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A pensioner has been left in distress with a potential £4,900 tax bill looming despite trying (Image: Getty)
Pensioner Jan Cannons has attempted to pay her HMRC tax bill but because she does not have a driving licence or a passport she has been unable to do so.
Her frustrations have turned to panic as she is worried she will be left with massive penalties from the taxman due to the incomplete self-assessment.
HMRC previously operated a system called Gov.uk Verify which allowed people to confirm their identity via the Post Office or Experian, by which a driving licence or credit records were needed.
This has since been obsolete with Gov.uk no longer available to verify a person’s account in order to sign in to their HMRC digital services with a Government Gateway account now needed.
However in Cannon's case, she is unable to set up her account as the government tax department won’t let her do so without a valid ID.
The pensioner suffers with an eye disease and is worried her lack of ID could mean a hefty bill (Image: Getty)
Cannons recently sold her home in Chilmark, Wiltshire for £600,000 following the death of her husband.
The pensioner, who also suffers from macular degeneration which is an eye disease, then opened a savings account in order to deposit monies from the home sale.
However, HMRC does state that any person who has more than £10,000 in saving or investment interest must complete a self-assesment.
To do this assessment, a Government Gateway account is needed which requires applicants to have two items from a list of acceptable ID.
HMRC states that a Government Gateway account is needed for a self assessment with valid ID (Image: Getty)
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This includes either a ID passport, pay slip, tax credit or a driving licence - which Cannons has none of.
Cannon’s son, Simon has been left frustrated by this ID rule which means no Government Gateway account has been set up and estimated this could mean his mother may face a whopping £4800 tax bill.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Cannons said: “HMRC will be aware of how much interest my mother has received on the proceeds of her house sale and therefore will send her a bill for several thousands of pounds.”
He added: “I’m really concerned that if I don’t do a tax return for my mother, then HMRC will send her a large tax bill and possibly a fine for not completing a tax return.”
“Once her macular degeneration had reached a certain point, we convinced her that she shouldn’t be driving anywhere and so she didn’t renew her licence.”
HMRC encourages all returns to be filed online but seem less aware that this is not always feasible for some.
Mr Cannons added: “Renewing a passport isn’t that expensive but it is still an expense. We didn’t believe my mother would travel abroad anymore and so during the pandemic, we let it lapse.
“I don’t know what I will do when we get to April."
“We’re contacting Ms Cannons to help her file her tax return. We’re continually working to help more people access our online services,” said a A HMRC spokesman.
English (US) ·