I know I’m a complete weirdo for doing my UK return so early but I loathe it so much it’s best to just get it over with.
Anyway. Last night I used 123 efiling as usual.
I’ve always used this - simply because a friend up the road uses it and I thought if we ran into problems we could at least pull our hair out together.
In previous years, issues I’ve encountered include: failed submission because my HMRC password contained special characters, failed submission because my note in the white space contained a special character.
This year I thought I was ready for them. But first my Wise card got frozen (first time ever) and then - once I’d paid with a different card - submission failed at the final hurdle because there was something unspecified wrong.
I eventually worked out that the first page of the tax return had carried over my HMRC password from last year, showing it as a row of asterisks. I needed to delete these and type in the password afresh. Who knew?
Got it submitted and downloaded the tax report and printed it off. Only to see that the note I had included about claiming exemption from UK tax on UK bank interest was only partially there. It ends mid-sentence and the rest has been deleted (and before you ask I included no special characters or rude expletives and I did definitely SAVE the bloody thing).
Anyway it’s been submitted now. I did try to amend it this morning but the same problem keeps recurring with the note. The figures are at least correct so perhaps I will leave it.
Am wondering whether other commercial software is significantly better. I do the return on my iPad, if that makes any difference.
Incidentally, the "Residence, remittance basis"pages look a bit different this year. They’re now entitled “Residence and foreign income and gains”.
1 Like
I can’t help with HMRC but re Wise I also had my card frozen yesterday, trying to pay for a software download in US Dollars.
I “unfroze” it in the Wise app and then was able to complete the transaction.
I think Wise are probably being a bit more proactive in the anti-fraud department, especially if a different currency and/or new payee are involved, or if (as in my case) you haven’t used the card for a bit.
That was a fast filing!
As for the comments box not sure how many hmrc actually read…the key bit I think you have done is fill in the residence part if you are living over here in sunny France is what matters.
Now off to see if the software I use (taxcalc) is ready for 2025/26 as I have some clients v keen to file fast. Then tackle hmrc on something which will be less pleasant.
Chris, that’s exactly what I was trying to do. Pay for software. Slightly panicked, I whipped out my trusty Nationwide card and paid with that (but with the card reader palaver). Then, as you say, I logged into Wise and unfroze the card.
I was still a bit annoyed this morning after my abortive attempts to amend and resubmit. So I contacted 123 efiling and they emailed me, saying they had removed the character limit that was truncating my message. And that I should try again. They gave me a credit so I was able to resubmit without paying. Successfully this time. My friend said exactly the same thing happened to her last year.
Christ, the UK return was meant to ease me in gently for the Big One (tomorrow?). Yikes.
1 Like
selftax,co.uk £12.99 per tax return covers all the bases simply works!
OK thanks Noelable. Will take note for the future.
In fairness to 123 efiling, once I contacted them they were very helpful and fixed the problem straightaway. But I do wonder - given that my friend and presumably lots of other people had this problem last year - why on earth they didn’t remove the character limits from these huge boxes in the first place. My note was only 5 lines in length.
I see that in this year’s French online tax return, the declaration of foreign accounts is now incorporated in the main tax form.