Can I stop HMRC adjusting Mum's tax code

[JohnB]

Mum gets a state and civil service pension, and has interest and dividends that makes her a basic rate taxpayer. What we'd like is that her personal allowance is applied against the civil service pension, so she pay a little tax there, and then the rest of her income generates a tax bill which she pays in arrears with a cheque (yes I know, but she's 94)

What happens is HMRC keep fiddling with her tax code and telling the civil service pension people. But the numbers are never right, and we have an endless cycle of overpayments, refunds, and mysterious balancing payments. The civil service people never show their working, and the fact that their payments are based on last year's tax is hellishly confusing. I find tax codes a mystery.

I wrote to complain about a random £550 added to her bill this year, and their response (which helpfully gave advice if you could not meet the payment deadline of 31/01/2019!!!!) said it related to 2 years back, even though I thought after an upheld complaint last year we were square, and remonstrated that we'd not entered the figure in TR007 in our Short Assessment form they asked us to complete, even though its not in the form. I've spent 3 hours on this, and while I can calculate the tax due, and the payments made/refunds given, I've got no idea if this carry forward of tax is true or not.

If we decide to pay to square the books, how can I get them to leave the tax code alone in future. They've said we don't need to complete SA going forward, which is rubbish, as they can clearly see untaxed income.

They've made mistakes in 3 out of the last 4 years, and I hates them.

[Alaric]

Mum gets a state and civil service pension, and has interest and dividends that makes her a basic rate taxpayer. What we'd like is that her personal allowance is applied against the civil service pension, so she pay a little tax there, and then the rest of her income generates a tax bill which she pays in arrears with a cheque (yes I know, but she's 94).

I think you can ask them to set the tax code only by reference to state and other pensiuons. I know I've done this, but I cannot immediately recall how or where. I suspect a tick box when you declare the tax owing in self assessment and elect whether you want future tax codes adjusted or whether you will pay the any outstanding tax bill every 31st Janaury

[DrFfybes]

You can try, but you'll likely struggle. Even if you tick the "I'll pay any tax due, please stop buggering about with my tax code" option on the SA forms thay can still change it 3 or 4 times between form submission and end of the tax year.

Paul

[Lootman]

You can try, but you'll likely struggle. Even if you tick the "I'll pay any tax due, please stop buggering about with my tax code" option on the SA forms they can still change it 3 or 4 times between form submission and end of the tax year.

One of my ambitions, so far successful, is to avoid having a tax code (and therefore tax withholding). In fact I have not had one this century.

You do not need one to receive a state pension, nor for income from rent, interest, dividends or capital gains.

So assuming that someone no longer works then a tax code is only imposed on you if you receive some kind of pension other than the state pension. And I am deferring those for as long as I can - up to age 75 depending on the scheme.

If only we had the option to set our own tax code, like Americans can simply do via form W-4. But the British taxpayer is not so trusted, evidently.

[XFool]

Mum gets a state and civil service pension, and has interest and dividends that makes her a basic rate taxpayer. What we'd like is that her personal allowance is applied against the civil service pension, so she pay a little tax there, and then the rest of her income generates a tax bill which she pays in arrears with a cheque (yes I know, but she's 94)

What happens is HMRC keep fiddling with her tax code and telling the civil service pension people. But the numbers are never right, and we have an endless cycle of overpayments, refunds, and mysterious balancing payments. The civil service people never show their working, and the fact that their payments are based on last year's tax is hellishly confusing. I find tax codes a mystery.
...
They've made mistakes in 3 out of the last 4 years, and I hates them.

Well, instead of HMRC, blame that George Osborne! I do.

Apart from not being 94, my situation is similar to your mum's. Everything was cushty until after April 2016, following Osborne's 2013 budget. I have a (variable) Tax Code, to take the income tax due from all sources off my ex employer's pension. But of course, unlike before Osborne, it is no longer simple, because tax is not taken off interest etc. at source and is variable, so not known at the start of the tax year (as the state and employer pensions are). That is why they have to use the previous years (known) income and so why this year's Tax Code might be wrong or need correcting or a balancing payment may be needed at the end of the year.

So it's self assessment all the way down. I wish we could go back to the system as was before Osborne.