The National Audit Office has found that 1.5 million pensioners are overpaying on income from pensions, savings and investment. The errors cost each an average of £171 a year.
The auditors also found that 3.2 million pensioners are overpaying because they do not claim the tax allowances to which they are entitled. And 2.4 million are missing out by not asking for savings income to be paid gross of tax.
Isn\’t that wonderful? And of course they cannot go and ask HMRC because to ask for clarity, an explanation of the law, for certainty, for that would simply mean that they are planning to avoid tax, wouldn\’t it?
…..and if they decided to claim the £171 they would face the near impossible task for many aged people of filling out a tax return, or paying an accountant £200 to do it for them.