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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Tax Help for Older People

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Tax Help for Older People

We help anyone over 60 on a lower income, who is struggling with tax difficulties. Our offices are open Monday – Friday: 9am – 5pm.

Tax Help for Older People is an independent, free tax advice service for older people on low incomes (£20,000) who cannot afford to pay for professional advice. As a charity we provide free, confidential tax advice to those who cannot afford professional tax help. If you are under 60 and are looking for tax help then please visit: https://taxaid.org.uk/

You may contact us directly by phone on 01

308 488066 or email us at [email protected]. If you call and can’t get through to us please leave a voicemail and we will get back to you as soon as we can. The service is provided by a team of advisers at our headquarters in Dorset, together with a network of volunteers drawn from the tax profession throughout the UK. If an enquiry is a simple one we can probably deal with it on the telephone, or by post or email. If it is more complex, or the client prefers, face to face meetings can be arranged with a local volunteer. These can either be as part of a surgery at a local community venue, such as Age UK; CAB; or a library, or with a home visit.

12/12/2025

Thank you for supporting Tax Help for Older People.

We are still here – the same people, the same expert help – but with a different name, TaxAid.

This page will close on Monday. Follow us over on TaxAid

08/12/2025

One week to go until this page closes! Follow us at TaxAid.

01/12/2025

We merged with TaxAid earlier this year. We’ll be closing this Facebook account in two weeks so don’t forget to follow us at TaxAid.

24/11/2025

Earlier in 2025, TaxAid and Tax Help for Older People became one charity under a single name - TaxAid.

Same people, same expert help – now all in one place.

We’ll be closing this Facebook account on 15 December, so follow us over on TaxAid for the latest tax information, support and ways to raise money for people in tax crisis

03/11/2025

We are now TaxAid.

Our name has changed, our support for older people has not.

We merged TaxAid and Tax Help for Older People in July 2025. Now we’re launching our single organisation under the name, TaxAid.

We have the same helpline staffed by the same staff and volunteers. You can find it all on taxaid.org.uk

We’re here to get your tax problem sorted. Follow us over on TaxAid.

14/10/2025

"I just want to thank everyone who had a hand in helping to complete my paperwork, the calls, actually listening to me and not just rushing me off the phone. I truly appreciate your kind way and commitment to ensuring I didn’t have this stress hanging over my head. Thank you all so much."

Our support is highly rated by the people we help. Find out more about our work: https://taxaid.org.uk/

01/10/2025

Jeremiah was 88 years old when we first heard from him about his tax problem. His vulnerabilities in addition to his age, meant he had had difficulty understanding his tax position and what he needed to do to resolve it.

His tax-related problems had started many years previously. When he was 65 his State Pension was cancelled by the Department of Work and Pensions because they did not have an up-to-date address. Jeremiah got by without his pension for several years, living off money from a house sale. It wasn’t until Jeremiah was 83 that he sought help from Maxine, a Housing Support Officer, and she helped him to reclaim his State Pension.

When his pension was reinstated he received a large lump sum payment, to cover the years that he had not received his pension. The large payment meant that Jeremiah would need to complete a Self Assessment tax return, something he had not done before.

Unfortunately, Jeremiah, having moved again, did not receive the letters telling him that he needed to fill out a tax return and as a result, he incurred a late filing penalty of £1,600 and a bill for over £30,000 in tax, even though he had already made tax payments to HMRC.

Jeremiah and Maxine got in touch with us, and we worked together to gather information on Jeremiah’s financial situation. During our work we discovered that the £30,000 tax bill was incorrect and rather than a tax bill of over £30,000, Jeremiah was owed a repayment of some of the tax already paid which amounted to just over £26,000. The financial and emotional benefit of this was greatly appreciated by Jeremiah.

23/09/2025

🔔Reminder - the deadline to register for Self Assessment is 5 October.

You need to register for Self Assessment if:

- you earn money that hasn't been taxed, and;
- you haven't registered for Self Assessment before

Find more information on our website: https://ow.ly/ANss50X059G

17/09/2025

Paul was charged £1,300 in late filing penalties - on earnings of £902.77. He called us. The penalty fees were dropped and he was put on the right tax code, meaning more take-home pay and confidence in managing his taxes.

Paul was charged £1,300 in late filing penalties - on earnings of £902.77 from when he was self-employed. Now working and on universal credit, he had no spare money to cover this tax bill and no idea what to do next.

On top of that, Paul was anxious about using the internet to manage his taxes. Four years previously, he’d been scammed – all of his money was taken from his bank account. He tried logging into his HMRC account but was too scared that he would click the wrong thing and get scammed again. He didn’t know who to trust.

He phoned us. He told Donna, our expert in tax, about his late filing fee. He thought his tax code was also wrong. He sent over copies of his papers so that we could investigate.

We worked with Paul to submit an appeal for the late filing penalties and rang HMRC on his behalf to find out about his tax code. Paul was right – his tax code was incorrect due to a system error and Paul’s account had been merged with another individual through no fault of his own.

The result? The £1,300 late filing penalty was dropped and he was put on the correct tax code. Now that he was paying the right amount of tax each month, he had more take-home pay.

Paul said: “Thank you so much. It is most appreciated. I didn’t know where to turn and thought I was going to have to pay another accountant to help me to appeal as the form made no sense. Many thanks once again for your valuable help.’

Thanks to our support, Paul doesn’t have to stress about paying a tax bill that he cannot afford and has a clearer understanding of his own tax situation.

Find out how you can support our work: https://ow.ly/NxCE50WXm0w

11/09/2025

Joan had recently been widowed. Without her husband’s pension she was now living on a lower income. Then she received a tax bill. She didn’t understand why she had been sent it and had no savings to pay it. So she called us.

Our advisor explained to her that after her husband passed away, her pension entitlement had changed. This is why she’d received the tax bill – and it was correct.

However, our advisor reached out to HMRC to explain the situation. They cancelled the debt.

04/09/2025

Michael received several letters from HMRC saying he owed £3,200 in late filing penalties - despite never having been self-employed. He lives with severe stress anxiety and the situation left him overwhelmed and unable to take action. He had sleepless nights, worrying about how he could pay the debt and secretly hoping it might somehow resolve itself.

Eventually, Michael contacted our helpline for support. When we investigated, we discovered that he had missed crucial correspondence from HMRC due to the recent passing of his father and moving home. The early letters had been returned to HMRC as undelivered.

The root of the issue was a £179 PAYE underpayment, which occurred when Michael changed jobs and inadvertently received double his personal allowance for one month. As a result, HMRC placed him into Self Assessment for the following years.

We submitted a tax return for the year of the underpayment, and HMRC agreed to cancel the Self Assessment returns for the following years. This led to all penalties being withdrawn - and it was revealed that Michael was actually due a £900 tax refund.

The outcome was transformative. The £3,200 debt that had weighed so heavily on Michael was lifted, and he gained a clearer understanding of the tax system. He now feels confident in managing future issues and knows where to turn for help.

03/09/2025

Sometimes HMRC have to send you a Simple Assessment because they couldn’t collect some or all of your tax automatically.

Watch HMRC's video about what to do if you get a Simple Assessment letter: http://bit.ly/4oCvFXL

Find out more about Simple Assessment on our website: https://bit.ly/41cL7zW

Address

Unit 10a, Pineapple Business Park
Bridport
DT65

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441308488066

Website

http://www.taxvol.org.uk/

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Here to Help You

Please call, email or message us if we can be of service to you with your tax issue. Call us on 01308 488066. Email: [email protected]

We are open Monday - Friday 9.00am - 5.00pm. We also have an answerphone service 24/7 - please leave your name and contact number and we will call you back as soon as possible.

If you would prefer to write to us:- Tax Help for Older People, Unit 10, Pineapple Business Park, Salwayash, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5DB.