TaxAid

PLEASE NOTE: The charity TaxAid advises only those people on low incomes whose problems cannot be resolved with HMRC. TaxAid is a charity that helps people on low incomes when they get into difficulties with their tax affairs. TaxAid helps people on low incomes to understand the bits of the tax system that apply to them (safely ignoring the confusing 98% that don’t), pay only the right amount of tax and help them resolve crises when things go wrong. TaxAid was set up by tax professionals who were concerned that people on low incomes were suffering significantly because they could not afford tax advice. There was evidence that people were being made bankrupt unnecessarily on tax demands based on estimated figures; that people had been overpaying tax for years because they didn’t understand the rules; and that unrepresented people did not know how to access their rights of appeal. The need for tax advice has grown significantly since then. There has been a significant increase in the number of self-employed people over the years, and many of them are on low incomes and much more vulnerable than in the early days of TaxAid. Equally there are many more people in multiple employments to supplement their income and so have much more complex tax positions. The demand for help and advice has also grown because the tax system has become much more complex for those on low incomes: there are consequently more “casualties of the system”. This includes late filing penalties, the greater focus on compliance activity and tightened practices on debt collection. All these changes are harsh for those on low income.