LITG Advises PAYE Earners to Verify Bills

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group have issued a comprehensive guide to enable taxpayers who receive letters fr om HMRC informing them they have underpaid tax in the 2010-11 tax year to take action, check their calculations and, where appropriate, challenge HMRC figures.

HMRC will start sending out the first PAYE calculations for 2010/11 in the next few days, where they think that people have not paid enough tax in the year. This will continue up to Christmas. In all, an estimated 1.2m letters will be sent out.

Kelly Sizer, LITRG technical officer, said: 'People receiving tax calculations from HMRC should always check they are correct. In the last year, LITRG’s guidance has helped thousands of taxpayers to do just that, and to have underpayments for the tax years 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10 written off, wh appropriate.

'For 2010/11, there is less cause for optimism in obtaining a write-off. But calculations should still be checked and action taken relevant to the individual circumstances. If people do owe tax, they should investigate their payment options and those on low incomes should check whether it has any effect on their entitlement to means-tested benefits.'