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clientservices@lsrpartners.comClients often struggle to believe what we tell them about dealing with HMRC. So Simon Roue and Laura Sant decided to open the file and show you.
It can. In the latest episode of the Tax Compass Podcast, Simon Roue and Laura Sant explain what dealing with HMRC actually involves, and why straightforward corrections consume so much time.
This is not a complaint. It is context, so you understand what sits behind the fees when something goes wrong.
Start with the clearest example. A tax return carries a box asking you to enter refunds received from HMRC during the year. The detailed notes then tell you not to, for certain types of refund.
Several clients hit this problem. One was already being chased by debt collection over an amount she did not owe. HMRC suggested an overpayment relief claim, which takes months.
Simon rang instead. He reached a helpful person late in the afternoon, who agreed the guidance was misleading and simply fixed it. Ten minutes, problem solved.
The following day, an identical case. Same call, different person, flat refusal. Told that a colleague had resolved the same issue the day before, the answer came back: he should not have done that.
A supervisor later confirmed the position. The person who fixed the problem was at fault.
Consider what follows from that refusal. HMRC continue chasing someone for money she does not owe. Staff time goes into the pursuit. An overpayment relief claim must then be prepared and reviewed.
And the client faces a bill from us, for work created entirely by an administrative tangle rather than anything she did.
That is the part clients find hardest, understandably. We have no alternative if the matter needs resolving, but nobody enjoys paying for it.
HMRC publish an online tool that estimates when you will receive a reply. Enter the date you wrote, and it returns a date.
One recent enquiry produced an estimate of 14 months. The tool also advises against calling before that point.
Overpayment relief claims carry a stated aim of 90 days. One claim submitted in October received no acknowledgement for nine months, by which point another deadline had passed and we had to argue special circumstances.
The pattern repeats. You wait because they have not reached their own deadline. Then a different deadline expires while you wait.
Until recently, we could ask HMRC to cancel a filing requirement by telephone. Someone non-resident with no UK income should not need to file, and a short call settled it.
That changed with no warning. One week, several cancellations went through on the phone. The next week, the answer was that it now requires a letter.
The practical effect matters. Most people needing this are already in the penalty regime. A letter can take around six months, during which penalties continue accumulating.
The penalties disappear once the filing requirement is cancelled. But watching them mount in the meantime is genuinely stressful.
Here is the reassuring part, and it matters more than the anecdotes.
People often assume HMRC operate like an elite enforcement agency. One client genuinely feared they would break down his door. The reality is far more ordinary. Most of what goes wrong reflects administrative confusion rather than suspicion of you.
The alarming war stories that circulate involve aggressive investigations. Those are rare. Day to day, the difficulty is disorganisation, not hostility.
And some conversations go well. Many HMRC staff are helpful and knowledgeable, and a good one resolves in minutes what letters take months to achieve.
Dealing with HMRC is time consuming, repetitive and occasionally surreal. It is also what we do, and we would rather absorb it than have you spend your evenings on hold.
If a letter has arrived, or something has gone wrong that you cannot unpick, book a consultation at lsrpartners.com.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Please contact us to discuss your specific position.
