Getting through to HMRC self assessment.
Discussion
I need to get hold of a tax form SA302 from for a mortgage.
I've tried ringing during the day but end up sat on hold for about 20 minutes so have to hang up (can't be sat on the phone for hours when I'm on a clients site). I've tried in the evenings as soon as I get home, put I'm just on hold for 40 minutes, then get cut off at 8pm when they go home.
Is there any other way to ge them to send me something like this urgently. I've tried ringing other published helpdesk numbers but they just refer me back to the same number.
I've spent about 4 or 5 hours on the phone so far, and got nowhere.
At this rate I'm going to have to take a day off work (unpaid) to sit on the phone for hours.
I've tried ringing during the day but end up sat on hold for about 20 minutes so have to hang up (can't be sat on the phone for hours when I'm on a clients site). I've tried in the evenings as soon as I get home, put I'm just on hold for 40 minutes, then get cut off at 8pm when they go home.
Is there any other way to ge them to send me something like this urgently. I've tried ringing other published helpdesk numbers but they just refer me back to the same number.
I've spent about 4 or 5 hours on the phone so far, and got nowhere.
At this rate I'm going to have to take a day off work (unpaid) to sit on the phone for hours.
Oh, the ancient SA302! As an accountant, they are an anachronism and the mortgage trade really ought to find an alternative; nowadays they only seem to be called for to verify income for mortgages (if you file your tax return online).
If you have an accountant, ask them to make the call (there is an Agent Priority Line for professionals to bypass much of the queue). A good accountant really shouldn't charge you for the few minutes to make the call (my firm includes small ad-hoc issues like this in our charges for tax returns).
Don't expect an immediate response - the contact centre may send an email to a service office to action the request! In my experience it takes 2-3 weeks before you receive them. You may be able to politely persuade the HMRC officer to send them by fax - sometimes they agree to this - but like many organisations, there are very helpful officers who will bend over backwards to help you and those who really ought not to be in a customer service environment.
Good Luck!
If you have an accountant, ask them to make the call (there is an Agent Priority Line for professionals to bypass much of the queue). A good accountant really shouldn't charge you for the few minutes to make the call (my firm includes small ad-hoc issues like this in our charges for tax returns).
Don't expect an immediate response - the contact centre may send an email to a service office to action the request! In my experience it takes 2-3 weeks before you receive them. You may be able to politely persuade the HMRC officer to send them by fax - sometimes they agree to this - but like many organisations, there are very helpful officers who will bend over backwards to help you and those who really ought not to be in a customer service environment.
Good Luck!
The mortgage companies are so thick they don't seem to realise that the SA302 is no proof of anything. The only information it reveals is what you declared to the tax man on your self assessment. It does not give any verification to the amounts shown and does not indicate that HMRC have "agreed" any of the figures shown.
Before Self Assessment (i.e pre tax years 1994/95 and 1995/96), the Inland Revenue (as was) used to issue a Notice of Assessment - which was a statement which showed their agreement to the figures submitted. The SA302 does not have the same level of proof or authority as the old fashioned Notice of Assessment.
Because they have no legal standing and are not required under normal self assessment procedures, HMRC rarely produce SA302s. They only produce them in the following circumstances -
i) the taxpayer submits their tax return on paper and does not calculate their own tax liabilities (normally because they are not using a tax agent)
ii) the tax return that was submitted contained so many fundamental errors/mistakes and miscalculations that HMRC had to overrule the tax calculated by the taxpayer or the agent and produce a revised and corrected calculation
iii) the taxpayer requests HMRC to send out an SA302
I would guess that option iii) is now the most common reason SA302s are produced.
Before Self Assessment (i.e pre tax years 1994/95 and 1995/96), the Inland Revenue (as was) used to issue a Notice of Assessment - which was a statement which showed their agreement to the figures submitted. The SA302 does not have the same level of proof or authority as the old fashioned Notice of Assessment.
Because they have no legal standing and are not required under normal self assessment procedures, HMRC rarely produce SA302s. They only produce them in the following circumstances -
i) the taxpayer submits their tax return on paper and does not calculate their own tax liabilities (normally because they are not using a tax agent)
ii) the tax return that was submitted contained so many fundamental errors/mistakes and miscalculations that HMRC had to overrule the tax calculated by the taxpayer or the agent and produce a revised and corrected calculation
iii) the taxpayer requests HMRC to send out an SA302
I would guess that option iii) is now the most common reason SA302s are produced.
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