Pensioner, 89, owes £4,900 in tax but HMRC won't let her pay

A pensioner has been near successful distress with a imaginable £4,900 taxation measure looming contempt trying (Image: Getty)

Pensioner Jan Cannons has attempted to wage her HMRC taxation measure but due to the fact that she does not person a driving licence oregon a passport she has been incapable to bash so.

Her frustrations person turned to panic arsenic she is disquieted she volition beryllium near with monolithic penalties from the taxman owed to the incomplete self-assessment.

HMRC antecedently operated a strategy called Gov.uk Verify which allowed radical to corroborate their individuality via the Post Office oregon Experian, by which a driving licence oregon recognition records were needed.

This has since been obsolete with Gov.uk nary longer disposable to verify a person’s relationship successful bid to motion successful to their HMRC integer services with a Government Gateway relationship present needed.

However successful Cannon's case, she is incapable to acceptable up her relationship arsenic the authorities taxation section won’t fto her bash truthful without a valid ID.

The pensioner suffers with an oculus illness and is disquieted her deficiency of ID could mean a hefty measure (Image: Getty)

Cannons precocious sold her location successful Chilmark, Wiltshire for £600,000 pursuing the decease of her husband.

The pensioner, who besides suffers from macular degeneration which is an oculus disease, past opened a savings relationship successful bid to deposit monies from the location sale.

However, HMRC does authorities that immoderate idiosyncratic who has much than £10,000 successful redeeming oregon concern involvement indispensable implicit a self-assesment.

To bash this assessment, a Government Gateway relationship is needed which requires applicants to person 2 items from a database of acceptable ID.

HMRC states that a Government Gateway relationship is needed for a aforesaid appraisal with valid ID (Image: Getty)

This includes either a ID passport, wage slip, taxation recognition oregon a driving licence - which Cannons has nary of.

Cannon’s son, Simon has been near frustrated by this ID regularisation which means nary Government Gateway relationship has been acceptable up and estimated this could mean his parent whitethorn look a whopping £4800 taxation bill.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Cannons said: “HMRC volition beryllium alert of however overmuch involvement my parent has received connected the proceeds of her location merchantability and truthful volition nonstop her a measure for respective thousands of pounds.”

He added: “I’m truly acrophobic that if I don’t bash a taxation instrumentality for my mother, past HMRC volition nonstop her a ample taxation measure and perchance a good for not completing a taxation return.”

“Once her macular degeneration had reached a definite point, we convinced her that she shouldn’t beryllium driving anyplace and truthful she didn’t renew her licence.”

HMRC encourages each returns to beryllium filed online but look little alert that this is not ever feasible for some.

Mr Cannons added: “Renewing a passport isn’t that costly but it is inactive an expense. We didn’t judge my parent would question overseas anymore and truthful during the pandemic, we fto it lapse.

“I don’t cognize what I volition bash erstwhile we get to April."

“We’re contacting Ms Cannons to assistance her record her taxation return. We’re continually moving to assistance much radical entree our online services,” said a A HMRC spokesman.