UK self assessment form

[Hereford]

Beware if you sent a paper form R43 during the tax year to get back, for instance, tax deducted from a pension pot taken in full.  I am a French tax resident. I did this in February as had been suggested on this forum.  I wish now that I had done what was my initial idea and waited until I was ready to file a Self Assesment form (no tax will be due but a small repayment on taxed interest - it is completed to file a small amount of property income).

Having heard nothing I telephoned and wa stold that as I complete a SA form to put the tax on that. Fine I thought. However I have now tried to file my 2015/16 SA return online and the program says that I filed a paper Tax return for 2015/16 in February (which clearly I did not) and can only "amend" it online if I filed online.

So: impasse.

I have asked a question to see what can be done but I suspect the answer will that I will have to file the "amendment" on paper and wait weeks if not months for my money.

So: If you file an SA return online do not try to get back one off tax amounts early!

Mrs H.

PS Also the HMRC website now has a second tier of security before you start involving mobile phone codes plus info from a previous year. A real pain and I have sent "feedback" about that too...

[cajal]

Good evening Mrs H,

I file an R43 every year to HMRC. The responses ( ie. when I receive the reclaimed monies) varies considerably year to year particularly after HMRC decided to abandoned its' dedicated overseas department in Leicester.

A couple of years ago when I was 12 telephone calls in, querying why I had not received the full amount of my original claim, I was told by a technician (strange title for a tax assesor) that I had no chance of receiving the full amount of my claim from HMRC and should claim the outstanding amount from the French tax authorities.

You state that you have 'asked a question to see what can be done.'  Now, I don't know to whom or how you asked the said question but following my experience, as above, I used this

particular method to communicate my dissatisfaction with the service I had received and demanding a resolution to this ongoing issue.

Within 2 weeks I had been fully reimbersed and was also in receipt of an apology from HMRC. 

I emailed them back to enquire as to how avoid this situation in subsequent years. They replied, to the effect, that the information I had enclosed with my claim was correct and should a problem arise, not to telephone, but that I should contact them with the structured email form I had already used.

Hope this helps

regards

cajal

[Hereford]

Hi

Sorry not to have responded cajal.  I originally sent a "question" from the HMRC website which promises a response in 48 hours.  Er...no response. On Tuesday therefore I telephoned their international number  0044 135 535 9022 which number I was given last year as being for Overseas Taxpayers.  Most helpful young lady answered so I explained what had happened. She went off to speak to someone and said that my file would be cleared/rectified within two or three days and that then I would be able to file a complete return as usual. The earlier R43 would, as I had been told, not be processed.

I have just now gone into my account and filed the return. 

Interestingly in previous years the repayment has come within days - if not one knew there was a problem! But the site now says it should be made within four weeks and not to query it before that.

[mint]

Hm.............interesting.  I wrote recently about claiming tax paid on some national savings.  They replied quite quickly, first to say it was being dealt with by the relevant person or dept, then again a few days later with the R43.

The information required was quite detailed and no different from a self-assessment, as far as I could see.  Possibly the form would go to the Newcastle office for action from the overseas dept.