Donate a tax session

January can be a hectic and stressful time for the tax community, but it can be even more stressful for people who are struggling to understand their taxes who cannot afford the luxury of paid tax advice.

The people who come to us for support have no other option.

We have clients who are drowning in tax debt, worried they may lose their homes.

We have clients with learning disabilities, mental illness and physical disabilities all of which can make doing their taxes incredibly difficult.

We have clients who suffer from workplace exploitation, abuse, and extreme poverty, who just don’t know where to turn.

Our clients feel lucky to find us when they do.

How your donation supports us

£60 supports one client on the helpline

£85 supports one client with a face-to-face appointment

£100 enables us to provide tax assistance to five people who call our helplines. Last year we had 16,900 calls to our helpline.

£500 supports six people who require face-to-face support. We provide 3350 of these each year

£1,000 gives us the chance to support more people, expand our services and reach, and provide tax advice to those who need it most.

The donations that you give can change the lives of the people we help.

How can people in poverty have tax problems?

Tax is not just a problem for the rich. Due to the complicated nature of the tax system and the increasingly complex arrangements in place to engage workers, those who cannot afford paid advice suffer the most.

The level and growth of solo self-employment in the UK are among the highest in OECD countries, yet almost half of all self-employed adults over 25 in the UK are earning poverty pay. So, for many self-employed people meeting the cost of tax compliance can be very difficult.  People within salaried roles can also face exploitation, or tax issues, and not realise this until they receive a surprise tax assessment that they are unable to pay.

Emma’s story

Emma paid over £4,700 in penalties to HMRC despite her annual income being only £6,000. Her tax problems mounted due to her dyslexia and digital illiteracy, and for a long time, she was too embarrassed to turn to anyone for help. It was only when the pandemic dried up her freelance work that she finally turned to her sister for help.

Her sister contacted TaxAid on her behalf. You can read Emma’s full story here.

Thank you so much for your continued support of TaxAid.