Tax code 19P?

[Jopo1]

Does anyone know about this tax code? All I can find out is on the gov.uk website that it shouldn't be used as it was only valid up to April 2015

However my mum has just started taking a widow's pension from my dad's private pension scheme. I noticed it was quite a lot less than I expected and I was told that it was due to the tax code 19P supplied to them by HMRC.

It doesn't seem like a valid tax code so I wondered if anyone can suggest why it was used?

Thanks

Jopo

[SteelCamel]

It seems to relate to people born between 1938 and 1948, and is otherwise identical to L. As it now makes no difference to your tax allowance, it should now be "19L" not "19P", but the meaning is the same - it translates to an allowance of £199 per year. Which is correct if she has about £12380 of other taxable income (and is paying no PAYE tax on that other income).

[the0ni0nking]

I don't work for HMRC and while I am an accountant by qualification I do not specialise in personal taxation as my life/career took a much more interesting direction within the accountancy field

As I understand it, what SteelCamel has said is correct (it's basically reflecting that the individual concerned is entitled to the personal allowance - so why not use the letter L HMRC!!???!!??!!!?? (Suggests to me they still want the functionality built into whatever IT system it is to allow different personal allowances based on age).

You would think if it is no longer valid, they wouldn't be allowed to put it in as a tax code letter on the system. If the volume of tax paid compared to the overall personal income of the individual doesn't make sense, it might make sense to check with HMRC that "P" doesn't make any difference to applying "L" - I say that as I just wonder whether the P starts at a different personal allowance threshold such that the numbers then take you into a different realm rather than basically saying you pay tax after earning £190 or more from this source of income.

[pochisoldi]

To add to SteelCamel's post:

Suffix P
Suffix P was used up to 5 April 2015 where an individual qualified for the maximum age related increased Personal Allowance (born between 6 April 1938 and 5 April 1948).

Suffix P can still appear in coding history for years before 6 April 2015 but should no longer be used.

Original text at:
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manual ... /paye11045

(There's no way you could have googled straight to that page unless you included 1938 and 1948 in your search.)

[Gersemi]

The suffix makes no difference to how the code is applied, as has been said above it translates to an allowance of £199 per year, suggesting that your mum has other income (perhaps a state pension, which is taxable, but never taxed at source). The point of the suffix was so that employers could automatically uprate codes in the new tax year to reflect increased personal allowances. These days only the standard personal allowance applies except in a very few cases so the letter is almost redundant.

I can't see how a new code of 19P has been issued by HMRC as P is no longer used, and wonder if someone has made a mistake somewhere along the line. However your mum should have received a copy of the tax code from HMRC so she could check that the code was right. If she hasn't received this she can request a copy - though contacting them is far from easy!