Payments on Account
Errors on Statements
Background
An error has been identified within HM Revenue & Customs (‘HMRC’) self assessment tax return system where payments on account for 2017/18, as reported on 2016/17 tax returns, are not appearing on individuals statements.
This error may result in an individual paying only their balancing tax liability for 2016/17 and not their first payment on account for 2017/18 also due on 31 January 2018.
Details
The issue of 2017/18 payments on account being omitted from self assessment statements is believed to affect those individuals who filed their tax return before 1st October 2017. This coincides with the date HMRC introduced an update to fix previous problems identified within their systems.
For certain individuals, HMRC’s system is overriding information submitted on the tax return and removing payments on account. The effect of this is that an individual will find that their statement only shows the balance of tax that they owe for the 2016/17 tax year, when in fact they owe an additional amount in the form of payments on account for 2017/18.
HMRC have stated that since this is an error within their system, individuals who are affected will not be charged interest if they do not make their 2017/18 payments on account by the due date, provided they make contact with HMRC to inform them of the error.
HMRC are working on resolving this issue but at present it is unclear exactly how many individuals may be affected.
If you have concerns about whether your self assessment tax statement includes your payments on account for 2017/18, particularly given the payment deadline of 31 January 2018, please contact our Tax Director, Jenny Marks.
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