Was doing my usual end of year client checks this evening on the HMRC site to make sure everyone had been submitted even though I knew they had (apart from 1 who hasn't paid me as yet so he can have the penalty) when I noticed a client whose return I had submitted on Monday was still showing as 'Not yet Received' so checked my emails and had the Gateway Confirmation from HMRC as well as Taxfiler showing that the return had been accepted so just thought that it must be a problem with the HMRC site but then noticed that the UTR on my submission receipt was different from the one for my client on the HMRC site.
So I went back through my clients information thinking maybe I had input the wrong UTR into Taxfiler but no it was correct but also remembered that I had problems getting him authorised as my client when he first came to me because he had been previously bankrupt, I had used the HMRC software last year for his return so had no need to look at the UTR.
I was just going to amend the return but in the end thought it best to phone HMRC and see how to proceed which I did and it turns out the UTR I had just used was the old one before the bankruptcy even though that was what was accepted by HMRC for the 64/8 but had since been changed without anyone informing me, I don't usually say this but the advisor I spoke to was great and in the end he managed to cancel the return I had just submitted and advised me to file a new return using the UTR that he had on the site which I did using the HMRC software just to be on the safe side.
To make matters worse the client had phoned me earlier about how to pay the SA that was owed which he did but would have used the wrong UTR as a reference so I am also going to have try and get that payment reallocated once it goes through the system.
So it seems that Taxfiler just submits the return whether the client details are correct or not and HMRC will accept it with a submission receipt, something I need to check in future
And I thought today was going to be quiet!!
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Doug
These are only my opinions of how I see things and therefore should not be taken as advice
I suspect that Taxfiler would allow/accept this as it was a valid UTR, but tbh it's not something I've thought of before. I obsessively, truly OCD like, check references when I'm using that, or doing VAT, making payments etc, but stuff can still happen.
I do recall HMRC used to hand out UTRs like sweets, I've had an inactive one myself for an age, both properly linked to my NI record etc. Actually, I might try checking the up to date position.
Good to hear HMRC helped. Some of their staff are great at taking a pragmatic approach, let's hope HMRC hang on to them, they certainly need more of them.
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
