Online, in-person or one-to-one?

Adrian_Scope

We're looking to understand the challenges people face when dealing with HMRC or tax related issue and what sort of support would be beneficial.

Have you experienced any difficulties dealing with tax or benefits issues? This can include:

• National Insurance contributions
• Child Benefit
• PAYE and Self Assessment
• Compliance checks
• Communication with HMRC
• or anything else

If so, what was the biggest challenges?

And if you needed support, would online, in-person, or one-to-one support to help navigate these issues be helpful?

Emilee

I'm not sure if this is the sort of thing you're looking for but I really struggled to find tax information for self employed. Of course there is a whole treasure trove of it online but it's overwhelming as someone unfamiliar to it.

A few years ago I was offered the opportunity to do some self-employed work alongside my job, it would have been perfect for me (and still would be) but I found the idea of being self-employed and all that includes too confusing that I passed on the opportunity.

I like that they are more online that they used to be, I remember having to wait well over an hour to get through on the phone and then the lady was unable to help.

For support I suppose I'd rather online, it's just more accessible for me and I find talking about money uncomfortable so the distance is helpful. That said, I can see the need for in-person help. I don't actually know any charities or things that help with advice on tax/self-employment and things. There could well be some, I'm just not familiar with any.

Hopeless

I would rather access HMRC online as I struggle on the phone. However, I don’t have the necessary ID to do this as I’m not allowed to drive and don’t go on holiday so have no passport. So, my problem is access

chiarieds

As someone who was self employed for many years, the first thing I'd advise is getting an accountant as they are aware of all the intricacies of dealing with HMRC, so you don't have to be. Yes, unfortunately they cost, but they can often save you both money & stress. I'm only going back a few years, but if things aren't complicated, then I can only say ours cost us just less than £100 a year. Find a chartered accountant here: https://find.icaew.com/

In decades of being self employed I didn't have a single problem with HMRC, tho having said accountants also undoubtedly helped!

Another good resource with some free information is the Federation of Small Businesses, & yes, info is just as relevant for sole traders: https://www.fsb.org.uk/

https://www.fsb.org.uk/resources

My daughter was self employed for a while, & when she had a query about tax credits, tho they are now no longer relevant, she actually found HMRC's chat bot function helpful. She took a screenshot of the 'discussion' just in case, but the info was indeed accurate. She had also asked me about it!

So, altho I might in fact be answering some of @Emilee 's thoughts, my perception would be that finding the right resources online will often be helpful, tho, if possible, there's still a place for in-person help.

SheffieldMan1976

During the Lockdowns I did my Taekwondo training online, usually 3 times a week (it was either that or not train at all) and actually passed the green tag to green belt grading on Zoom.

Also back when I was an "Expert by Experience" I had MS Teams meetings most days, sometimes 2 or 3 in the same day, for which I got paid.

Emilee

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1133092#Comment_1133092

Thank you, @chiarieds.

I didn't realise accountants could be so affordable. I think part of it was that I wasn't sure how quickly I'd start earning or how much I'd be making, so it seemed silly to invest in an accountant. I assumed they were only for people or businesses earning large amounts.

I think with HMRC, it's often the perception that everything is difficult or overly complicated that puts people off trying (myself included).

Online resources are great, but sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start looking. I load the website and feel instantly overwhelmed.

I actually need to check my State Pension forecast soon, and I'm having trouble motivating myself to do it because the whole idea feels overwhelming. In reality, it'll probably be quite straightforward.

Anhedonia2

I've been trying to report to child benefit that my child is continuing in education but having an awful time getting the QR code to work, when it does the website has issues. I don't even really understand the letter either so I think they have a long way to go to make things accessible.

Rachel_Scope

Hi @Anhedonia2. Sorry you're having issues with child benefit. Are you able to call them instead? If you're comfortable doing so you could post a picture of the letter here with personal information covered so we can try and make sense of it?

Anhedonia2

Thank you @Rachel_Scope, it's got my daughter's name throughout it though so I'm not sure how I would cover it all.

It's got lots of double negative type language which is confusing but my 16 year old did it for me. Which makes me feel incredibly old!

Rachel_Scope

Ah so it's sorted then @Anhedonia2? I know what you mean about feeling old. I got slightly confused about something the other day and he very clearly explained it to me and I was like, hang on, I'm used to being the one that explains things 😂

SheffieldMan1976

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1134130#Comment_1134130

@Rachel_Scope Everyone gets old at some point love, even you 😋