HMRC has fixed self-assessment tax return glitch

Date: 29th July 2008

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has fixed a glitch with the online application to reduce payments on account for self-assessment tax returns.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) said that it had been told by HMRC that the problem was fixed on July 15th.

It explained that since April 6th, the problem had caused a backlog of applications that were not processed but were now being dealt with.

"We have been working closely with our IT partners and are pleased to confirm this process was fixed on July 15th," HMRC explained in a statement.

"For any request made prior to this date customers will have received confirmation of receipt. HMRC can confirm that these are being held securely and we will process these as soon as possible."

The organisation said that accountants should note that they do not need to re-submit requests made for their clients while the glitch was affecting the system.

However, it added that clients who wanted their applications to be dealt with swiftly could "complete another request in the normal way which will be processed within 48 hours".

Following this advice, experts from CIOT commented: "In view of the 31 July due date for second instalments, members may wish to consider whether it is appropriate for them to make fresh applications where the original application was made between April 6th and July 15th and has not yet been processed onto a client's statement of account."