The Lemon Fool

In this morning's email, a reminder from HMRC about filing my self-assessment.

I thought I'd filed my self-assessment some time back. My bank account thinks my rebate from them was credited back in the summer.

In the past, I don't think I've had these reminders after having submitted the return and received the rebate. Have they become more disorganised in general? Have others just had these spurious reminders? Or should I take the trouble to follow up?

Phishing? I would log in to my on line gov.uk account and see if there's anything there.

UncleEbenezer wrote:In this morning's email, a reminder from HMRC about filing my self-assessment.

I thought I'd filed my self-assessment some time back. My bank account thinks my rebate from them was credited back in the summer.

In the past, I don't think I've had these reminders after having submitted the return and received the rebate. Have they become more disorganised in general? Have others just had these spurious reminders? Or should I take the trouble to follow up?

I got a reminder just now but then I haven't filled a SA yet this year.

RC

I got one today too. Its an automated email and means almost nothing as they asked me to stop filling out tax returns last year, but I still get the email.

I've also been told not to bother completing SA, but filed back in May anyway (I was due and have received a £15 rebate). I got the email today as well. "Self Assessment - 100 days to go" Sounds like the countdown to Christmas?

As the reminder says (yes, I just received one):-

If you’ve already sent us your return and paid, thank you. You don’t need to do anything else

Obviously HMRC are relying on WFH and haven't yet caught up to the computer generation (yes, I've already completed and submitted my SA)

I've had it too, even though I submitted my return online months ago and have the confirmation of receipt from HMRC.

HMRC have always been cr?p at IT and it is obviously beyond their capabilities to filter the mailing against their records of tax returns received.
'The Blob' is too kind a description of that arm of the state!

Just got it myself, and it's obvious from it's contents that HMRC spared every effort in targeting it to those who have not yet completed their return, as it says...


If you’ve already sent us your return and paid, thank you. You don’t need to do anything else.

Yes, they just send it to everyone.
It's not as foolish as you might think. The returns for myself and my wife were done long ago, but it reminded me to talk to my mother-in-law about finishing hers. Scattergun approach can be a reasonable strategy.

It's not as foolish as you might think

.

Well, you say that but, in my case, it wastes a lot of time. It makes me doubt that I have completed and sent in mine and my wife's SAs so I have to log onto two different gov.uk accounts complete with 2 way authentications for each to make sure they have been completed and that I also submitted them. Then I have to check bank statements to double check that tax has been paid - becasue the HMRC site doesn't seem to tell you that.

No doubt will have to do the same again when they send another reminder before April 2024.

Come on HMRC - get with the 21st Century.

Late filing penalties can rise to being quite (cumulative) high £££, what annoys me is that I've waited months for a written letter reply and the last few times I've phoned I've had to wait 40 minutes+ each time to get through. I did have a overdue amount to settle and their letter demanded action within days. Yet the other way around and its a marathon.

If only we could reciprocate penalties for delays

Laughton wrote:

It's not as foolish as you might think

.

Well, you say that but, in my case, it wastes a lot of time. It makes me doubt that I have completed and sent in mine and my wife's SAs so I have to log onto two different gov.uk accounts complete with 2 way authentications for each to make sure they have been completed and that I also submitted them. Then I have to check bank statements to double check that tax has been paid - becasue the HMRC site doesn't seem to tell you that.

No doubt will have to do the same again when they send another reminder before April 2024.

Come on HMRC - get with the 21st Century.

its because they all WFH and do not talk with each other to keep abreast of what is happening
ALSO...

by sending a reminder to everyone automatically it removes any excuses from those who try and not do it as they have been reminded!

mutantpoodle wrote:its because they all WFH and do not talk with each other to keep abreast of what is happening

That is just a lame excuse.
There are still lots of people WFH in the private sector and everything still seems to work well.
Personally, I have teams spread across sites and team zones that work as one team on a daily basis and there is hardly ever any miscommunication on the projects they work on.

UncleEbenezer wrote:In this morning's email, a reminder from HMRC about filing my self-assessment.

I thought I'd filed my self-assessment some time back. My bank account thinks my rebate from them was credited back in the summer.

In the past, I don't think I've had these reminders after having submitted the return and received the rebate. Have they become more disorganised in general? Have others just had these spurious reminders? Or should I take the trouble to follow up?

Yes I posted on here couple of months ago when I got a letter which seemed to suggest I needed to submit a return for 21/22 despite having already done so. Then the following day I received a letter which suggested I need to submit SA's despite not earning anything for over 2 years.
I queried it in an old fashioned letter and got a reply confirming that I had done the former and didn't need to do the latter.

Laughton wrote:

It's not as foolish as you might think

.

Well, you say that but, in my case, it wastes a lot of time. It makes me doubt that I have completed and sent in mine and my wife's SAs so I have to log onto two different gov.uk accounts complete with 2 way authentications for each to make sure they have been completed and that I also submitted them. Then I have to check bank statements to double check that tax has been paid - becasue the HMRC site doesn't seem to tell you that.

No doubt will have to do the same again when they send another reminder before April 2024.

Come on HMRC - get with the 21st Century.

They are already, its CONNECT system is increasingly advanced, and incorporating AI. Banks have been pressured more recently into handing over all transactions - threats against if they fail to report 'suspicious activities' (without alerting the individual), obvious response 'report' all transactions ... into CONNECT. It's AI can track your movements, where your money is, where it comes from, goes to, even your online activities are fed in/tracked (character profiling). Wont be long before it can restrict what you can do/buy, at a individual level. You're a open prison biological inmate with a NI number within a petri dish that will increasingly be controlled by a AI system. But yes in its infancy, still learning (bugs being ironed out). Nice legacy to leave the next-gen don't you think!

UncleEbenezer wrote:In this morning's email, a reminder from HMRC about filing my self-assessment.

I thought I'd filed my self-assessment some time back. My bank account thinks my rebate from them was credited back in the summer.

In the past, I don't think I've had these reminders after having submitted the return and received the rebate. Have they become more disorganised in general? Have others just had these spurious reminders? Or should I take the trouble to follow up?

I received one too (entitled "Self Assessment - 100 days to go") and I did my tax return months ago. Judging by the "Dear Customer" opener and lack of any specific reference to my tax affairs, I guess they just pump these reminders out to everyone on their mailing list. Best ignored (and deleted) if you know you've done everything.

I got one of these even though I had previously been told that I don't need to file one. I checked with them and was told that anyone who got this email is considered to have been asked to file a tax return and if I disagree I should make a request to stop self assessment again otherwise I will be fined. As my taxable income is well below the personal allowance this is just annoying but I have requested to be exempted again. I am a bit worried that they may take more than 100 days to look at it.

AWOL wrote:I got one of these even though I had previously been told that I don't need to file one. I checked with them and was told that anyone who got this email is considered to have been asked to file a tax return and if I disagree I should make a request to stop self assessment again otherwise I will be fined. As my taxable income is well below the personal allowance this is just annoying but I have requested to be exempted again. I am a bit worried that they may take more than 100 days to look at it.

I was not aware that having a net income below the personal allowance necessarily implies that you do not have to submit a tax return. Does it not instead depend on how that income is derived, its source and type, and what exemptions, allowances and deductions you are claiming?

There was at least one tax year where I owed no tax, but it was never suggested that I therefore did not need to submit a return.

As an aside I am impressed that anyone can live off less than the annual personal allowance.

Lootman wrote:
As an aside I am impressed that anyone can live off less than the annual personal allowance.

It is perfectly possible if you are living off capital and income from non-taxable sources such as an ISA

[/quote]
That is just a lame excuse.
There are still lots of people WFH in the private sector and everything still seems to work well.
Personally, I have teams spread across sites and team zones that work as one team on a daily basis and there is hardly ever any miscommunication on the projects they work on.[/quote]

''in the private sector'.....enough said!