A man stuck on the wrong tax code for nine months was frustrated in his repeated attempts to fix the issue with HMRC.
The worker got in touch with HMRC over X, formerly Twitter, to get help with the problem after having little luck getting through on the phone.
He said: “I cannot get through to your helpline because I keep getting cut off. I need information about my tax code as I believe I have been on the wrong code for nine months.”
A representative of the tax authority first asked him what his tax code was. He replied: “Currently it is 1218L.
“I have been with my current employer for three months. My first month was 1257L but changed at month two. I was working for an agency for the previous six months with the same 1218L code.”
1257L is the most common tax code, indicating that a person pays the basic rate of income tax at 20 percent, on their earnings above the standard personal allowance of £12,570 a year.
HMRC explained what the process would be to correct the situation. They said: “We’ll look at your tax record after the year’s end, and let you know if you’ve overpaid any tax by sending you a calculation.”
The group also included a link to this webpage on the Government website, with information about tax overpayments and underpayments.
The taxpayer then asked if any tax rebate he is due would be paid automatically or if he would need to put in a claim.
HMRC said in response: “The repayment should be issued automatically.”
People can sometimes end up with the wrong tax code when they take up a new job.
Financial journalist Martin Lewis recently urged people to check if they are on the wrong tax code as they could be paying the wrong amount.
He told listeners to his BBC podcast: “You need to know your tax code and what it means, it’s your legal responsibility – it’s not your employer’s, not HMRC’s.
“Millions are wrong. Millions are overpaying. Millions are underpaying. It all causes a nightmare, make sure you know what your tax code is and check that it’s right.”
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