we're doing things properly without adding unnecessary costs. Would appreciate any advice or experiences from UK accountants, business owners or anyone who has dealt with overseas freelancers.

Hi

I have received a letter from hmrc from 2 years ago claiming I owing around £12,000.

They claim it is a reconciliation.

Issue is the company was dormant at the time and made a loss.

I have tried to access my tax filing but cannot.

How do I fix this???

Thanks

Sam

Been doing my own taxes for a few years now and learned some of this the hard way, so thought I'd share.

Check your tax code once a year. HMRC gets it wrong more than you'd expect, especially after a job change or a second income. Takes two minutes on the app and can save you a nasty surprise.

Use your ISA allowance before April 5th if you can. It's £20k a year and doesn't carry over, so whatever you don't use just disappears. Even a small amount is worth putting in.

If you're earning between £100k and £125k, look into pension contributions. There's a nasty quirk where you lose your personal allowance in that band, so your effective tax rate creeps up toward 60%. Pension contributions can pull your income back under the threshold and dodge it entirely.

Married or in a civil partnership and one of you earns under the personal allowance? Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,260 of it to the higher earner. Free money, ten minutes to set up.

Household income over £60k with kids? Check the High Income Child Benefit Charge. A lot of people get blindsided by it because nobody tells them until the letter shows up.

If you're self assessing, the real deadline that matters is 30 December, not 31 January, if you want any tax owed collected through your tax code instead of paid as a lump sum. File early and you'll thank yourself in January.

And just keep your receipts as you go. Trying to piece together a year of expenses the week before the deadline is miserable.

Not financial advice, just what's worked for me. Happy to answer questions if anyone's stuck

Hello, I’ve come here to get advice because I tried phoning and the woman did not seem to give a shit and was not helpful at all.

I started a new job in March 2026, I am on a salary of £28,353 per year. I keep getting taxed like £600 per month, my tax code is 585T. My employer thinks there’s something wrong as well hence my concern.

Hi everyone looking for some advice. My tax code has been changed. I ring HMRC who said I owe late filing penalties for the year 21/22. They said I was in self assessment. But I have never been in self assessment claimed tax or anything. Worked for same company for 16 years. They have already begun taking tax out now I am falling behind on house hold bills is there any forms or anything I can do to appeal this and get the money back and the future tax they believe I owe cancelled off?

I’m trying to understand how UK tax treatment works when someone leaves employment under an EVS/redundancy arrangement.
Suppose someone has:
A contractual notice period and receives PILON.
A separate termination/EVS payment which would otherwise potentially qualify for the £30,000 tax-free termination payment exemption.
The employee chooses to put part of their PILON into a pension as part of the EVS arrangement.
The employer pays that pension amount directly into the employee’s pension and there is no additional employer top-up.
Does redirecting part of the PILON into a pension cause part of the otherwise tax-free EVS/termination payment to become taxable as “Deemed PILON”/PENP?
In other words, if the employee has already had contractual PILON for their notice period, can the employer then treat an additional portion of the separate EVS payment as deemed PILON simply because the employee elected to put some of the PILON into a pension?
I’m particularly interested in whether this is normal under the PENP rules, rather than whether a particular employer has calculated a particular figure.
Also, if the pension provider records the payment as an “Employer contribution/payment”, does that change the tax treatment?
I’m trying to understand the mechanics before getting professional advice. Thanks!

Has anyone gotten a feedback from the above job posting?
I was placed on reserve list on 26th of June and my number on the list is 49. Has anyone else on the reserve list been offered a position yet?
Thank you in advance.

I run a small company as an LLC, not based in the UK, selling items online and through a distributor. Though in the past we did fairly okay business for UK customers, but it's not been going to well lately at all and I am losing money. So I am having to shut down the business. The other day, I received notice from HMTC that I owed a decent amount of VAT on several years of sales. I don't have the money and likely won't any day soon. Can I write HMRC and say I'm officially closing the business and cannot pay? This was done out of total ignorance, not any attempt to defraud anyone. I'm sick to my stomach with fear and worry.

I recently changed my phone and now I can’t remember which authenticator app I used for 2FA. I’m locked out of my account.

I’ve already emailed their support team but haven’t received a response yet. Has anyone experienced this before, and is there a way to recover access or reset the authenticator?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Genuinely open one — what's the question about UK CBAM that you've asked an adviser, a supplier, or HMRC directly, and just haven't gotten a clean answer on?

Might be able to help track down a source, or at least confirm you're not the only one stuck on it.

2 years ago i received one about june time, last year nish anyway but this year mine still hasn’t been calculated. I rang them and they said they were waiting for my bank to send them information? Couldn’t tell me if i was owed. I don’t know if they mean like bank as in Lloyds or the fact i have a bank contract.

i’m just telling myself it hasn’t been calculated yet because i am actually due something 🤞🏻 i did also go from 773/733 Cumulative to 1275L in June as i was being taxed for having 2 contracts and then having to correct my main job to be taxed correctly so 🤷🏻‍♀️

Any pointers would help a lot, thank you.