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
When a brown letter arrived telling Paul that he owed late filing penalties of £1,300 he had no idea what to do next. Paul was in employment and in receipt of universal credit, without any spare money to cover this tax bill. Paul was particularly anxious when it came to
This is a shared story from Tax Help for Older People. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Ben tried to get his affairs in order to make things easier for his wife. To clear his debts, he cashed in his pension to obtain a lump sum. But when Ben received a
This is a story from Tax Help for Older People. We often hear from widowers, like Joan, who are struggling financially following the loss of their life partner. Who, amidst this struggle are then hit by a surprise tax bill or outstanding debt that they do not understand. Joan was recently
She was suffering from severe depression and numerous other health conditions. This stemmed from a series of related misfortunes: an eviction, the loss of her business, the loss of all her records and bank statements, and a broken relationship. The huge debt she had accumulated felt too much to cope
Working under Bridge the Gap, TaxAid and Tax Help for Older People have worked to put together this digital collection of tax stories. We have done this to tell the stories of the people that we help and demonstrate the staggering effect tax advice can have on the lives of
A case came through to Tax Help for Older People, the beneficiary will remain anonymous but we will call him ‘Tony’. Tony received a tax demand from the HMRC and came to us for help. We were able to help Tony with some simple understanding of his PAYE situation, allowing
A query came through on our helpline from a beneficiary, who although anonymous, we will call ‘Emma’. Emma’s tax problems mounted due to her dyslexia and computer illiteracy, she felt too embarrassed to turn to others for help. Eventually, however, when Emma could no longer cope on her own, it
