Money Watch – Personal Finance Blog

If you’ve been unlucky enough to get a tax demand from HMRC dropping through your letterbox this week, then you might find some tax demand letter templates useful.

• Tax Demand Letter Templates (PDF file)

Following the announcement that Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs have made a right royal mess of tax codes, many of us have been dreading finding a brown-enveloped letter sticking through the postbox, and whilst everyone’s situation will be different, the template letters should act as a good starting point for challenging their demand.

The templates have been put together by the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, who have explained why this problem has come about:

In June 2009, HMRC changed the computer system by which PAYE is operated. Because the new system was not well enough checked before launch it has spewed out millions of incorrect PAYE notices (called ‘codings’) caused mostly by faulty data already present prior to launch.

This same system is now going to reconcile the tax position of millions of people starting this weekend. It is expected to throw up over 4 million repayments and close to 2 million underpayments (according to the BBC).

The Guardian has also published these templates, although they’re also warning about how you use them:

The LITRG advises that it is dangerous to try and draft letters without knowing the context, so although it cannot make any guarantees – and if you use them, you do so at your own risk – the letters might give you an idea of what to write depending on why you have received a letter, and how to present your points.

We stress again that using letters which are inappropriate to your own circumstances can do you more harm than good. Also bear in mind that HMRC is short of resources at the present time and any wasted effort spent answering inappropriate letters makes less time for dealing with those who are genuinely in need.

Via MoneyMagpie.

photo credit: Meredith Harris