HMRC apologises after giving people the wrong tax codes - with some left owing cash

The issue affected around 30 residents living in the newly built Taylor Wimpy estate in Mauricewood, north of the Scottish town Penicuik

HMRC has said sorry after some Scottish taxpayers were mistakenly given English tax codes. This error affected around 30 residents living in the newly built Taylor Wimpy estate in Mauricewood, north of Penicuik.

One resident, who had moved from Edinburgh, explained that this mistake meant they had underpaid his tax and now needed to pay an extra £10 a month. After moving to the estate, the resident noticed their tax code didn't have the Scottish "S" at the start, which would mean HMRC would consider the tax as being paid in England.

After asking around, they realised other people on the estate had the same problem. HMRC said it would be contacting anyone who has underpaid or overpaid due to the error, the Mirror reports.

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The resident wanted to make the issue public and reported it to The National. They were worried it could potentially be widespread across the English/Scottish border and that the Scottish Government was being "short changed" for income taxes. However, HMRC noted that the Scottish Government tax take was not impacted.

Even though Scotland and England are both in Great Britain, they have different rates of income tax. Depending on your earnings, you can pay more or less tax depending on where you live.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation says that people earning £27,850 a year would pay the same tax in Scotland and England. But if you earn less, you pay less tax in Scotland; if you earn more, you pay more.

HMRC has fixed a tax issue and told those involved if they owe money or will get a refund. An HMRC spokesperson said: "We've corrected the tax codes of residents from the estate and we apologise to those affected. Any overpaid or underpaid tax will be refunded or collected via PAYE as normal. People can check their code on the free HMRC app and online and if they think they're on the wrong tax code, they should tell us by using their online personal tax account."

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.