Dear Ms Evans

APPLICATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOI)

I am writing regarding your request for information, which I received on 22 April. In that request, you asked for:

“I would like to request a description of how income tax is handled by

     HM Revenue & Customs. I would like to know, if possible, the name of the
software used at each stage of the income tax processing.”

HMRC reasonably requires further information in order to identify and locate the information that you have asked for.  To enable us to progress your request can you please explain or provide a definition of what you mean by "income tax”? I would draw your attention to the link on the HMRC website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/intro-income-tax.htm from which you will see income tax covers a wide range of subjects each of which will involve a range of different handing methods.

I will not be able to take this matter further without extra information from you. In particular, it would be useful to know if you wish to obtain information regarding for example, PAYE, Self Assessment or Corporation Tax.

However, outside the FOIA, I can tell you that the IT estate that supports the administration of Tax and National Insurance and the payment of Benefits and Credits in HMRC is one of the most complex in Europe.

There are a number of databases and in many cases copies of those data bases to cater for specific challenges around the security of data and system performance that provide consistent information about customers across all major systems.

There are also a number of databases specific to the particular individual taxes or benefits. They are hosted on a number of different IT products that have been built up over the 30 years that IT has supported business processes, many of which were designed and developed in different government departments which have subsequently merged into HMRC.

For example the collection of National Insurance is supported by the National Insurance and PAYE system (NPS). This is a substantial build on what was previously known as the National Insurance Recording system (NIRS) to add on the PAYE business processes given the close interaction between the collection of PAYE tax and national Insurance. It has its own underlying database with customer information, but links to other databases within HMRC and in DWP to ensure that customer data is treated consistently throughout both departments

So even if you were to narrow the scope of your request, it is very likely that, because of the large amount of information we might need to consider, your request might be too expensive to process.

If you wish to discuss any of the above, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are not happy with this reply you may request a review by writing to HMRC FOI Team, Room 1C/25, 100 Parliament Street London SWIA 2BQ. You must request a review within 2 months of the date of this letter. It would assist our review if you set out which aspects of the reply concern you and why you are dissatisfied.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by HMRC. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Eileen Tully

HM Revenue and Customs

Information Management Services

Freedom of Information Manager