Half of workers not checked their Personal Tax Account
10 May 2019
According to research from the Post Office, 46% of UK workers have never checked their personal tax account, despite a third saying they wish they had a better understanding of their tax.
HMRC launched the Personal Tax Account in 2015-16 to enable individuals to manage their own tax affairs online. These secure digital tax accounts bring together each individual customer’s details online in one place.
According to HMRC, from April 2016, almost every individual will be able to access their own digital account, promised to be simple, personalised and secure, and offering an increasing range of services.
According to Moneywise the research from the Post Office shows many workers are not taking the opportunity to check on their tax affairs. 46% have never checked their personal tax accounts, despite nearly a third (29%) wanting a better understanding of their tax affairs.
When it comes to personal tax accounts, 25 to 34-year-olds are the most active age group, with 43% having accessed their account multiple times compared to the national average of 38%.
However, many in this group are unaware of what the service can be used for, with nearly a third (32%) falsely believing it can show you where your tax is spent, with one in five (22%) believing it can be used to complain about how much tax they pay.
More than half (54%) of 45 to 54-year-olds have not checked their personal tax account, despite the fact it can be used to keep up to date with state pension contributions.
Those approaching retirement are least likely to have checked their personal tax account.
What can you use your personal tax account to do?
- Check your Income Tax estimate and tax code
- Fill in, send and view a personal tax return
- Claim a tax refund
- Check and manage your tax credits
- Check your State Pension
- Track tax forms that you’ve submitted online
- Check or update your Marriage Allowance
- Tell HMRC about a change of address
- Check or update benefits you get from work, for example, company car details and medical insurance
- Find your National Insurance number
…with more services to be added in the future!
When did you last check the details held within your Personal Tax Account?