Varying application to reduce payments on account

Posted by Jimlad PM | on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 16:05 648 8 comments | report

Small bug in website for agents:

We filed a 2010-11 tax return online (using third party software) which contained an applicaton to reduce the payments on account of 2011-12 to £nil.

Absent that application, there would have been a requirement to make payments on account.

Information has since come to light suggesting that the application was only partly justified. We now desire to amend the original application to reduce, as we are entitled (indeed required) by law.

HMRC online services helpfully has a link within the client details which allows us effectively to file an SA303 form online.

The problem is, however, that in this case if we click on the link we are not allowed to progress any further, being advised that as there are no payments on account required, so there is no opportunity to apply to reduce them.

But we don't want to reduce them. We want to (partially) undo a reduction already filed. But the online system does not allow us to do so.

Somewhere in the background, the system should remember the full payments on account before any reduction, and only if THAT figure is zero should you be denied the opportunity to proceed with an only application to reduce, which link should also be available for use to vary an existing application.

Comments

Payments on account

david wilks | Fri, 03/02/2012 - 16:13 | Permalink

If the system won't let you do what you want to do then just advise the client to make the payment on account and sort it out later. At least no interest will be charged.

just pay it anyway then

carnmores | Fri, 03/02/2012 - 16:16 | Permalink

or amend the tax return if necess usig third party software

You could try... 1 thanks

taxhound | Fri, 03/02/2012 - 16:21 | Permalink

Phoning the help line and see if they will do it. Otherwise I would be tempted to file an amended return too.

do members think

RebeccaBenneyworth | Fri, 03/02/2012 - 20:36 | Permalink

that this is something which should be "fixed" if it is not resource intensive? I can forward in if you agree it is an issue which needs looking into, or are the responses sufficient work around to negate making an issue template? Please let me know.

Payment more important

Marion Hayes | Sat, 04/02/2012 - 12:53 | Permalink

As long as the payments on account are paid as soon as they become necessary I would have thought that any change would be wasted resources, plus potentially trigger interest in a figure which remains a best, albeit improved,guesstimate which could still vary.

If you have save print screen pictures to demonstrate that you have attempted to change your guess I would have thought that that, together with the letters to your client advising him of the need to make extra payments, would have covered your resoponsibility.

Workarounds

Jimlad | Sun, 05/02/2012 - 11:29 | Permalink

Yes there are workarounds. Does that excuse the absence of the requested feature? Not in my view but I am just one voice.

I am unconvinced that dealing with it by way of repair to the return is free of other possible consequences.

And overpayments without adjusting the due amount could result in an undesired refund of the excess. I would not want to give HMRC yet another excuse for withholding repayments in other cases where they are genuinely repayable.

For me, the original suggestion is a no-brainer, and worth doing. The only problem then is one of priorities. Certainly there are higher priorities. Problem with that is that there always will be.

Incidentally, I do wonder ...

Jimlad | Mon, 06/02/2012 - 09:07 | Permalink

... whether we should be triaging templates before submitting them to HMRC on the basis of our preconceptions about how resource intensive we expect the implementation of the solution to be.

The ultimate priority assigned to the fix will of course have regard to the resources required, as well as the severity of the problem, but the only body capable of evaluating the former is HMRC. All that we can do is shove the issue out there, together with our perception of severity.

The problem with paying the tax when it is not showing as du....

taxhound | Tue, 07/02/2012 - 09:02 | Permalink

The problem with paying the tax when it is not showing as due is that occasionally some bright spark at hmrc decides to refund it, not realising that it has been paid for a reason. So I would be all in favour of a fix.

I remember a couple of years ago I "reduced" a client's POAs upwards and they were horribly confused - could not understand why we would do this.

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