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Background
of
Tax Volunteers
Meet the
Trustees
Regional Co-ordinators
Retired and
Income
under 17k?
Making Donations
Getting your Tax
back
Frequently
Asked
Questions
Case
Studies
Tell your
Friends
Meet the
Operations
Centre Staff
Want to Become
a
Volunteer?
Low Incomes
Tax
Reform Group
Links
Page
Contact
Us With Enquiry
Regional Co-ordinators
and Trustees
Area
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We. Welcome
Details of the personal allowances
for 2011/12 and 2012/13
are on our Frequently Asked
Questions page.
We are an independent free tax advice service for older
people on low incomes who cannot afford to pay for
professional advice. |
Budget
News – Changes to Age Related
Allowances
The
biggest changes for those approaching pension age is that after 6
April 2013, the age related personal tax allowances will be
restricted to those reaching their 65th or
75th birthdays before 5 April that year. For those
already in receipt of age related allowances these are to be frozen
and will eventually disappear altogether when the basic personal
allowance increases to the same levels.
In
detail, from 6 April this year, the age allowance for pensioners
aged 65-74 will rise to £10,500 (from £9,940) and for those 75 and
it will be £10,660 (rising from £10,090.) So if you reach 65 or 75
between 6 April 2012 and 5 April 2013 you will still be entitled to
these amounts, unless your income is over £25,400, in which case the
allowance will be gradually reduced until it is back to the basic
personal allowance of £8105. The figures are to be frozen at their
2012/13 levels until the basic personal allowance catches up
(probably in about 3 years time) when age related allowances will
cease altogether.
Remember
- it is
April 2013 when the changes take full effect. You will only be able to
claim the age related lower allowance if you were born before
6th April 1948 and the higher allowance if you were born
before 6th April 1938.
If
you believe you may be entitled to the allowance but have not
received it or if you believe you may have received it in error you
should contact HMRC on 0845 300 0627. If you would like to discuss
your situation you can contact us on the telephone numbers
below.
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 Do you worry about your tax
affairs?
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Do you know if you are paying the right amount of
tax? |
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Are you afraid of approaching HMRC for
help?
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We may be able
to help you. If your household income is less than £17,000 per year
and you are a pensioner you will qualify for free tax advice from
T.O.P
It doesn't matter where
you live in the UK, we have a team of over 720 volunteers available
and one probably lives near you. If we cannot arrange a face to face
meeting, we will always offer advice by telephone or post.
T.O.P. - TaxHelp for Older People is a
service originally provided through the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group
(associated with the Chartered Institute of Taxation) but is now
provided by Tax Volunteers, an independent organisation, to make
free professional advice on personal tax available to older people
who could not otherwise afford to pay for it.
If you
have any queries, contact TOP on the helpline:
0845
601 3321
or
01308 488066
or write
to: TaxHelp for Older People
Pineapple Business Park, Salway Ash,
Bridport, Dorset, DT6 5DB
E-mail taxvol@taxvol.org.uk
Patron - Lord Brooke of
Alverthorpe
Member: House of Commons Speaker's
Commission on Citizenship 1988, Council of Churches for Britain and
Ireland Enquiry into Unemployment and the Future of Work 1995-97,
Pensions Compensation Board 1996-2005; Government Partner Director,
NATS Limited 2001-06
Patron - The Baroness Noakes
DBE
Baroness
Noakes has been a Conservative peer since 2000 and was the
Opposition Treasury
Spokesman in the House of Lords between 2003 and 2010. A chartered accountant by
training, she spent 30 years with KPMG and was the first female
President of the Institute
of Chartered
Accountants in
England &
Wales. She sat on the Inland
Revenue’s management board as a non-executive director from 1992 to
1999 and has also been a member of the Court of the Bank of England.
She also holds
directorships of listed companies.
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Click Here for information on the Blind Persons
Allowance.
HMRC
Reconciliations
"Have you received an
unexpected letter from HMRC telling you that you owe them tax or that they
are going to repay you tax? Follow the link to Low Incomes Tax
Reform Group (on the left) to see their guide as to what to
do"
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BEREAVEMENT & THE TAX
SYSTEM
See the latest
recommendations on the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group
website
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Have you over paid your
Tax? Then read on
Tax Back - Change
in Deadlines
This is the time to check
if you are owed any tax. In the past you could claim back over paid
tax going back for 6 years but from 2010 this is being changed to 4
years. We have listed the deadlines below. Please call our helpline if you
would like us to check if you are eligible.
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Year |
Deadline for SA
Taxpayers |
Deadlines for PAYE
Taxpayers |
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2007/08 |
05/04/2012 |
05/04/2012 |
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2008/09 |
05/04/2013 |
05/04/2013 |
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Frauds and Scam emails
(phishing)
HMRC wants to make sure you can
recognise a fraudulent email if you receive one. If you have received an email that
you consider to be fraudulent, please forward it to HMRC at phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk. HMRC cannot reply to
every email, but it does investigate and take such matters very
seriously.
To help you spot a scam email, HMRC has
compiled a list of key points to look out for:
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Disclosing
personal information - HMRC will never ask you to disclose personal
information such as your PIN or your passwords, or your bank details.
Never disclose this information to anyone.
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The padlock -
when you log in to HMRC Online Services you are always in a 'secure
session' - which is shown by the padlock or an unbroken key in the
bottom right hand corner of your web browser. The beginning of HMRC's
address will change from 'http' to 'https' when a secure connection is
made.
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Your name -
fraudulent emails are not normally addressed to you personally; they can
have missing addressee details or contain something vague such as 'Dear
valued customer'.
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The sender - HM
Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was formed on 18th April 2005 following the
merger of Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise departments. Those
former departmental names no longer exist. Recent fraud attempts have
used fake departmental names, and purported to be
sent from HMRC Board Members.
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Links within
the email - the email may include a link that you are asked to follow to
take you to a website. When a mouse hovers over a link it will often
show the underlying URL. If
this is different to the one typed in the email do not click on it.
Following the link could take you to a site that might look genuine but
is most probably a fake, and merely clicking on the link could download
malicious software to your computer systems. Always check the site shown in
the address bar and if you have any concerns at all, go in via the HMRC
website at www.hmrc.gov.uk.
What to do if you receive a scam
email
HMRC would never contact you asking you
to disclose personal information. If you have received an email requesting
personal information or payment of tax, or suggesting that you are due a
tax rebate, please take the following action:
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do not click on
any links included in the email;
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-
if you suspect
that your security may have been compromised, run your anti-virus and
anti-spyware software applications to check your hard drives for
infections; and
-
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For the latest news and general guidance on tax
topics visit the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group web
site www.litrg.org.uk
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If you have received a tax return for 2011/12, it must
be submitted to HMRC by 31 October 2012 (Paper) or 31 January 2013
(Online)
Don't forget, you do not have to make a return unless
one has been issued to you, unless you have an untaxed source of income of
which HMRC is not aware (eg, started letting a property in 2011/12)
or have made a large Capital Gain
Volunteers... please check membership pages for latest
news......
LATEST NEWSLETTER - February 2012
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Tax Volunteers is a company
limited by guarantee, company no. 4894491
Registered office
Artillery House, 11-19 Artillery Row, London, SW1P 1RT
Registered
charity no.
1102276 | |
