Ex employer P45 mess up

[Blown2CV]

My ex employer has made a right mess of my tax. They never adopted a new tax code when the coding notification was sent from HMRC. Then when I left, the wrong code was still on there, they didn’t write up any earnings received from previous employment and HMRC said they never received the P45 at all. I’ve raised it with the company and they just keep telling me they’ve sent it and there is no way it could have gone wrong. What can I do?!

[Eric Mc]

HMRC will know what data they have on their systems. They can tell you what tax has actually been deducted from what your (seemingly careless) employer paid you.

Are we talking about tax year 2022/23 pr the current tax year (2023/24)?

[Blown2CV]

Eric Mc said:

HMRC will know what data they have on their systems. They can tell you what tax has actually been deducted from what your (seemingly careless) employer paid you.

Are we talking about tax year 2022/23 pr the current tax year (2023/24)?

this tax year otherwise it would all have come out in the self assessment wash.

HMRC records show i have two current and active employments, is part of the issue.

[Eric Mc]

Blown2CV said:

this tax year otherwise it would all have come out in the self assessment wash.

HMRC records show i have two current and active employments, is part of the issue.

Speak to HMRC. I know it can be a long winded and sometimes painful process but if you manage to get through to somebody at HMRC they should be able to help.

[Blown2CV]

Of course I already am speaking to them.

They say “we haven’t got the P45 and there is nothing we can do till we get it”

And the ex employer says “we’ve sent it and we know our systems are working fine”

So here I am caught in the middle, which is really why I posted here.

[Countdown]

Blown2CV said:

My ex employer has made a right mess of my tax. They never adopted a new tax code when the coding notification was sent from HMRC. Then when I left, the wrong code was still on there, they didn’t write up any earnings received from previous employment and HMRC said they never received the P45 at all. I’ve raised it with the company and they just keep telling me they’ve sent it and there is no way it could have gone wrong. What can I do?!

IIRC another poster had a similar issue recently. It's confusing because P45s are submitted electronically to HMRC as part of the monthly payroll filings (FPS, EPS) When the employer submits these reports they get a confirmation back from HMRC. My guess is that this is an issue at HMRC's end rather than the Employer.

If your current HMRC employment records are wrong then you should be able to log on to the Govt Gateway and correct this yourself as a first step. You should also be able to tell HMRC online that your tax code is wrong (rather tan having to phone them up)

[Blown2CV]

i've hunted around the personal tax account portal, and i can't see a way to do this. You can add a missing employment, but you can't remove an erroneous one. You also can't even contact HMRC anymore. I tried calling them, and it put me through a 10 min phone menu and then it told me they were too busy and i should fk off. Click. I am not joking here - the only way to contact them was to raise a complaint. How has it come to this.

[Decky_Q]

Contact the past employer and ask them to email you a copy of the p45 they sent which they should be able to find no?

[Blown2CV]

Decky_Q said:

Contact the past employer and ask them to email you a copy of the p45 they sent which they should be able to find no?

HMRC have said they won’t accept it like that.

[Countdown]

Decky_Q said:

Contact the past employer and ask them to email you a copy of the p45 they sent which they should be able to find no?

Employers don’t send physical copies of P45s to HMRC. All payroll information is filed electronically

[paddy1970]

It's your ex-employer's responsibility to provide accurate tax information. If they have confirmed sending the P45 but HMRC hasn't received it, ask your employer for proof of submission or a copy of the submission confirmation.

When you get this, raise a complaint with HMRC. This will prompt a more thorough investigation into your situation.

[Eric Mc]

Ask to submit a self assessment tax return for tax year 2023/24. That should resolve the situation for once and for all.

[Blown2CV]

i am on self assessment anyway, so it's more of a case of fixing it now or post april.

Spoke to HMRC for the millionth time today and they confirm they still have no P45 and the info on the copy P45 I have is all wrong based on what they understand and have sight of. Ex employer idiots still refusing to investigate, correct or otherwise do anything useful.

So, it's such a fking stshow that I will be on month 1 emergency tax until the end of the tax year...

[Eric Mc]

I'd just wait then.

[Blown2CV]

Eric Mc said:

I'd just wait then.

yes where my head is at too. Well, resigned to it.