Two years ago, Client Tax Manager, Jane Hodge, started volunteering for the charity Tax Help For Older People, which provides free, independent help and advice for older people on lower incomes, who cannot afford to pay for professional tax advice.
The charity says that it saves its clients some £1.5 million or more each year in tax refunded or written off. The real impact is more difficult to quantify though, as the advice the Tax Help For Older People team shares helps to remove fear and anxiety.
Formed in 2004, the charity delivers about 22,000 individual tax advice sessions a year, of which 4,000 are usually face-to-face meetings undertaken by its more than 400 volunteer advisers. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Tax Help For Older People continues to play its part in supporting vulnerable people by providing its vital services online and on the telephone.
The charity explains: “Our Helpline continues to receive calls and our staff have worked tirelessly to ensure that we deliver the service and ensure no vulnerable pensioner seeking our help is turned away.”
Individuals who are aged 60 or over with gross annual income of £20,000 or less can access the service for help and advice on tax issues.
Since starting her volunteer work, Jane has helped a number of people in the Kent and East Sussex area with tax issues, ranging from completing tax repayment claims to submitting a disclosure under the Worldwide Disclosure Facility and agreeing with HMRC that no penalties were payable.
“Tax can be a complex area and the worry people feel over receiving correspondence from HMRC that they do not understand or were not expecting should not be underestimated,” she says.
For more information about Tax Help For Older People, click here
