Author: Glenn

The enhanced Check Your State Pension forecast service is available online. The service can be found on GOV.UK at the following webpage https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.

The new digital service is a joint service by HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It has been enhanced to include a fully end-to-end digital solution.

The service allows most people under State Pension age to view their pension forecast and identify any gaps in their National Insurance Contributions (NICs) record. This will be helpful for taxpayers looking to make voluntary NIC contributions to increase their entitlement to benefits, including the State or New State Pension.

Usually, HMRC allow you to pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 tax years. The deadline is 5 April each year. However, there is currently an opportunity for people to make up for gaps in their NICs for the tax years from April 2006 to April 2017 as part of transitional measures to the new State Pension. The deadline has been extended a number of times and has been most recently extended until 5 April 2025.

The launch of HMRC’s online service will help speed up this process. HMRC’s helplines have been struggling to meet the demands for information and processing claims to pay additional NIC contributions.

HMRC has also confirmed that all relevant voluntary NIC payments will be accepted at the rates applicable in 2022-23 until 5 April 2025.

It is advised to regularly check your State Pension position to help optimise your entitlement. You should also consider what other savings or pensions might be required for a long and comfortable retirement.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Home Office. The DBS helps employers across the public, private, and voluntary sectors make safer hiring decisions by identifying individuals who might not be suitable for certain roles, particularly those involving children or vulnerable adults. Additionally, the DBS maintains the Adults’ and Children’s Barred Lists. The DBS checks are used across England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

There are four types of DBS checks, and each type results in the issuance of a DBS certificate to an individual. Employers are allowed to request to see this certificate in order to confirm that they are hiring suitable candidates.

The four levels of DBS check are:

• Basic DBS check
• Standard DBS check
• Enhanced DBS check
• Enhanced with Barred List(s) DBS check

The DBS also offer an Update Service that allows:

• applicants to keep their DBS certificates up to date
• employers to check a DBS certificate

The service is for standard and enhanced DBS checks only.

In order to use this service, a subscription is required. It costs £13 per year, and you can pay by debit or credit card. There is no charge for volunteers or for those living in Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man.

HMRC’s Personal Tax Accounts (PTAs) serve as an online tool that enables taxpayers to view and update their information in real time. The PTA can be used for many routine requests and services and help you bypass the need to call or write to HMRC.

Every individual in the UK that pays tax has a PTA, but taxpayers must sign up in order to access and use the service. This can be achieved by using the Government Gateway. You may need to verify your identify when using the service.

The following services are currently available on your PTA:

• check your Income Tax estimate and tax code
• fill in, send and view a personal tax return
• claim a tax refund
• check your Child Benefit
• check your income from work in the previous 5 years
• check how much Income Tax you paid in the previous 5 years
• check and manage your tax credits
• check your State Pension
• check if you’ll benefit from paying voluntary National Insurance contributions and if you can pay online
• track tax forms that you’ve submitted online
• check or update your Marriage Allowance
• tell HMRC about a change of name or address
• check or update benefits you get from work, for example company car details and medical insurance
• find your National Insurance number
• find your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number
• check your Simple Assessment tax bill

The PTA is a key component of HMRC’s broader strategy to transition to a fully digital tax service.

The Inheritance Tax Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) is a transferable allowance available to married couples and civil partners when their main residence is inherited by direct descendants, such as their children or grandchildren.

The RNRB is available at a maximum allowance of up to £175,000 per person. This allowance can be transferred to a surviving spouse or partner if it remains unused. It is in addition to the existing £325,000 Inheritance Tax (IHT) nil-rate band.

Together with the current Inheritance Tax limit of £325,000, this allows married couples and civil partners to pass on property valued up to £1 million free of IHT to their direct descendants.

However, the transfer of the unused RNRB does not happen automatically; it must be claimed from HMRC when the second spouse or civil partner passes away. Typically, the executor of the estate will file a claim to transfer the unused RNRB from the estate of the first deceased spouse or civil partner. This transfer can also be claimed even if the first spouse or civil partner died before the RNRB was introduced on 6 April 2017.

It is important to note that the RNRB is tapered for estates valued over £2 million, even if the family home is left to direct descendants. For every £2 that the estate exceeds the £2 million threshold, the RNRB is reduced by £1, potentially eliminating the allowance entirely.

You may be able to have tax underpayments collected via your tax code when you are in employment or in receipt of a company pension. Instead of paying off debts in a lump sum, money is collected in equal monthly instalments over the tax year.

You can pay your self-assessment bill through your PAYE tax code as long as these conditions apply:

• You owe less than £3,000 on your tax bill (you cannot make a part payment to meet this threshold).
• You already pay tax through PAYE, for example you are an employee, or you receive a company pension.
• You submitted your paper tax return by 31 October or your online tax return online by 30 December. This means that that for the 2023-24 tax year you have until 30 December 2024 to file your online self-assessment returns in order to have the monies collected in the 2025-26 tax year starting on 6 April 2025.

HMRC will automatically collect what you owe through your tax code if you meet the three conditions set out above unless you have specifically asked them not to (on your tax return).

You will not be able to pay your tax bill through your PAYE tax code if:

• You do not have enough PAYE income for HMRC to collect it.
• You had paid more than 50% of your PAYE income in tax.
• You had ended up paying more than twice as much tax as you normally do.
• You owed £3,000 or more but made a part payment to reduce the amount you owe to less than £3,000.