My husband died unexpectedly in April 2022. On the first anniversary of his death, I received a £100 fine from HMRC, as he had not filed a tax return for 2021/22. The notice, which had a Dutch postmark, had taken two months to reach my home in France. This was the first letter regarding his tax affairs. Since our taxable income is below the personal allowance, his bill would be zero.
Over the next week, I tried every day to phone HMRC to explain I had had no idea I was supposed to file a tax return for my dead husband, but each time I was cut off after 20-30 minutes in a queue. I submitted an appeal online, but have never received a response other than an email acknowledgment informing me I must submit a return in the meantime.
This I tried to do online, but discovered you cannot file a digital return on behalf of a deceased person; when I finally got through on the phone, I was given wrong information about where to find a return I could print. I rang back, was given the same incorrect information, and then told one would be posted immediately: nothing arrived.
In desperation, I took a copy of my own 2021/22 tax return, crossed out my figures and added my husband’s. I sent this by recorded delivery with an explanatory letter. The response was a £610 penalty notice. And the final cruelty? The bank slip enclosed states the money is to be paid in by my husband. I phoned the number on the notice. The line was closed for maintenance. Presumably, that £610 fine is increasing with each day of delay. I despair. HMRC feels more like the tax police than a tax service.
SM, France
The heartlessness of government – and corporate – bureaucracy can be chilling. You told me that in France you can visit your local tax office with any queries, whereas in January HMRC admitted the average call wait time was 27 minutes. This followed reports that callers were being cut off after waiting hours. HMRC must be told when a taxpayer dies, and executors have to submit a final return which, since 2020, can only be done by post. If HMRC had answered its phone and correctly advised you, you would have been spared additional months of worry – and charges.
It says it would have issued a reminder as soon as the tax year ended, the day before your husband’s sudden death, but would have sent nothing more until any payment was due the following January. It tells me that when you notified it of his death in July last year, it mailed a tax return and registered you as his representative. You never received this.
It claims it sent a second form after you called in April. This didn’t arrive, either. Surprisingly, unbeknownst to you, the return you cobbled together via your own online portal was accepted, and HMRC cancelled the £100 late filing penalty. Not only did it fail to advise you of this, it then fined you £10 a day for the delay, amounting to the £610.
Empathy with your circumstances – and a letter of apology – was only sparked when I contacted the press office. HMRC says: “We are sorry for SM’s loss and have apologised for the concern caused. We have cancelled the penalties and closed her late husband’s account.”
As for the letters, it says that international post is processed by a subcontractor and may transit via third-party countries, including the Netherlands. Delivery is supposed to be within two weeks, but in your case it took eight if it arrived at all.
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