HMRC - 6 months for your tax rebate, Sir

[Zio Di Roma]

My self-assessment submitted in January gave rise to a £7000.00 tax rebate. HMRC has not paid it.

The accountant has called them today and they are saying it will take up to a further sixteen (16) weeks for them to process it.

Also this week, I received a £100 fine from HMRC for allegedly paying around £17k CGT eleven days late. I am fairly sure however that it was paid on time.

It is taking the accountant around forty minutes on hold to get hold of anyone there and apparently they are about to shut down all their help desks.

I have always paid every penny of tax due, when it was due for payment; this really isn't cricket.

[Zio Di Roma]

gotoPzero said:

FWIW last year I was owed and it took about 6 weeks IIRC.

Mrs was the same.

Is it possible its been paid to your accountant <cough>..... thats how ours was paid.

No.

[Zio Di Roma]

Newc said:

My SA was filed last July, large refund due and marked as 'Pending repayment' since then. I called every six weeks from October to be told "oh yes, payment instruction has been issued, definitely coming through in the next fortnight".

I've filed an official complaint through their online service, though I assume the same people not sending my money to me will be the same people not reading my complaint.

The consensus seems to be write to your MP, I think.

[Zio Di Roma]

Panamax said:

My experience has been the same. Over recent years HMRC has become appallingly slow at issuing refunds. Can't help wondering whether our penniless government has given a deliberate "go slow" directive - or perhaps a staff bonus scheme at HMRC encourages them to hold onto taxpayers' money for as long as possible. It's pretty outrageous.

The reason a rebate is due is that we have had to mothball our businesses, so we could really do with that money to keep it ticking over.

I can very well imagine HMRC deliberately paying slowly. The energy companies seem to be doing it. Basically they are bolstering cashflow at the customer's expense.

The trouble for HMRC being, I think, that people like us sometimes overpay tax in the knowledge that we can reclaim it. Why? Because it is easier and quicker if a filing deadline is nigh.

If HMRC continues playing silly buggers with rebates we may take a different view about overpaying.

[Zio Di Roma]

Swervin_Mervin said:

If there's one public body in this country that absolutely needs dismantling and rebuilding afresh...

Just about every public body I can call to mind is fighting tooth and nail for that privilege.

[Zio Di Roma]

Mr Whippy said:

I usually get a bit of refund each year, last one was filed Nov/Dec iirc and I had the refund in 3 or 4 weeks.

Have things got really bad since late last year, or is this something to do with larger sums?

In my case it’s around £1,500.

They owed us £300 and £7000 for two different things. The £300 arrived in days. The £7k has not arrived.

[Zio Di Roma]

OldSkoolRS said:

I suppose I'll have to take back my sarcastic comment that I'd believe it when I saw my cheque for my rebate as it arrived this lunchtime after my phone call on Monday. Straight off to the bank to pay it in (though why I couldn't just have it paid directly to my bank I don't know). In total that has taken until nearly tax year 2024-25 to get a rebate for 2021-22 and 2022-23. Not a huge amount by PH CEO standards, but it would have kept me for about 6 months when I first finished work and of course no interest during a period when I could have got about 6%.

I'll reserve judgement however because I'm still wary of an extra amount they gave me for 2021-22 and wouldn't be surprised to see them ask for it back...

Aren't they supposed to pay interest at OBR - 1% or similar?

[Furbo]

thebursar said:

Sheepshanks said:

thebursar said:

Well, it's that time of year again!

I completed my SA in early April and requested the repayment of some £2.5k. This is a repayment situation that could have been avoided as I had advised them of my additional pension contributions and that they should adjust my tax code to accommodate this. However, because I could not provide evidence of future payments, they could not change my tax code and lo and behold, they owe me money.

I completed the form online and waited five weeks. Called them to arrange the repayment, and now they cannot do it over the phone. The advisor told me this wad due to additional "security reasons" but was unable to expand on what they were.

I apparently need to write to them by snail mail to arrange a refund. This seems quite ridiculous in this day and age, especially as the repayment situation could have been avoided, in any case should be able to be processed online and now the back up option of telephone advisor sorting it as before (after a 30 minute hold), I'm told HMRC are blocking their advisors from making a payment on the phone.

HMRC really are the pits.

That's a bit odd - are you new at your address?

I had to do ID checks for mine a few months ago, despite having many years of payments and repayments, but it was all online. This was for £30K. They paid similar to wife straight off. From filing the SA's to getting the money in the bank took about 2 weeks for both of us.

No, same address for over 15 years. Apparently HMRC are not issuing any repayments for 2024-25 over the telephone. All must be requested in writing.

A cynic may draw the conclusion that HMRC are deliberately obfuscating the process.

HMRC being a bit dodgy. Tell me it isn’t true.

[Furbo]

TheAngryDog said:

I am owed a small amount, £520 from 23/24. I've made multiple requests for it to be refunded to me since September last year and nothing. I'm now stuck in their online chat system to try and talk to someone about it.

This isn’t helping them. When people were confident that they would be refunded quickly they would sometimes overpay and reclaim if there was any doubt. Once it is widely understood that refunds may be slow people will tend to err on the low side.