Readers’ forum: Self-assessment confusion

My client’s tax liability shown by the 2018-19 tax return was £8 000 and after deducting payments on account made for the year the balance due was £2 500.

Box 2 on page TRG 13 of the tax return helpsheet states that if the amount owed is less than £3 000 for the year HMRC will try to collect it through PAYE in 2020-21. The word ‘owe’ is in the present tense so that anyone reading it will understand it to mean the tax owing at the time the tax return is completed and the liability is established. It is not possible to owe more than that.

The tax return was submitted in early December 2019 and a claim was made for the £2 500 to be collected through the PAYE code for 2020-21. The client heard nothing until July 2020 when a statement arrived showing the...