.png)
.png)
The latest edition of Working Together (WT), issue 45, includes various news items, some of which are summarised below.
Employer payment schedule
In July, local WT agents told HMRC that they were having problems obtaining schedules of payments. The department explains that it changed the way it organises these schedules.
Employer Bulletin 38 included a detailed summary of the way HMRC now respond to employers’ and agents’ requests for details and schedules of payments they have made.
Employers and agents are advised to avoid using HMRC’s records as a first step in creating or reconciling payment schedules, as the department says it is the employer’s responsibility to keep records and that form P32 is available to use as a payment record.
The major change in HMRC’s approach is where the employer has been unable to reconcile the payment position using his own records.
These payment details should be forwarded to HMRC and they will review and reconcile them against their own records.
HMRC are introducing an online tool in 2012 which will allow employers and their agents to view their payment history online.
The tool will not initially show full historical data, but is expected to begin by showing all of the 2011/12 tax year and build year upon year until, eventually, a full six-year payment history will be available.
Companies House
Since the introduction of the joint filing service with Companies House, HMRC confirm that it is no longer necessary to notify them directly of changes to a registered company name or address.
Post-bankruptcy tax returns
There has been an increase in the number of tax returns for post-bankruptcy tax years being filed electronically against the bankruptcy record.
This creates a considerable amount of additional work for HMRC, which will delay any repayment while they carry out bankruptcy checks to see if any set-offs are required.
From July 2011, any agent acting (with a 64-8 in place) at bankruptcy will be removed from the bankruptcy record as the official receiver/trustee will act on the taxpayer’s behalf.
The agent details will then be added to the post-bankruptcy record.
If an agent is aware that a client is bankrupt, but is still required to complete annual returns, the return for the year of bankruptcy should be filed manually, showing the bankruptcy unique trader reference and noted as ‘by year’.
Any returns for the years after the bankruptcy year must be filed under the reference for the post-bankruptcy record.
Self assessment matters
The SA250 ‘welcome’ letter has been changed to show the first tax year for which a return is required. Similarly, the SA251 explaining that a self assessment tax return is no longer needed, has been changed to show the last year for which a return is required.
HMRC say that a high proportion of revised tax returns and other amendments is being filed late. Taxpayers who received a notice to make a return on or before 31 October 2010 should have made any amendments to their 2008/09 self assessment tax return by 31 January 2011.
For notices received after 31 October 2010, the time limit for submitting amendments is three months from the date of the notice.
With regard to self assessment refunds, HMRC confirm that an agent who is authorised to act on a taxpayer’s behalf will receive a repayment notification (R1000CS) from HMRC showing the repayment amount, the last four digits of the account number the repayment was paid into, and the taxpayer’s name.
