Taxpayers urged to check new tax codes

During this month taxpayers across the UK will be receiving their new tax codes, to be effective as of 6 April 2016. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is reminding taxpayers that it is their responsibility to make sure that the codes are correct, so they will be paying the right amount of tax.
  
Chas Roy-Chowdhury, ACCA head of taxation, said: “The government has left HMRC (Her majesty’s Revenue and Customs) with a difficult job in respect of tax codes. The number of payments that are dependant on your tax band has increased since 2010 - for example child benefit and dividend payments for company directors.

“Many coding notices can be wrong and individuals need to be sure they know what the notice says and why it says it. The personal allowance for the new tax year is £11,000 and if your notice is giving you a code for more or less than this amount you should contact HMRC straight away.

“I would also recommend that people consider contacting a Chartered Certified Accountant if their new code is significantly different from in previous years. The individual will be responsible to making up any underpaid tax, even if the coding mistake is not their fault.

“While it is highly unlikely HMRC would penalise someone for not spotting an incorrect code, getting it sorted before the tax year begins will make life easier for all involved.”

Information about tax codes, including how child benefit can affect your tax code can be found by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/tax-codes/overview and you can find a Chartered Certified Accountant by searching ‘find an ACCA accountant’ into a search engine.