It is a total minefield, you read various articles on the website, think you have an understanding of what you are claiming/filing. Years later the HMRC decides to investigate and decides you have done something wrong, they update their website in the meantime and claim the rule has always been clearly defined and they ask you where you took advice to file the particular element. If you always need to check with a professional then there shouldn't be self-assessment.. Tax is not simple at all.
Can agree with the person above. Have never had an issue cashing a cheque using a banking app. I bank with Lloyds, Natwest, FirstDirect, Halifax and Barclays that have options to remotely deposit cheques on the app, from what I can see Chase and Nationwide dont. I would be walking down to the bank in the rain to get my pennies otherwise as its mine! Its obvious why they do it, it is to disincentivise people from claiming their own money... Want your money? Jump through some whoops of it - knowing full well some people wont be bothered.
When I was between jobs, my monthly income increased which meant that I didn't pay enough tax, I owed £240. I rang up to see if I could just pay it off instead of them messing with my tax code. 5 hours over the space of a few days, and in the end they guy on the phone said no I can't I just need to have my tax code changed and I need to pay it off slowly thought-out the year. I then mentioned I was expecting a pay rise, so my tax repayment would be too much, he then said HMRC will give you a tax rebate. This is long winded and expensive. I talked to a father-in-law how is a tax manager and said I was correct and should be able to pay it off and said to file a complaint, I did and never heard back. The tax rules and navigating HMRC is too complex and time consuming.
I did exactly as you suggested, paid it off as a "voluntary payment" filled in a form along with a cheque (thier preference not mine). Almost 2 months later still they changed my tax code and told me to wait a further 30 days ontop of that for it to show. Eventually it seemed to show on thier "system" but no record on my personal online tax account, only the record on my bank statement that the cheque had been accepted. Shambles
I spent a short time as a self-employed person and learned more from a mate about what could and couldn’t be claimed. However, he had the best story I’ve come across as he had a visit from a Tax Officer. During the visit, the TO visited the toilet. That same toilet had recently been fitted in the office and had been claimed for in the Return that my mate had submitted. The TO said that it was not exclusive to the business and could have been used outside office hours. I think the TO’s argument was undermined by the fact that my mate said he was not exactly able to take it home with him… Really well put together, Damien. I enjoyed the props. I think the OHP was worth the 3 hour trip. (I assume you’ll be claiming that as a legitimate business expense…)
you don't have to you just believe u do i sure didnt sighn a binding contract did you ? last time i checked if there is no binding contract then there isnt anyone to pay and if they take it its theft i demand all service providers to provide me with an invoice they wont give you one because doing so would bound a contract between me and the goverment and they would then be liable by law to what is spent amd borrowed wich means they can be sued
In your last video you mentioned higher rate taxpayers, pension contributions and "relief at source". One tax return later I'm owed £1,800 back and I've sent off a letter asking for another £5k from the three previous years. Thank you so much for pointing it out and please keep up the good work.
Cheques are a security risk. I took my mums cheque book by accident and filled out one for £50 to a friend with MY NAME and Signature and Santander CLEARED IT!
Just because a check clears doesnt necessarily mean that you will have the money though. Sometimes the initial check is cleared/accepted and then at a later date when it is verified false and then the money that you “received” disappears. Kind of in a similar way to the recent US chase bank run. You don’t actually get the money, this is due to a multitude of reasons including settlement times etc. I doubt it would have stayed cleared if you left it long enough, if it did then thats truly worrying and their has been some fault in the system
@_Hollie_ ahhh, I didn't know that. We made Santander aware of the situation as soon as we'd figured out what had happened and they took the money back from my friend, and I re issued it using my cheque book. So I'll never know if they'd have verified it of their own accord.
My mum waited 9 months for a tax refund because she isn't able to get a tax account online - you need a UK passport or driving licence. She has neither so has to face that call music so often. Moving to a purely digital system is going to further exclude so many people until they simplify their systems.
Mate, I remember sliding a blank cheque inside a small printer in a retail store, and watch that bad boy print the amount and details on it, then have the customer sign it and keep it in the till. Good old 90s.
I remember working in a pub in 2005 and our entire telephone system went down; we had no idea what to do and then a customer randomly said it was so much easier when those carbon print machines were used (where you put the credit card in a skid something over the top). The landlord ran out of the room and came back two minutes later with two working credit card machines, so we used them for the rest of the day. They saved our whole business that day.
Set up a Personal Tax Account! It’s the easiest way to make changes, ask for tax code change, update benefits in kind and self-assessment. Also remember it is your personal responsibility to inform HMRC of changes, not your employer. I learnt the hard way with huge amounts of stress and swore I would never let HMRC do me over again.
you can use your banking app to scan your cheques to deposit them, no need to go into branch. simple, HSBC lets you do it for example, not sure about others
So I do have some insight into HMRC's working. Whilst I don't know the full story, what they have mentioned is that they are going through a massive modernisation upgrade and the hope is that this new system is a stepping stone to all the things you are advocating for, but that the system built in the 90s needs to be slowly upgraded whilst making sure it still works throughout. Taxes can't have an outage so it's a slow, careful, delicate upgrade.
Agree with lots of this though I will give them credit for trying to push the tax return into the digital age. Once you actually get to filling out the tax return online I thought it was quite nice the way it guides you through it. The consistent theme of the websites now helps a lot too, some local councils are in the stone age by comparison. That said, its nice when it all works but if it goes wrong, hope you enjoy that hold music! Its a shame that there is such a vomit of information before you actually move on to filling it in. Perhaps a more personalised journey from the off where you just tick some boxes and it shows you what you need to know? There is some attempt of it in places but there is still a nasty combination of disjointed and overwhelming information. The worst thing is when people build up a fear over it for what ends up being (in the grand scheme of things) small tax bills and even smaller figures of error on those. Automation like you mentioned with varying the tax code could go a long way, though we'd need to get much more comfortable with checking things in that situation.
Could you do a video on how exactly to claim back additional tax relief on a SIPP please. I think this would be really useful to a lot of people. Thanks..
My first self-employment job I received a cheque, really dumbfounded me as a 2000s kid having never actually held one. Had to take it to a post office and wait over a week to get the money as it was above the threshold for easier and instant payment methods. Felt super outdated and I'm surprised any businesses or the government operates on a cheque-first basis rather than using it as a backup plan, which is what it feels like to me.
You're supposed to use transparent plastic on OHPs, not bits of opaque paper. You used to be able to get A4 transparencies for laser printers but I haven't seen any for years.
absolute joke of a service...trying to get thru to them, or get them to fix issues is almost impossible from my experience - they had a duplicate record for me and would send me larger fines, more threatening demand for six years in a row for 'not submitting my self assessment' even although i had - every time it ended the same way. they admitted they were wrong and would 'fix it' so it doesnt happen next year. i remember the hassle that a previous employer went thru from a government initiative to try and ensure customers got a prompt response when they wanted to cancel...in watchdog and every thing. then there is this pathetic sht going on. boils my piss!!
Thank you for this video, Damien. I checked 2023, and according to the HMRC's own tax calculator, I am owed over a grand. They say to 'bear with them, as my tax calculation may not have been completed yet, and that I should receive (P800?) a tax calculation by 05/03/25...
With mobile app banking you can scan a check from the palm of your hand with many banks and it will often deposit instantly. You don't have to physically travel to a bank. The refund claim is a backward step there are already processes such as overpaid NI which requires a difficult process to get money back, but refunds of income tax has always been fairly seamless via cheque or payment into bank account.
They will just throw the rule book at you if they find out you weren't 100% tax compliant saying it's your responsibility to get it right regardless of their own incompetence.
almost a thousand likes vs 0 dislikes ;) I think you just hit the nail on the head with this one Damo! :) I had to move during the happenings in 2020, I changed my addres with my employer aka all my slips, P60 etc went in to HMRC with a new address... While HMRC was asking for a self assesment on the old one... 3 years later I somehow realised the "mistake" quite costly one...
There’s some seriously broken processes in HMRC but also some interesting reforms in the works like Making Tax Digital which will enable people to file tax returns digitally using software. So hopefully easing that pain of filing a self assessment for some Also open banking being used as a method to pay your tax. By all means doesn’t fix issues like the long hold times but signs of some hope
I was talking to one of my colleagues at a place I worked and they mentioned taxes, I told them the percentage I was giving in tax and said it wasn’t right. As an 18yr old I had to ask for it to be returned, surly we should have a better system!
I did get through and then got some really nervous sounding lady who was clearly doing something else while on the call. I just about understood what she was muddling through. Like many have said, you get better advice from randoms on Reddit!
I would not say that the HMRC is deliberately slow or bureaucratic... in fact, in some measurable ways, it has improved e.g. improved its powers to monitor your investment and bank accounts ;-)
It's worth knowing that you can pay cheques in online with some banks in UK just by taking a photo. Below is a list of the banks that let you pay in cheques online: Starling Bank first direct NatWest RBS TSB Santander Barclays HSBC Virgin Money Bank of Scotland Halifax Lloyds HMRC are a a pain with anything, if someone dies and you owe tax you have 6 months from the date of death to pay it, but they themselves are taking 14 weeks or longer just to issue probate and if you have to sell a house that usually takes 12 weeks or more. Like you say they want 2.5% plus base rate on top if its late.
I work in Architecture and I need to know the building regulations, planning regulations and a lot more or I will be sued, I bet the HMRC do not know my rules! HMRC should be fair and give warnings without initial costs and then heavy fines and also give back automatically or fairly what it owes or face heavy fines if it fails to do so.
I need to file a self assessment and had done so many times before but this year the system wouldn't let me access the self assessment form to calculate what I owed. Many phone calls to HMRC later they said that I would need to write a letter to HMRC saying I needed to file a self assessment so they could re-register me. I was told not to worry.. that I would have 3 months to complete the self assessment, but that I would have to pay any money owed by last weeks deadline or face late payment penalties. So I need to pay immediately but the tool I need to calculate what I owe isn't available. HMRC are a joke
I was claiming marriage allowance and when i got a pay rise that made me no longer eligible they automatically cancelled it and backdated the cancellation to the start of the tax year then adjusted my tax code for the following year to pay back the overpayment. However, no one once mentioned i was now able to claim pension tax relief.
Italian/British here. Compared to the Italian tax return, HMRC has conceived is a logical and clear tax return form. The explanation provided by HMRC is clear and most people can file a tax return. Tbh HMRC could subtract what you’ve already paid one year ago on account of the current tax year. I think HMRC could do better, but so the NHS. I would praise those working for HMRC rather then getting more money in the private sector.
I can tell you that many of the failing of the organisation are due to poor management and a historic lack of investment in IT services. It's also very difficult to change such a large organisation by comparison to say, modern agile tech companies which are much smaller and don't have the same set of internal pressures which you will only ever find in government businesses. When the tax keeps coming in any way, there aren't always enough incentives to change and modernise. It makes it harder to justify the extra expense. This is especially true with an overall political landscape that's focused in short term results rather long term efficiency targets. You also have to give HMRC credit in that they have to design a system that can work for every person in every possible situation. That isn't easy. Consider alongside the amount of people attacking systems and trying to use legislation in ways that weren't intended and you can end up with a really complicated mess quite quickly. Then consider that the system's origins are hundreds if years old...
I've done my own tax return for about 25 years now, every June get my P60 and my wife picks a Saturday, hides my car keys , my console controller and then locks the doors! She then makes us sit there until the god awful things are done online, it takes 90s mins and three tax returns all done. I always just leave them HMRC to just sort anything out through my tax code. I have a main job and registered legal partnership in sideline business with my wife. I can't understand why people leave it to the last minute, the second you have your P60 and other paperwork, just do the bloody thing and get it over with!!
So you got to school at five years old and tell you are 16, you learn all sorts of rubbish on the national curriculum (including algebra) yet from the moment you step out and start working you pay tax and national insurance. You will do this for the rest of your working life including tax on everything you spend and every single bill. Yet why are we never ever taught a single thing about it in school? Maybe the government doesn’t want us to….
One week the price of salted butter is 2.45 the next week it's 2.00. Cravendale milk in one shop is 1.95, a mile away its 1.35. Im confused about all these prices and now you want me to think about tax returns.
Im in charge of around 30 staff in a retail store and i can confidently say atleast 75% of them dont even check their payslip, let alone know their tax code. I have tried to get people to start checking but it doesnt seem to help. Seems wild to me, im on a salary which is the same each month and i still check mine. I did make sure to get them all to fill in the uniform tax allowance which changes their tax code to 1263L and back date is for 4 years :')
I started my own business in 2020 and it's a minefield.. and that's running a company with no staff! Reddit has been more helpful than HMRC.
An accountant is worth their weight in truffle.
It is a total minefield, you read various articles on the website, think you have an understanding of what you are claiming/filing.
Years later the HMRC decides to investigate and decides you have done something wrong, they update their website in the meantime and claim the rule has always been clearly defined and they ask you where you took advice to file the particular element. If you always need to check with a professional then there shouldn't be self-assessment.. Tax is not simple at all.
Some banking apps only require you to take a photo of a cheque
Can agree with the person above. Have never had an issue cashing a cheque using a banking app.
I bank with Lloyds, Natwest, FirstDirect, Halifax and Barclays that have options to remotely deposit cheques on the app, from what I can see Chase and Nationwide dont.
I would be walking down to the bank in the rain to get my pennies otherwise as its mine! Its obvious why they do it, it is to disincentivise people from claiming their own money...
Want your money? Jump through some whoops of it - knowing full well some people wont be bothered.
I have a current account open solely for this purpose
When Covid hit, I started just using the banking App to pay in cheques and most of the time it work perfectly.
Llyods does this, and its super simply
To be fair, I think that is most banking apps today
HMRC: You've worked really hard now you owe us money.
Me: Ok how much?
HMRC: You tell me
Me: What if i get it wrong?!
HMRC: Prison
When I was between jobs, my monthly income increased which meant that I didn't pay enough tax, I owed £240. I rang up to see if I could just pay it off instead of them messing with my tax code. 5 hours over the space of a few days, and in the end they guy on the phone said no I can't I just need to have my tax code changed and I need to pay it off slowly thought-out the year. I then mentioned I was expecting a pay rise, so my tax repayment would be too much, he then said HMRC will give you a tax rebate. This is long winded and expensive. I talked to a father-in-law how is a tax manager and said I was correct and should be able to pay it off and said to file a complaint, I did and never heard back. The tax rules and navigating HMRC is too complex and time consuming.
I did exactly as you suggested, paid it off as a "voluntary payment" filled in a form along with a cheque (thier preference not mine). Almost 2 months later still they changed my tax code and told me to wait a further 30 days ontop of that for it to show. Eventually it seemed to show on thier "system" but no record on my personal online tax account, only the record on my bank statement that the cheque had been accepted. Shambles
I spent a short time as a self-employed person and learned more from a mate about what could and couldn’t be claimed. However, he had the best story I’ve come across as he had a visit from a Tax Officer. During the visit, the TO visited the toilet. That same toilet had recently been fitted in the office and had been claimed for in the Return that my mate had submitted. The TO said that it was not exclusive to the business and could have been used outside office hours. I think the TO’s argument was undermined by the fact that my mate said he was not exactly able to take it home with him…
Really well put together, Damien. I enjoyed the props. I think the OHP was worth the 3 hour trip. (I assume you’ll be claiming that as a legitimate business expense…)
It should be the law that if HMRC deliberately disconnects your call because they didn't answer, you don't have to pay any tax.
you don't have to you just believe u do i sure didnt sighn a binding contract did you ? last time i checked if there is no binding contract then there isnt anyone to pay and if they take it its theft i demand all service providers to provide me with an invoice they wont give you one because doing so would bound a contract between me and the goverment and they would then be liable by law to what is spent amd borrowed wich means they can be sued
Oh god that hold music. I actually grabbed my guitar whilst listening to it and learned it 😂
You learned to play guitar while on hold!
@ haha I’ve been playing 25 years!
I admire the commitment to the Overhead Projector. Fantastic tour of awesome 90s tech.
I learned Electronic principals with lectures on OHPs - strange times.
Man! You need to rotate the top knob to focus! I used those, they were hard to access, are you kidding me! They were elite!
In your last video you mentioned higher rate taxpayers, pension contributions and "relief at source". One tax return later I'm owed £1,800 back and I've sent off a letter asking for another £5k from the three previous years. Thank you so much for pointing it out and please keep up the good work.
Love this! Congrats on the unexpected windfall
@@DamienTalksMoney I hope you take a lot of pride in the help you give people, I don't think you realise just how much of a difference you make.
production quality on the up! good job
The mediocracy of life in the UK is an embarrassment!
3:35 dial on the side of the mirror head adjusts the focus Damo
Yeah I had it at the max range of focus couldn’t twist it anymore, had positioned it everywhere in the room to get it sharper but no luck
Cheques are a security risk. I took my mums cheque book by accident and filled out one for £50 to a friend with MY NAME and Signature and Santander CLEARED IT!
Just because a check clears doesnt necessarily mean that you will have the money though. Sometimes the initial check is cleared/accepted and then at a later date when it is verified false and then the money that you “received” disappears.
Kind of in a similar way to the recent US chase bank run. You don’t actually get the money, this is due to a multitude of reasons including settlement times etc. I doubt it would have stayed cleared if you left it long enough, if it did then thats truly worrying and their has been some fault in the system
@_Hollie_ ahhh, I didn't know that. We made Santander aware of the situation as soon as we'd figured out what had happened and they took the money back from my friend, and I re issued it using my cheque book. So I'll never know if they'd have verified it of their own accord.
My mum waited 9 months for a tax refund because she isn't able to get a tax account online - you need a UK passport or driving licence. She has neither so has to face that call music so often.
Moving to a purely digital system is going to further exclude so many people until they simplify their systems.
The HMRC hold tune is a banger
Love the amount of deductible's you managed to fit into that video with old school tech Damo !!
Haha yep including the tamagotchi!
Mate, I remember sliding a blank cheque inside a small printer in a retail store, and watch that bad boy print the amount and details on it, then have the customer sign it and keep it in the till. Good old 90s.
I remember working in a pub in 2005 and our entire telephone system went down; we had no idea what to do and then a customer randomly said it was so much easier when those carbon print machines were used (where you put the credit card in a skid something over the top). The landlord ran out of the room and came back two minutes later with two working credit card machines, so we used them for the rest of the day. They saved our whole business that day.
That music triggered my ptsd
The impulse of the UK was inevitable. They care more about sending money out or wasting it on roundabout flowers than they do on retention and growth.
3:06 some banks do allow cheques to be cashed in on the app. HBSC is one. bur its rather few tbh, needs to be more widespread.
I just take a photo of the cheque (front and back) on my banking App and it's deposited. Easy peasy...!
Indeed most UK banking apps nowadays can let you just photo the check in. I'm surprised he's leaving 80 quid to fester
The second you put that hold music on my entire body shuddered 😬
Love your retro stuff 👍
Always brilliant videos. Well done.
Thanks for all you insights... Ive learnt soo much
Loving the historic Props Damo.
Makes it worth it! Although sort of terrifying that we know refer to them as ‘historic’
They don’t want to change, because improvements mean they’ll get less money from us.
Enjoy your forthcoming audit Damien 😂
Set up a Personal Tax Account! It’s the easiest way to make changes, ask for tax code change, update benefits in kind and self-assessment. Also remember it is your personal responsibility to inform HMRC of changes, not your employer. I learnt the hard way with huge amounts of stress and swore I would never let HMRC do me over again.
I would add another massive issue - outdated tax brackets!
Fascinating, interesting video thank you
Love your videos
Great video, the section with the OHP was hilarious! 😂😂
you can use your banking app to scan your cheques to deposit them, no need to go into branch. simple, HSBC lets you do it for example, not sure about others
Lloyds do it too for cheques up to £500. Above that, you have to deposit at a branch - assuming you can find one.
Appreciate the OHP effort, needs more assembly singalongs though.
It is ridiculous how much admin is required for small or no gains.
Great video Damien, this and your interview with Paul Johnson is promoting common sense to the tax code and its application
So I do have some insight into HMRC's working. Whilst I don't know the full story, what they have mentioned is that they are going through a massive modernisation upgrade and the hope is that this new system is a stepping stone to all the things you are advocating for, but that the system built in the 90s needs to be slowly upgraded whilst making sure it still works throughout. Taxes can't have an outage so it's a slow, careful, delicate upgrade.
type writer was to stop the printing hammers getting caught up whicth they did when abc keyboard made then changed it to qwerty to avoid it happening
the navigation on the website can be easier as well
Cool retro props and dig the video
Really good video. The hold music. Dang, son.
Thing you’re missing on the cheques number in the 2000s is the use of cash advances based on cheque guarantee cards.
😮 Have spent ages listening to that jingle ...the Gestapo missed out on that!
😂😂😂😂
Agree with lots of this though I will give them credit for trying to push the tax return into the digital age. Once you actually get to filling out the tax return online I thought it was quite nice the way it guides you through it. The consistent theme of the websites now helps a lot too, some local councils are in the stone age by comparison. That said, its nice when it all works but if it goes wrong, hope you enjoy that hold music!
Its a shame that there is such a vomit of information before you actually move on to filling it in. Perhaps a more personalised journey from the off where you just tick some boxes and it shows you what you need to know? There is some attempt of it in places but there is still a nasty combination of disjointed and overwhelming information.
The worst thing is when people build up a fear over it for what ends up being (in the grand scheme of things) small tax bills and even smaller figures of error on those. Automation like you mentioned with varying the tax code could go a long way, though we'd need to get much more comfortable with checking things in that situation.
I’ve never written a cheque or had a cheque book 😅
My online banking app allows me to scan cheques.. money hits the account straight away (usual cheque clearing times) no excuse not to cash cheques..
My bank has a limit. £1000 and you must go to a branch.
Damien is really nailing the anxious faces for his Thumbnails. Looking forward to the next one! 😊
I never banked the nominal cheque HMRC sent me, I put it in a folder as proof that I was right and that HMRC had mucked up my tax 😅
On your cracking the code section you missed S and C. They are for Scotland and Wales respectively
That effing tune!
Hate it. I spent 3 hours listening to it last week...
Could you do a video on how exactly to claim back additional tax relief on a SIPP please. I think this would be really useful to a lot of people. Thanks..
My first self-employment job I received a cheque, really dumbfounded me as a 2000s kid having never actually held one. Had to take it to a post office and wait over a week to get the money as it was above the threshold for easier and instant payment methods. Felt super outdated and I'm surprised any businesses or the government operates on a cheque-first basis rather than using it as a backup plan, which is what it feels like to me.
I have a pack of blank ohp slides leftover from uni somewhere.
Smashed it Carol. We all need to claim this money back
Thought your nest podcast was great by the way. Interesting to hear their view.
You're supposed to use transparent plastic on OHPs, not bits of opaque paper.
You used to be able to get A4 transparencies for laser printers but I haven't seen any for years.
It was transparent plastic, you can still get them on amazon and my home printer printed on it
The thing that got me when being presented with an OHP, was the switching off between "slides". Click clunk every time.
i agree with your video
Phenomenal video
some of these problems are relate to the Department of work and Pension (DWP) tbh
From someone who works in an accountancy practice, HMRC is incredibly slow and difficult to deal with.
That HMRC hold music IS torture and it feels like it is designed to be so.
Class video once again.
2:50 that is the reason HMRC send cheques when they refund the tax payer
And there was me waiting like a knob for my tax rebate to come through last year. You have to claim it now!? 🤦🏻♂️
You'll still get sent the P800 letter though
absolute joke of a service...trying to get thru to them, or get them to fix issues is almost impossible from my experience - they had a duplicate record for me and would send me larger fines, more threatening demand for six years in a row for 'not submitting my self assessment' even although i had - every time it ended the same way. they admitted they were wrong and would 'fix it' so it doesnt happen next year. i remember the hassle that a previous employer went thru from a government initiative to try and ensure customers got a prompt response when they wanted to cancel...in watchdog and every thing. then there is this pathetic sht going on. boils my piss!!
Thank you for this video, Damien.
I checked 2023, and according to the HMRC's own tax calculator, I am owed over a grand.
They say to 'bear with them, as my tax calculation may not have been completed yet, and that I should receive (P800?) a tax calculation by 05/03/25...
Take it to a post office - you will need a traditional high street bank account - most can be opened online.
Quality props 😂
With mobile app banking you can scan a check from the palm of your hand with many banks and it will often deposit instantly. You don't have to physically travel to a bank.
The refund claim is a backward step there are already processes such as overpaid NI which requires a difficult process to get money back, but refunds of income tax has always been fairly seamless via cheque or payment into bank account.
They will just throw the rule book at you if they find out you weren't 100% tax compliant saying it's your responsibility to get it right regardless of their own incompetence.
almost a thousand likes vs 0 dislikes ;) I think you just hit the nail on the head with this one Damo! :)
I had to move during the happenings in 2020, I changed my addres with my employer aka all my slips, P60 etc went in to HMRC with a new address...
While HMRC was asking for a self assesment on the old one... 3 years later I somehow realised the "mistake" quite costly one...
can you do a video on tarrifs and trumps plan to abolish income tax
There’s some seriously broken processes in HMRC but also some interesting reforms in the works like Making Tax Digital which will enable people to file tax returns digitally using software. So hopefully easing that pain of filing a self assessment for some
Also open banking being used as a method to pay your tax. By all means doesn’t fix issues like the long hold times but signs of some hope
On the qwerty point this is why i never use a mac, can’t be asked to learn when i work on windows
Not much to learn these days as most people spend 99% of their time in a browser anyway
I was talking to one of my colleagues at a place I worked and they mentioned taxes, I told them the percentage I was giving in tax and said it wasn’t right. As an 18yr old I had to ask for it to be returned, surly we should have a better system!
FYI the vast majority of returns aren't even looked at. They're just accepted. This is mostly down to lack of staff.
When you actually get through, they hang up on you
I did get through and then got some really nervous sounding lady who was clearly doing something else while on the call. I just about understood what she was muddling through. Like many have said, you get better advice from randoms on Reddit!
I would not say that the HMRC is deliberately slow or bureaucratic... in fact, in some measurable ways, it has improved e.g. improved its powers to monitor your investment and bank accounts ;-)
It's worth knowing that you can pay cheques in online with some banks in UK just by taking a photo. Below is a list of the banks that let you pay in cheques online:
Starling Bank
first direct
NatWest
RBS
TSB
Santander
Barclays
HSBC
Virgin Money
Bank of Scotland
Halifax
Lloyds
HMRC are a a pain with anything, if someone dies and you owe tax you have 6 months from the date of death to pay it, but they themselves are taking 14 weeks or longer just to issue probate and if you have to sell a house that usually takes 12 weeks or more. Like you say they want 2.5% plus base rate on top if its late.
HMRC cheques also expire. They will reissue them but it takes 16 weeks or something.
I work in Architecture and I need to know the building regulations, planning regulations and a lot more or I will be sued, I bet the HMRC do not know my rules! HMRC should be fair and give warnings without initial costs and then heavy fines and also give back automatically or fairly what it owes or face heavy fines if it fails to do so.
I need to file a self assessment and had done so many times before but this year the system wouldn't let me access the self assessment form to calculate what I owed. Many phone calls to HMRC later they said that I would need to write a letter to HMRC saying I needed to file a self assessment so they could re-register me. I was told not to worry.. that I would have 3 months to complete the self assessment, but that I would have to pay any money owed by last weeks deadline or face late payment penalties. So I need to pay immediately but the tool I need to calculate what I owe isn't available. HMRC are a joke
I was claiming marriage allowance and when i got a pay rise that made me no longer eligible they automatically cancelled it and backdated the cancellation to the start of the tax year then adjusted my tax code for the following year to pay back the overpayment. However, no one once mentioned i was now able to claim pension tax relief.
Italian/British here. Compared to the Italian tax return, HMRC has conceived is a logical and clear tax return form. The explanation provided by HMRC is clear and most people can file a tax return. Tbh HMRC could subtract what you’ve already paid one year ago on account of the current tax year. I think HMRC could do better, but so the NHS. I would praise those working for HMRC rather then getting more money in the private sector.
I am 40 and in my entire life I have only ever written 2 cheques
I got a check worth £800 when i was about 20 but i was confused what to do with it so i left it to the side and it expired. Terrible
I can tell you that many of the failing of the organisation are due to poor management and a historic lack of investment in IT services. It's also very difficult to change such a large organisation by comparison to say, modern agile tech companies which are much smaller and don't have the same set of internal pressures which you will only ever find in government businesses. When the tax keeps coming in any way, there aren't always enough incentives to change and modernise. It makes it harder to justify the extra expense. This is especially true with an overall political landscape that's focused in short term results rather long term efficiency targets.
You also have to give HMRC credit in that they have to design a system that can work for every person in every possible situation. That isn't easy. Consider alongside the amount of people attacking systems and trying to use legislation in ways that weren't intended and you can end up with a really complicated mess quite quickly. Then consider that the system's origins are hundreds if years old...
_Give me oil in my lamp_ on the OHP lets go!!!
KEEP ME BURNNINGGG 🤘🤘🤘🤘
Tried on Sunday but Barclays app was down so I couldn’t make a payment 😢
5:38 I spent 45 mins listening to this little bad boy only last Friday 😂
Was getting the old school projector worth the hassle?
What's that camera and lighting equipment at 3:34
Damien?
Wind ya neck in
I've done my own tax return for about 25 years now, every June get my P60 and my wife picks a Saturday, hides my car keys , my console controller and then locks the doors! She then makes us sit there until the god awful things are done online, it takes 90s mins and three tax returns all done. I always just leave them HMRC to just sort anything out through my tax code. I have a main job and registered legal partnership in sideline business with my wife. I can't understand why people leave it to the last minute, the second you have your P60 and other paperwork, just do the bloody thing and get it over with!!
So you got to school at five years old and tell you are 16, you learn all sorts of rubbish on the national curriculum (including algebra) yet from the moment you step out and start working you pay tax and national insurance. You will do this for the rest of your working life including tax on everything you spend and every single bill. Yet why are we never ever taught a single thing about it in school? Maybe the government doesn’t want us to….
One week the price of salted butter is 2.45 the next week it's 2.00. Cravendale milk in one shop is 1.95, a mile away its 1.35. Im confused about all these prices and now you want me to think about tax returns.
its more like 15 minutes when you get cut off
Confused. My banking app has allowed cheques to be depositied for years by taking images of the front and back.
I was on hold for an hour. Someone answered I explained my problem, and he said,"Don't know, just send a letter" then hung up on me.
The helplines are staffed by people who are absolutely clueless
I had an unbelievably rude lady when I called the other day. They must scrape the barrel when manning those phones.
Im in charge of around 30 staff in a retail store and i can confidently say atleast 75% of them dont even check their payslip, let alone know their tax code. I have tried to get people to start checking but it doesnt seem to help. Seems wild to me, im on a salary which is the same each month and i still check mine. I did make sure to get them all to fill in the uniform tax allowance which changes their tax code to 1263L and back date is for 4 years :')