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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteIn February 2025, HMRC told Computer Weekly that a rare interaction between its PAYE and Self Assessment systems could lead to duplicate refunds. The report described HMRC investigating the issue and working on prevention; the available sources do not establish whether that work was later completed.
How the duplicate refund scenario worked
According to HMRC’s explanation reported by Computer Weekly on 24 February 2025, a taxpayer’s Self Assessment record had been made dormant after their 2022–23 return. HMRC had sent an exit letter saying another return was not needed unless the taxpayer’s circumstances changed. The connection between HMRC’s Computer Environment for Self Assessment (CESA) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) systems then ended.
The person later submitted a voluntary 2023–24 Self Assessment return, even though HMRC said they did not meet the criteria for filing. The return included bank details, and CESA processed a refund. PAYE did not know CESA had issued that refund and separately reconciled the 2022–23 tax year. HMRC said that this could result in duplicate refunds. This is HMRC’s account of the specific system sequence, as relayed by Computer Weekly—not independently audited technical documentation.
Two processing paths
- CESA: processed a refund based on the later voluntary return.
- PAYE: separately reconciled the earlier tax year without knowing CESA had issued the refund.
HMRC described the interaction as “a very niche scenario” in which both systems could reconcile a tax year and issue duplicate refunds.
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How widespread was the issue?
HMRC characterized the affected group as very small, using phrases including “a tiny group” and “a very small proportion” of Self Assessment customers. Computer Weekly did not report a numeric count of affected taxpayers, refunds or total value, so the scale cannot be quantified from that report.
What HMRC said it was doing
At the time of the February 2025 report, HMRC said it had two processes to identify such mistakes and was working to ensure cases those processes did not catch would not lead to duplicate payments. The report documents that investigation and planned prevention work at that point; it does not confirm a later fix or describe the current handling of individual cases.
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How to check a Self Assessment refund
HMRC’s general GOV.UK guidance on claiming a Self Assessment tax refund says an overpayment may be repaid, but if tax is due within the next 45 days HMRC may deduct the refund from that amount instead of paying it out.
The guidance also explains that a refund marked “pending” in an online tax account has been created but still needs approval and payment. Pending status alone does not show that a refund is duplicated, and the guidance does not give incident-specific instructions for repaying a duplicate payment.
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What the report does—and does not—confirm
- It describes one specific route to a duplicate refund involving a dormant Self Assessment record, a later voluntary return and separate PAYE reconciliation.
- It records HMRC’s statements about detection and planned prevention as of 24 February 2025.
- It does not provide an affected-customer count or establish whether the issue was subsequently fixed.
- It does not set out a special procedure for customers who believe they received a duplicate refund.
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