Call me back

To speak to a professional, please enter your details below or call 0151 735 1000

First Name
Surname
Email
Phone
Notes
Nature of Request I would like to receive future offers, information and correspondence via email, phone and post.

Please do not fill this field in, entering any data into this field will make the submission fail:

10 million Brits owed tax rebate

A string of errors at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) means more than 10million people could be in line for a substantial tax rebate.

Earlier this month, HMRC admitted that 4.3million people are set to receive a rebate due to tax overpayments in the past two years. But new evidence regarding historic errors now means an additional 5.8million could be eligible for payments.

Almost £1.8billion in overpaid tax has been given to HMRC in the past two years, while approximately £3billion was mistakenly given in the two years prior to 2008.

On September 4^th, the Treasury said nearly 6million people in the UK are to be told they have paid the wrong amount of tax in the past two years, with some facing bills of up to £5,000. The further errors identified since then could add a further 7.7 million people to the total number affected.

Those set for rebates because they have paid too much tax in the past two years are expected to receive an average of £418.

However, around 1.4 million people are due to be told they owe an average of £1,400 because of errors in HMRC's calculations of the pay as you earn (PAYE) tax system over the past two years. Those employees who moved jobs or accepted company cars or cash benefits from their employer were the most likely to be affected by the mistakes.

HMRC letters admitting to the mistake are due to arrive at victim's doors over the next week. Those who feel they have been miscalculated but do not receive notification are being urged to contact the office as soon as possible.

"The remedy may actually be to send everyone a tax return, as happens in Australia and the United States of America. This option may not be very palatable in the United Kingdom but then, unless HMRC's new computer architecture can sort out this mess, that may be the only choice," commented Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA).

"It has been known for a number of years that the PAYE coding system had not been working effectively. Those with a series of jobs, more than one job at a time and tax credits have not always been properly accounted for - especially as many were not in self-assessment or had been taken out of self assessment by HMRC."