Blog

Voluntary pension contributions to HMRC

May 2022

This blog article is for people who wish to find out if they have missing gaps in their qualifying years for state pension and wish to pay voluntary pension contributions to HMRC.

Here are the steps:

  1. Find out if you have missing gaps in your qualifying years for state pension via:

    a. Your personal tax account, or

    b. Calling Future Pension Centre helpline on 0800 731 0181
  1. This is a free advice service. You will be advised regarding any information you need to know from your account (e.g. how many years you contributed to your state pension, how many years you still need to contribute to qualify for full state pension, if you have any gaps and how to pay for the gaps etc. They also advise whether it is recommended to fill the gaps according to your circumstances)

2. If you wish to pay for any gaps, you need to call HMRC on 0300 200 3500.
They will provide you with details of HMRC’s account no, sort code and a 18 digit reference number for the payment. If making an online payment , it may reach in about 24 hours, however it will show in you HMRC account in about 6 weeks. You need to check after six weeks to ensure gap is resolved.

September 2023

Incase a self-employed pays Class 2 national insurance voluntary via his Self assessment return. They need to pay it before 31st Jan otherwise HMRC’s system wipes it off, this will result in a NI gap for this year. To rectify this gap they will need to follow point 2 above.

May 2024

Government has launched a new online service for people to check if paying voluntary NICs will improve their pensions. You can also get the payment reference from this service avoid the telephone call mentioned above.

Link to new service

Problem on gov.uk webpage

How to inform gov.uk team about the problem.

Basically there are two methods:

A. First

At the bottom on every page. Use the button:
Report a problem with this page

B. Second
Use the webpage https://www.gov.uk/contact/govuk
advantage with the second method is that it allows you to give your email address so that Gov.uk team can update you with their response.

You should receive an automated response on email from gov.uk team with the ticket number.

Lastly, remember the riddle of Hatim Tai – “Do good, and cast it upon the waters.” Hindi translation – नेकी कर, दरिया में डाल.

HMRC : How to change access code – two step verification

I have listed below 4 scenarios :

A. If you wish to change your telephone number or how you receive the code you can do this by logging into your business tax account and following these steps:

  1. Select the Manage account link which is shown on the top menu bar.
  2. Under the account details heading, select the view or change your account details link.
  3. Next to the Government Gateway details heading, select the Manage your Government Gateway details link.
  4. Click `Your Government Gateway profile`
  5. Select the How you get access codes link.
  6. Then change, add or delete the entries on that screen as required.

B. If you cannot log into your business tax account, but someone else in your business who is an administrator can, they can follow these steps:

  1. Select the Manage account link which is shown on the top menu bar.
  2. Select the Add or delete a team member link.
  3. Select the Manage link for the required team member.
  4. Select the Remove (name of user) security preferences link.

C. If no one can log into business tax account you can contact HMRC:

Via Webchat : Link ; then click Ask HMRC online

or

Via Telephone : Online Services Helpdesk: 0300 200 3600
Phone line opening hours are:
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm

D. If all else fails, contact us to file you tax return. We will just need your UTR. If you do not have a UTR we can apply it for you but this will take time.

Source:
Employer Bulletin June 2022

Should I submit my return early ?

Thousands of individuals file their tax returns on the first day

The tax year has ended.

Main benefit of submitting tax return as soon as possible is that the enquiry window runs for a full 12 months from the date the tax return is received. So for example a return received by HMRC on 20 June 2018, the enquiry window will close on 20 June 2019 – EM1501

Other benefits enumerated by HMRC Agent Update 110.

  • submitting your tax return now does not mean you pay now — when you submit your tax return, you’ll know how much you need to pay, so you can plan your finances and cash flow better — this might mean you can book a holiday, make an investment or it may mean you have to save for your tax bill
  • your tax return provides you with proof of income — you’ll need this if you apply for a mortgage, loan, or if you need to access certain benefits and schemes such as Tax-Free Childcare
  • you can claim a refund faster — if you’re due one
  • knowing what you owe, might mean you can reduce your payments on account if your tax bill is lower than forecast
  • you’ll avoid any chance of getting a penalty for submitting your tax return late, so do it now and get it out of the way
  • beat the rush — HMRC’s busiest time is January so if something goes wrong and you need to contact them, you might find it hard to get through
  • peace of mind — so you can get on with the important things in your life

Fascinating facts about Self Assessment

Employment Allowance with changes mid year.

What happens when eligibility of employer changes mid year .

Employment allowance was introduced from 6th April 2014.

Basic guidance

Who cannot claim Employment Allowance

You cannot claim if both of the following apply:

Practice issue

  1. An employee starts mid year making the employer eligible for Employment allowance. We need to make the claim and the claim will start from the beginning of the year. see link with examples.

2. An employee leaves mid year making the employer ineligible for Employment allowance. Company can still claim employment allowance for the current tax year but stop from next year. see link

There is no pro-rata of employment allowance, either you get it for full year or not.

A must read publication for all HMRC agents doing payroll Employer Bulletin.