COMPLIANCE
The HMRC tax account: this time it’s personal
Samantha O’Sullivan ChMCIPPdip, policy lead, at the CIPP , implores you to register for the personal tax account (PTA) if you haven’t already done so
H M Revenue and Customs (HMRC) first created the PTA in 2015, to provide UK taxpayers with a one-stop shop for checking their records and managing their contact details. But what does the PTA do, and why should you get one? What does the PTA help me to do? The PTA allows you to review pay as you earn (PAYE) income tax, National Insurance (NI), state pension and state benefits information. Alongside these specific tasks, you can also track tax forms you’ve submitted online, tell HMRC about a change of name or address and update your contact preferences. It’s paperless, so no waiting on hold when calling. What are the benefits of having a PTA? Personally, I use my PTA on a regular basis because I like to see what’s going on. However, I don’t like to see the date at which I can receive my state pension! All jokes aside, it’s a useful tool if you do need to check things like your NI contributions or your eligibility to marriage allowance. I believe you should be encouraging your employees / clients / friends / family to sign up to the PTA. In our recent Payslip Statistics Report 2023, 35% of respondents confirmed that employees questioning the tax code applied to their pay was the most frequent payroll query. We know this question can be a challenging conversation to have, since we can only operate the code HMRC confirms. But, by encouraging employees to register for the PTA, this allows them to see the information HMRC holds for them, alongside the breakdown of their tax code calculation. You can find the Payslip Statistics Report 2023 here: https://ow.ly/VgeL50PvGEI. How do I get a PTA? To register for a PTA, you need to have a Government Gateway account. If you don’t
have an account and need to register, you must have some specific details to hand to process your registration. All the details you need can be found here: https://ow.ly/ uA3q50PvJaO. HMRC created a YouTube video when the PTA was first created, which you can view here: https://ow.ly/Wi7Y50PvHu1. It may be seven years old, but the key principles are still the same, so this could be a great resource to point employees in the direction of. HMRC app Did you know that HMRC also has a free app? The app can be used to access almost the same information as the PTA, including: ● employment history and income PAYE – you can: ● view current employment information, including your employer’s PAYE reference number ● update employment details, for example, adding a missing company benefit ● view estimated total amount of PAYE you’ll pay in the current tax year ● claim a tax refund ● check if you can claim employee expenses ● view and print a record of your employment and pensions history for the last five years ● view your current tax-free amount and how this is calculated, with the option to add missing allowances, tax reliefs, company benefits and income from investments or other sources ● view your annual tax summary, including how your tax has been spent by government.
NI – you can: ● view your NI contributions ● view your NI number ● save your NI number to your Apple iPhone. Tax credits – you can: ● view your next payments ● view the people on your claim ● make changes to your claim. Self-assessment – you can: ● view returns you’ve made before ● check your details ● find your unique taxpayer reference (UTR) number ● print your tax calculation. State pension – you can: ● check the date you can receive your state pension ● view your pension forecast ● view your NI record.
Child benefits – you can: ● check eligibility ● view your payment history ● change your bank details
But, if this could also speed up onboarding, reduce tax code queries and provide employees with information they may find useful, it could be worth suggesting they download the app. The HMRC guidance page points you in the direction of how to get the app: https://ow.ly/vJ9o50PvL8v. Again, HMRC has created a playlist of YouTube videos to help users; please find the videos here: https://ow.ly/ cxT150PvL4u. n ● view proof of your entitlement ● report changes which affect your entitlement. Marriage allowance – you can: ● check eligibility ● view your payment history ● report changes which affect your entitlement.
information ● tax codes
● NI numbers ● other details.
The main driver for HMRC is to reduce calls to their helplines, freeing operatives to handle more complex or urgent queries.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | October 2023 | Issue 94 20
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