Monday, 25 January 2010
HMRC's Coding Enigma
It seems that HMRC's shiny new NIC & PAYE system (NPS), heralded as a major step forward by HMRC, isn't working terribly well.
What government managed IT project ever works "terribly well"? (Delete the word "well" from the previous phrase and you have the reality).
For reasons that only a computer would know, the HMRC database has "misplaced/lost" the information it is meant to contain about people leaving jobs.
The result?
The system is combining taxpayers' current employment records with old data, thus creating additional wealth and income which doesn't exist. This causes the system to calculate incorrect personal allowances and thus issue incorrect tax codes (which are of course used by employers to deduct tax).
How many people is this screw up affecting?
HMRC is issuing approximately 25 million tax coding notices this year, that is double the amount issued in the previous year. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume that several million taxpayers may be adversely affected by this.
Taxpayers need to be more than vigilant this year, when they receive their coding notices, and ensure that where there is an error that they notify HMRC immediately.
Quite how long it will take HMRC to rectify these errors remains to be seen.
Tax does have to be taxing.
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Apparently the computer system is fine and working as it is supposed to. Enquiry/Call centre staff have been notified that it is because they have been entering employee details incorrectly or not following procedures correctly.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting as I understand that most p45 and p60 details are input by employers electronically as now preffered by HMRC.
I guess this is just another case of pass the s**t downwards.
If my observations are incorrect then I am happy to accept that this problem shows that the majority of HMRC advisors are crap at their job. But then maybe this in itself reflects on training and the systems in place.
I'm wondering if the last comment has been made by someone in HMRC management?
ReplyDeleteNPS is Shit, it's not user friendly,full of bugs that have to be worked around,and I can assure you it's not working as it's supposed to, as a replacement software system it's a farking dogs breakfast,ask anyone who has to fight it day in day out to do the simplest piece of work on it.
"I'm wondering if the last comment has been made by someone in HMRC management?"
ReplyDeleteHard to prove it on here as I need to protect the innocent at this point, but I can assure you the post was not made by HMRC management. I would never be eligable for HMRC management as customer service is important to me.
Contact Centre and Enquiry Centre new leave request maybe blocked for February and maybe March and beyond that may tell you what HMRC management is expecting to contact them next month. Staff taking the severance on Feb 8 may get garden leave to stop them from abusing the computer systems. Yes its total chaos and its only gonna get worse.
ReplyDeleteRe. Above
ReplyDeleteTake 6 months off, fully paid sick leave.
Sure you might as well, thousands of others have.
Tell your doctor you work for hmrc, and your suffering from stress and depression.
Doctors up and down the country know all about the place.
And dont worry about it. HMRC are not gonna invest in you any way regarding future development and promotion.
Re above i had a long sick absense a few years ago so that is not an option for me but it will be for some
ReplyDeleteso this is why someone who works for my employer just recieved a revised tax code to tell his employer he has two jobs and therefore needs to be deducted differently from most?
ReplyDeleteIts been more than a year I believe since this was not the case!
Yep... throw a sickie for 6 months on full pay... and why the fark not, as you owe these twats nothing. It's not as if they genuinely care about you (genuinely they don't give a shit about you) so give 'em a taste of their own medicine and enjoy your well-earned break away from all the bullying, petty nitpicking, hassle and stress!!!
ReplyDelete