More taxpayers sign up to use Personal Tax Accounts (29-09-2016)
Source: HM Revenue & Customs | 22-09-2016
Over 5 million taxpayers have signed up to use HMRC’s Personal Tax Account (PTA) since the service was launched in December 2015. The PTA will eventually allow taxpayers to manage their tax affairs online and allow taxpayers to review all their details in real time. The launch of the PTA is part of HMRC’s strategy to move to a fully digital tax service.
New services continue to be added to the PTA and by 2020 it is expected that all UK taxpayers will have access to their own account. Eventually, taxpayers will be able to register, file, pay and update their information using their PTA.
HMRC has confirmed that the following services are currently available on the PTA:
- receiving an estimate on your Income Tax and tax code
- filing a Self Assessment tax return
- claiming a tax refund directly into your bank account and receiving it within 3-5 working days – removing the need to wait for a cheque or Payable Order
- checking and managing your tax credits, including the ability to change your circumstances throughout the year
- checking your State Pension
- checking or updating your Marriage Allowance
- checking or updating benefits you get from work, such as company car details and medical insurance
Since the PTA was launched over 600,000 Income Tax refunds have been lodged directly to taxpayers’ bank accounts and more than 100,000 people have checked and updated their company car details. However, there are an estimated 30 million taxpayers in the UK so a large proportion of the population still need to be enticed to sign-up for the service.