Post Office payments temporary reprieve
HMRC was due to stop payments of certain benefits, including tax credits and child benefit, into Post Office accounts on 30 November 2021. However, a last-minute reprieve will be welcome news to claimants. What’s going on?
Recipients of certain benefits that use Post Office card accounts for incoming payments were supposed to provide alternative bank details to HMRC by 30 November 2021, or risk suspension of payments. The affected benefits are:
- tax credits;
- child benefit; and
- guardian allowances.
This was due to expiration of the contract between HMRC and the Post Office. Thankfully, some common sense has prevailed during what is a busy time of year - both for tax compliance and obvious familial reasons. HMRC has now announced that it has agreed a one-off extension with the Post Office until 5 April 2022.
Whilst this is obviously welcome news for affected individuals just prior to Christmas, it is crucial to update these details via the tax account, or by contacting HMRC’s tax credits or child benefit helpline sooner rather than later.
Related Topics
-
Practical guide: Tax-efficient will planning with residential property
An individual has a significant property portfolio which provides them with their sole source of income. They want to gift shares in some property to their daughter but retain the income. Can they do this without triggering the reservation of benefit rules?
-
Will HMRC treat late processed invoices as errors?
Your business processes invoices when they have been approved by budget holders, so some will be processed a month late, delaying your input tax claim. How might HMRC’s updated guidance help here?
-
Are redundancy payments tax deductible?
A seemingly simple question we’re often asked is how much tax relief a business is entitled to for redundancy payments. The answer is that it depends on the situation. How might the circumstances of a redundancy affect the tax deduction?