Pensioners tax deadline warning from Martin Lewis as free support offered

Money expert Martin Lewis shares vital tax advice for pensioners struggling with self-assessment forms, including free charity support and how to avoid costly HMRC penalties

Martin Lewis has shared some practical tax advice for pensioners. During an extended edition of his BBC podcast, the money-saving expert examined a variety of tax-related queries.

The programme addressed topics including alterations to income tax impacting state pensioners, alongside how inheritance tax and capital gains tax operate. Mr Lewis was joined by two taxation specialists to help explain the rules, including chartered accountant Rebecca Benneyworth.

An 80-year-old listener called Cathy got in touch with the programme to say she was finding it difficult to fill in her HMRC self-assessment forms. The deadline for submitting your self-assessment tax return for the previous tax year is January 31.

You can face penalties if you don’t submit your tax return on time. The pensioner said she only owed £150 in tax and had tried to get help from a tax adviser, but many charged significant fees.

Mr Lewis reminded listeners that it’s sensible to complete your self-assessment between October and December, well ahead of the January deadline. Ms Benneyworth discussed some of the support available for elderly taxpayers, reports Wales Online.

‘They will come round your house’

She said: “If you are on a low income, there are two tax charities. One I’m thinking of is Tax Help for Older People. They have an army of volunteers – I’ve worked as a volunteer in the past – for elderly people on low incomes.

“They will come round to your house and they will sit with you, and they will sort out your tax.” The tax specialist then referenced another charity the caller could contact for assistance.

Ms Benneyworth said: “The other one is Tax Aid. They are more London-based but you can deal with them on the phone or by email. Again, they help people who’ve got low incomes who have got themselves into a mess with their tax affairs for free.

“Lots of tax professionals make donations to those charities at the end of the year because we all think they do an absolutely fabulous job.” The accountant suggested an additional avenue for understanding HMRC regulations.

Other help available

She said: “I wouldn’t suggest it to everybody but you might get a bit of help on webchat [on the Government website]. HMRC is devoting quite a lot of money and resource to webchat.

“Some of it is the computer says yes or no, but if you are asking questions that they think you need a real life adviser, you may well be able to get put on to an adviser, who might help you.” Offering his view, Mr Lewis said it’s in the Government’s interests to enhance its services.

He said: “This isn’t about a cost [for HMRC]. Ultimately, do it right and you collect more tax revenue, because people are paying the right tax. When you don’t know what to do, it’s not good for society.”

Submit your tax return by January 31 or you could face a penalty, and these costs can mount up. A £100 fine is initially levied for late self-assessment submission, with further charges applied if the outstanding sum stays unpaid beyond a specified timeframe.