Self assessment income tax for parent

[Sunnypad]

Hi there
As some of you will know, I have to "help" my elderly mother with things and often what she tells me is wrong or confusing.

For her income tax return, she pays in January and July. Does anyone know why that is, is it normal to do the advanced payment in July?

Also, normally they send her a payslip both months and she pays over the counter at the bank. This July, she didn't get a payslip, cue last minute panic. She says she can't pay the bill over the phone because she can't use the automated system. The man she spoke to said that was the only way.

Am I allowed to pay the bill for her on the phone?

She doesn't use the internet at all, won't allow her card to be used online etc. I am not due to go till Sunday August 1st and it's at least a three hour round trip.
Thanks.

[scrumpyjack]

Hi there
As some of you will know, I have to "help" my elderly mother with things and often what she tells me is wrong or confusing.

For her income tax return, she pays in January and July. Does anyone know why that is, is it normal to do the advanced payment in July?

Also, normally they send her a payslip both months and she pays over the counter at the bank. This July, she didn't get a payslip, cue last minute panic. She says she can't pay the bill over the phone because she can't use the automated system. The man she spoke to said that was the only way.

Am I allowed to pay the bill for her on the phone?

She doesn't use the internet at all, won't allow her card to be used online etc. I am not due to go till Sunday August 1st and it's at least a three hour round trip.
Thanks.

Where your income tax exceeds the amount collected by deduction at source by more than £500, I think, you have to make ‘on account’ payments by the 31st July and 31st Jan. The 31st July payment is the first on account payment for the 21/22 tax year

You can pay also this simply by online banking as long as you use your mothers Income Tax reference on the payment. If you have any old statements or payslips it will show this and also the account details for the payment

[scrumpyjack]

per HMRC website
Account details to use
Sort code Account number Account name
08 32 10 12001039 HMRC Cumbernauld
08 32 10 12001020 HMRC Shipley

What you’ll need
You’ll need to use your 11-character payment reference when you pay. This is your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) followed by the letter ‘K’.

You can find it on your:
HMRC online account
paying-in slip, if you get paper statements

(I'm assuming you can help your mother by doing this from your bank as she can't do anything online)

[Sunnypad]

Thanks
I should have said this in my first post but she tried to pay over the counter in her bank using those details.

They said they couldn't do the payment without the post payslip, hence why I was thinking to try to pay her bill over the phone.

I wonder if she got a staff member at the bank who was a bit confused.

I don't have her payslips so would have to get all that info on the phone from her.

Hence I wondered if there's a number she can call to get a human to take her payment? That would be the easiest option if it exists.

Thanks.

[bluedonkey]

Hi there
As some of you will know, I have to "help" my elderly mother with things and often what she tells me is wrong or confusing.

For her income tax return, she pays in January and July. Does anyone know why that is, is it normal to do the advanced payment in July?

Also, normally they send her a payslip both months and she pays over the counter at the bank. This July, she didn't get a payslip, cue last minute panic. She says she can't pay the bill over the phone because she can't use the automated system. The man she spoke to said that was the only way.

Am I allowed to pay the bill for her on the phone?

She doesn't use the internet at all, won't allow her card to be used online etc. I am not due to go till Sunday August 1st and it's at least a three hour round trip.
Thanks.

Where your income tax exceeds the amount collected by deduction at source by more than £500, I think, you have to make ‘on account’ payments by the 31st July and 31st Jan. The 31st July payment is the first on account payment for the 21/22 tax year.

You can pay also this simply by online banking as long as you use your mothers Income Tax reference on the payment. If you have any old statements or payslips it will show this and also the account details for the payment

Almost. The threshold is now £1,000 (used to be £500). The 31st July 2021 payment is the second payment on account for the 2020/21 tax year. The first payment on account for 2020/21 tax year was due on 31st January 2021.

Regarding payment, one option may be for the OP to pay using his online bank a/c, and then get a cheque from Mum made payable to him.

[Sunnypad]

We weren't sure if they'd take a payment from a different person

Another general question, if you do this online, when would you be notified how much you had to pay, please?

Mum seems to think it's always fairly last minute but I find that surprising.

[scrumpyjack]

We weren't sure if they'd take a payment from a different person

Another general question, if you do this online, when would you be notified how much you had to pay, please?

Mum seems to think it's always fairly last minute but I find that surprising.

She would have been notified weeks ago so perhaps it was lost in the post. Anyway as it is a second payment on account it will be the same as the first payment on account made on 31 Jan. Though the total payment on the 31 Jan would also have included the final balance on the 19/20 tax year. If you have the statement for that 31/1 payment it will show how much the 1st installment was and the 2nd will be the same.

Payment can be made from any bank account.

[bluedonkey]

We weren't sure if they'd take a payment from a different person

Another general question, if you do this online, when would you be notified how much you had to pay, please?

Mum seems to think it's always fairly last minute but I find that surprising.

The amount payable 31.7.21 will have been determined largely by her 2019/20 tax return. Did she submit her return by post or online? If by post (by 31.10.20), then there should have been a document sent to her showing the tax calculation. Has she been able to competently deal with her own tax affairs in the past? Perhaps things are becoming too much for her and you need to be officially recognised by HMRC, like this:
https://www.gov.uk/help-friends-family-tax

[Sunnypad]

Thanks

She says no such paper turned up and that it's always last minute?

She has been fine with her tax before

I have told her about the trusted person thing but she insists it's not necessary. This is DAK so I won't go into the whole "elderly parent" hassle thing.

[bluedonkey]

Thanks

She says no such paper turned up and that it's always last minute?

She has been fine with her tax before

I have told her about the trusted person thing but she insists it's not necessary. This is DAK so I won't go into the whole "elderly parent" hassle thing.

Hmm, sounds like it's her problem to fix then. There's only so much you can do.

[DrFfybes]

I'm fairly sure they don't care who pays it, as long as the money arrives. I have a feeling I paid my wife's with my card in the past.

If it is a BACS then all that should be needed is the destination account, the amount, and the reference. If the only records of those your mum has is on the paper copy then this would cause a problem at the bank.

Phone payments simply require a card and the reference.

Paul

[kempiejon]

We weren't sure if they'd take a payment from a different person

Another general question, if you do this online, when would you be notified how much you had to pay, please?

Mum seems to think it's always fairly last minute but I find that surprising.

I have used the HMRC web chat facility for check figures, change tax code and pay fee by card, I find it easier than a telephone call as you don't hold in the same way. But that's for my own account - not sure how it would obo someone else.

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/ask-hmrc ... 1613580177

[Sunnypad]

Thank you