Read her story about the difficulties she faced while dealing with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). This on top of the heartbreaking death of her husband. In April, just five weeks after her loss, HMRC sent her two letters regarding her tax code for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The starting letter was a repeat of those sent in past years. The next letter displayed a deep transformation due to her husband’s death.
This amendment to Dr. Treagus’s tax code had a catastrophic economic effect. Looking back at her bank statements in May and June, she found that her tiny occupational pension had dropped by nearly 50 percent. As a result her pension income went up by an extra £62,000 thanks to this new tax code. This increase resulted in a loss of her total income. If left unamended, this mistake would have erroneously increased her yearly salary over the £100,000 level. This means that she should have been taxed at higher marginal tax rates.
Dr. Treagus found a solution by placing her son on her policy, which HMRC agreed to. Her son lives over 100 miles away and hardly accompanies her. Still, she took great pains to make this change to address the tax code imbalance. Given that her husband had just died, she promptly informed HMRC. She simplified that process by using the Tell Us Once service offered on the gov.uk website.
The way that HMRC have treated her has been labelled as “shocking” and “unforgivable” by Dr. Treagus. The emotional strain of losing a loved one, compounded by financial uncertainties stemming from bureaucratic mismanagement, underscores the challenges many face during bereavement. This case raises broader questions about HMRC’s processes. It squarely meets the moment to fix harmful tax code problems that arise with the death of a family member.
There are still deeper questions about how HMRC has been allocating and managing tax codes, particularly at this sensitive moment in UK politics. People who are already dealing with loss, whether through health impacts or otherwise, see the greatest impact. It’s still very important that the agency err on the side of compassion and accuracy in these circumstances.