Current CWF1 and 64-8 processing times

How long is it currently taking HMRC to process CWF1 and 64-8 forms for newly self-employed?

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Sorry for the very basic question but I very rarely take on new clients these days (about 2 a year).

The last new client I took on was in August. He wasn't registered for SA so he came to my home office, we completed the CWF1 form together, I printed it, he posted it (on August 26th to the address on page 5 of the CWF1 form).

He still hadn't received a UTR on October 11th so I got him to complete a second form, this time with a signed 64-8 as well. I sent both forms together to the Central Agents Authorising Team on October 12th 2021 by recorded delivery. HMRC signed to confirm receipt of the letter on October 14th 2021.

Neither I or my client have had a reply to either letter (I would expect to see the client appear on my SA clients list once the UTR had been issued). 

My question are: 1. Is this length of delay normal at the moment due to HMRC's general crapness at the moment and 2. What method seems to be working best at the moment to get someone registered for SA?

The client is in CIS and is getting fed up of the 30% deductions!

Replies (21)

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By Duggimon
07th Dec 2021 11:04

Holy moly, you need to get set up to do this online, paper forms are taking upwards of 4-5 months at the moment.

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Replying to Duggimon:
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By Open all hours
07th Dec 2021 11:33

Except that online CWF 1 is inclined to reject the clients address. HMRC then email the client to say the application has failed and we would look like idiots had we not pre-warned them that this would happen.

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Replying to Open all hours:
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By 97mwill
07th Dec 2021 14:16

We have tried to do two SA registrations through our agent account in the last week and both have thrown up errors saying NI number doesn't agree to either name/address/DOB - which we are sure has been entered correctly. Is this an error you are getting? Anyone else getting this issue? Or have we just been really unlucky with these 2 registrations?

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Replying to 97mwill:
By Duggimon
08th Dec 2021 09:03

99% of the time HMRC have an old address tied to the NI number, the other 1% is people like my client the other week who unwittingly gave us the wrong NI number, he apparently didn't know his.

The client needs to fix it with the NI office.

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Johny Fartpants Picture
By johnny fartpants
07th Dec 2021 11:09

Thanks Duggimon. Do you mean from the Government Gateway (Agents) account, "register a client for new taxes" section?

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Replying to johnny fartpants:
By Duggimon
07th Dec 2021 11:18

Yes, exactly, do the form online entirely and submit via your agent account. You can do the CWF1 equivalent, SA1, and get authorisations on there once you get the details through. Despite having to do the registration and authorisation in separate sequential steps it is still a whole lot faster overall.

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Replying to Duggimon:
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By johnny fartpants
07th Dec 2021 11:35

Thanks again Duggimon. I've submitted online as you have suggested. Any rough ideas on how long this should take for the UTR to arrive?

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Replying to johnny fartpants:
By Duggimon
07th Dec 2021 11:41

Generally within 2-3 weeks, sometimes sooner. The authorisation will take a further two weeks or so once you have the UTR.

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Replying to Duggimon:
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By johnny fartpants
07th Dec 2021 11:43

Thanks Duggimon. Really helpful!

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By pauld
07th Dec 2021 11:11

HMRC now 'lose' all mail. I cant remember the last time I had a reply for something posted to them i.e.

Appeals against late filing penalties - lost
Claim for EIS Relief - two letters - lost

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Replying to pauld:
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By johnny fartpants
07th Dec 2021 11:42

I didn't think any part of HMRC's "systems" for want of a better word could be more rubbish than the haphazard way that they process corporation tax refunds.

Obviously I've a lot to learn!

Are there any other newly broken parts of the system that I should be aware of??

Perhaps we should conduct a straw poll on Awb?

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Johny Fartpants Picture
By johnny fartpants
07th Dec 2021 11:18

Definitely HMRC's current crapness then. Can I use my Agent's Gov Gateway to register him (and deal with the fact that he will end up with 3 UTR numbers later)? I thought this allowed you to register an existing client for a new tax rather than to register for someone who technically isn't yet a client.

Wow, I really am a dinosaur of the accounting world aren't I? Fancy expecting to be able to use the POST to get things done (although it seems to work pretty well for my groceries, Christmas shopping, speaking to anyone else who isn't HMRC etc etc)!!

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Replying to johnny fartpants:
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By Matrix
07th Dec 2021 12:10

When you complete the SA1 if he already has a UTR then you will get an email to say so. We alway use our email address.

For some reason we can now only file a CWF1 online for clients with a UTR.

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Replying to Matrix:
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By johnny fartpants
07th Dec 2021 12:30

Thanks Matrix. So how do you process a CWF1 form & how long does it take for you?

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Replying to johnny fartpants:
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By Matrix
07th Dec 2021 14:22

I have just checked and the ones we submitted yesterday now have the Class 2 showing.

Obviously we already had UTRs and were agent.

Your situation is now urgent for your subbie so call the SA helpline and get them to give you the UTR over the phone. Tell them about the 64-8. Call back til this works (well it worked for us once anyway!).

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By sjn01
07th Dec 2021 15:03

We posted a CWF1 & 64-8 in mid-June - it wouldn't work online for some reason, and I can't recall why just now. The HMRC letter telling us the UTR and that the client had been set up for self assessment arrived last week.

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Red Leader
By Red Leader
07th Dec 2021 17:21

Recently for a new client that was already in SA but not registered for self employment, I gave up trying to register for self employment online and did a paper CWF1 instead. The client was already on my online client list.

Is it possible as an agent to register a client for self emp?

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Replying to Red Leader:
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By Matrix
07th Dec 2021 17:28

Yes but I don’t know how to do it as my assistant did it. But it worked in less than 24 hours.

Try this: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/shortforms/form/CWF1ST?dept-name=CWF1&sub...

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Replying to Red Leader:
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By johnny fartpants
07th Dec 2021 17:58

I will let you know in two to three weeks' time! It sounds from some of the other posts here that the system doesn't always run as smoothly as it ought.

I still find it difficult to justify why such a vital and fundamentally simple process can be made so difficult by HMRC's inability to get even the basics right.

No wonder they get such a bad press.

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Johny Fartpants Picture
By johnny fartpants
28th Jan 2022 16:34

Just to update (as promised) the UTR did come through a couple of weeks after the online application.

I know how I'll be processing these from now on!!

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By Paul D Utherone
28th Jan 2022 16:53

Apparently:
64-8 - an aim of 15 days
Requesting a UTR by post (not sure if that covers CWF1 but for the sake of argument let's assume so - processing from the beginning of Dec 21 & hoping for 15 days by the end of Feb 22
Requesting a UTR online - an aim of 15 days

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