ITIS suspense account (FOI)

​Request

It is my understanding that the Taxes Office, since the introduction of ITIS, has a suspense account which represents monies collected under the ITIS system which has not been allocated to the individual tax payers in respect of whom ITIS has been received.

My questions are:-

A
Is my understanding is correct?

B
If so, how much is the balance held in this suspense account?

Response

A
A suspense account is held within the States Treasury and Exchequer which represents monies collected under the ITIS system which has not yet been allocated to individual taxpayers. ITIS monies are allocated to this account when the data received from the employer on the ITIS return is not sufficiently accurate or detailed to enable the monies received to be credited immediately to individual taxpayers.

The two main reasons why the data and the monies received will not reconcile are:-

a) When individuals are not named or are not clearly identified on the employer’s ITIS return; and

b) Where there are mistakes in the data received (for example, the name is misspelt or the employee’s tax reference is incorrect) which prevents the Taxes Office systems allocating the monies received automatically.

The Taxes Office has processes in place to attempt to tie up the amounts held in the ITIS suspense account with taxpayer records.

B
The balance varies monthly. As at 31 August 2018 the money held on suspense in this account was £1.2m. To put this into context more than £3,083m has been received through ITIS since it started in 2006.