Special cases and exclusions
As part of filing online, your clients’ returns are validated against HMRC’s own online filing specification. There are some instances where the HMRC server will incorrectly report a data validation error against a submitted return.
To limit the number of returns that get falsely rejected, HMRC prepare a list of Special Cases and Exclusions and make this list available to software developers like Sage. We then take this information and incorporate a series of checks in the software.
For further information about each Special Case or Exclusion, please follow the link for the relevant tax year.
Before you can file online, Sage’s Personal Tax software checks your clients’ returns meet HMRC’s online filing requirements. In most cases these validations will identify whether your client’s return is covered by a Special Case or Exclusion.
There are, however, some Special Cases and Exclusions which our software does not currently detect. For the 2023-24 tax year, these are:
| Affected areas | Cases |
|---|---|
| Adjustments to earlier years | Special Case 10 |
| Averaging adjustments | Exclusion 34 |
| Capital Gains | Special Case 46 |
| Employments | Special Cases 51 |
| Other UK Income | Special Case 13 |
| Partnerships | Exclusion 124. Special Case 59 |
| Reliefs and Allowances | Exclusions 100 |
| Repayments | Special Case 20 |
| Residency | Special Cases 11, 30. Exclusions 47, 135 |
| Share exchanges | Special Case 48 |
| Share Fishermen | Exclusion 46 |
| Student Loans | Special Case 51 |
| Taxpayers dealt with under special arrangements | Exclusion 3 |
| Trust income | Exclusion 62 |
How can I tell if a client is affected?
In certain circumstances, if HMRC identifies scenarios where the tax calculation is incorrect, it issues exclusion cases and advises taxpayers to submit a paper return.
HMRC is still reviewing the definitive criteria to identify the incorrect calculations and we are working with them on this.
Where possible, the software identifies returns that are affected by these exclusions and offers the appropriate advice.
For details of these exclusions please refer to our help article.
If you need clarification on a particular client, please contact HMRC on 0300 200 3311 for further advice.
How do I submit a paper return?
- Navigate to Report Preview.
- Select Tax Return PDF.
- Generate a PDF without a draftmark.
- Post the tax return and associated reasonable excuse claim to the appropriate HMRC address for your client.
It is not currently possible to use the software to override the SA110 Tax calculation summary pages, therefore if you wish to alter the calculated tax figure this must be done manually.