Other cases that caught our eye: 10 February 2023

Non-refundable NICs for pension: In S Garwood v HMRC [2023] UKFTT 75 (TC) (23 January 2023) the appellant’s wife (R) died within days of reaching state pension age after having paid class 3 voluntary NICs to ensure that she would be entitled to the full state pension. R’s husband (S) applied for repayment of those contributions but his appeal against HMRC’s decision not to repay was unsuccessful. The decision turned on a telephone call between R and a DWP pensions helpline adviser. S said that the adviser had made errors in not advising R that the deadline for making the NICs was in 2023 and not telling her that they were not refundable. The judge pointed to the difference between an error and an omission. Nothing which the adviser said was wrong and there was no suggestion that R had asked the adviser about either issue. There was...