Readers’ forum: PAYE coding out of potential underpayments.

HMRC Agent Update 76 announced HMRC now has the facility to code out self assessment (SA) underpayments in the current year (CY) tax code rather than just in the next year (CY+1).

However we are now seeing examples of HMRC apparently using this facility to collect ‘potential underpayments’ for the CY for non-SA cases. This can result in large PAYE deductions over a few months.

We appreciate that individual taxpayers can contact HMRC to discuss/appeal their tax coding notices but we’d like to know if other agents have also seen HMRC adopting a new policy of coding out ‘potential underpayments’ in the CY for non-SA cases and if so are the supposed ‘safeguarding limits’ (promised in Agent Update 76) being followed?

Query 20 095 – Codebreaker.

It is a shame HMRC has decided to change its approach in this hard climate.

I must sympathise with Codebreaker’s...