SAM124050 - Returns: view and amend return: correcting keying errors made

There will be occasions when the entry you make in function CAPTURE RETURN or AMEND RETURN or for Trust returns in Technical Support System (TSS), is not in accordance with that provided by the taxpayer.

The majority of the entries you change will have been identified as obvious errors or mistakes during capture of the return information and you will have notified these ‘repairs’ as revisions to the taxpayer on the Tax Calculation.

It is also possible that a mistake is made when keying in the return details (a keying error), for example you may have copied an amount incorrectly.

If a mistake was made during capture of the return information, or a subsequent amendment, and a figure(s) keyed in was not as provided by the taxpayer, for individual taxpayers’ or partnerships you can use function AMEND RETURN to correct that keying error(s). For trust returns you must use TSS.

The correction does not affect the taxpayer’s self assessment and is therefore not a repair, nor does it affect the due and payable dates of the taxpayer’s liability. You do not record the date you correct the return on the computer.

Note: There is no time limit for correcting keying errors. However, there is effectively a time limit for using information after which we must give up arrears of income tax or capital gains tax arising from keying errors, unless you are sure that the taxpayer could not reasonably have believed his tax affairs were in order. (But, in correcting any error we would simply be restoring the return on our records to its original state, as completed by the taxpayer. In most cases it would be difficult for the taxpayer to claim that it was reasonable for him to believe his affairs were in order while the return remained in an uncorrected state.) Full details are outlined in Extra Statutory Concession A19.

Where a claim is made of HMRC delay in using information (previously known as ‘Official Error’), see subject ‘HMRC Delay in Using Information’ (SAM121450).

When the correction has been made to the return details in function AMEND RETURN and you select Close and Exit from the File menu heading, you will see the SAVE AMENDMENT screen.

At this point for individual taxpayer’s returns you can select to

  • Discard the return details entered. Any changes are lost and you will be returned to the menu
  • Cancel the request to save the return details. You will return to the AMEND RETURN screen to make any further changes or checks necessary
  • Save the return details as complete. You will be presented with the SAVE AMENDED RETURN screen which prompts you to save the changes made to each part of the return as an amendment or a correction

If the correction is on a partnership return you can select to

  • Fully save the corrections to the return. You will be presented with the SAVE AMENDED RETURN screen which prompts you to save the changes made to each part of the return as an amendment or a correction
  • Save the corrected return as a draft working version. You will be returned to the menu
  • Delete the draft version of the return where the version of the return you have corrected is only a working version of an amendment. The draft version of the return will be deleted in full
  • Discard the corrections you have made this session. Any changes you have made this session will be lost and you will be returned to the menu
  • Cancel the request to save the return details. You will be returned to the AMEND RETURN screen to make any further changes or checks necessary

When saved and only corrections have been made in function AMEND RETURN a Tax Calculation will be issued to individual taxpayers after you have saved the changes if

  • The liability has changed
  • Automatic calculation is possible
  • The taxpayer has requested Revenue calculation

The Tax Calculation issued to the taxpayer will include the words ‘For reasons explained in my letter…’, it is therefore necessary to advise the taxpayer by letter of the corrections you have made and why.

If you receive an amended return from the taxpayer and you find that keying errors were made when the previous return details were captured or changed, care should be taken when saving the return changes.

If the correction and the taxpayer amendment are both on the same part of the return, for example the Tax Form, when prompted to save as an amendment or correction, you must select ‘Amendment’.

If the correction is on a different part of the return from the amendment, for example the taxpayer has amended the Tax Form and a correction is identified on a supplementary page, you must select ‘Amendment’ for the Tax Form and ‘Correction’ for the supplementary page. This effectively extends the time limit for enquiry, on the taxpayer amended part of the return but does not extend the time limit for enquiry on the corrected part of the return.

There may be occasions where you have calculated the Individual’s, Trust’s or Pension Scheme’s liability manually, and find that the figures used in the original calculation are not in accordance with those provided by the taxpayer or trustee.

In such a case you should calculate the revised liability, enter the correct charge in function CREATE RETURN CHARGE and issue a Tax Calculation to the taxpayer or Trustee, together with a covering letter explaining the corrections made.