HMRC Investigation Cover
Through Vantage Fee Protect we offer a market leading Tax Fee Protection scheme to all our clients.
In addition to covering the costs of fighting HMRC and defending your tax position, the cover also provides expert telephone advice lines on employment law, health and safety matters and general legal issues.
The Problem
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are undertaking more enquiries and compliance checks than ever before, by using:
- The Connect database to analyse data sources in order to target enquiries
- Wider data gathering powers including bank statements, credit card and Land Registry data, even forcing Amazon and Apple to hand over data
- Information gathered from abroad in respect of offshore bank balances and income
- The digitisation of tax to analyse and compare finances and target anomalies
- Social Media to analyse lifestyle and spending habits
- Wider powers to visit homes and businesses
Anyone who pays tax can suffer an enquiry or compliance check by HMRC. If this happens to you:
- You will have to prove that HMRC’s suspicions are unfound
- HMRC’s detailed and intrusive questions will take time to answer
- A lot of work will have to be done to respond to the questions asked
- The enquiries can drag on for months and sometimes years
- According to the FSB’s the average full HMRC investigation lasts 16 months with potential accountancy fees of £5,000
HMRC Enquiry Examples
Husband and wife partnership subject to a Full Enquiry
A husband and wife partnership, which sold and installed double glazing were subject to a full enquiry. At the initial meeting HMRC alleged that the husband had been dishonest. However, by the conclusion of the enquiry HMRC deemed that £129 of tax was repayable to the partnership and apologised, confirming the allegation of dishonesty was a case of mistaken identity.
Accountancy fees were approximately £7,500.
Self-employed consultant subject to a Full Enquiry
HMRC requested all of the books and records and then raised questions regarding self-employment income, rental income and income from employment. At the conclusion HMRC identified approximately £12K of underpaid tax, due to overstated expenses (due to bookkeeping errors). However, HMRC accepted a negotiated settlement of £6,000.
Accountancy fees exceeded £5,000.
Retired individual subject to an Aspect Enquiry
HMRC receive information from banks and other financial institutions and compare the information received to the entries on the individual’s self-assessment tax return(s) to check for completeness. As a consequence, HMRC commenced an enquiry, inviting an individual to reconsider the information returned as they held information to suggest taxed and untaxed interest had been omitted and understated. The enquiry was concluded with no amendment being made to the self-assessment tax return, with the information supplied by one financial institution found to be flawed.
Accountancy fees of £2,000 were incurred disputing HMRC’s findings.
Property developer subject to a VAT Compliance Review
Following a VAT compliance review it was determined that given that the client was making both exempt and vatable supplies, they should not have recovered 100% of input tax in previous years. The client’s accountant successfully disputed the assertion on the basis that the client was below the partial exemption de minimis limit, avoiding a potential liability in excess of £20,000.
Accountancy fees of £3,500 were incurred.
Call Us:
01704 320560
The Solution
We provide a service to clients under which, in the event of an HMRC enquiry or inspection:
- You will receive the best possible defence
- You will not be charged for most professional costs incurred in your defence
- You will not have to concede to HMRC’s demands because of financial pressures
As an additional benefit, complimentary expert telephone advice can be obtained on:
- Employment Law – you can call regarding performance and absence management, TUPE, redundancies, calculating holiday entitlements, grievance, disciplinary processes and more…
- Health & Safety Matters – advice on risk assessments, fire safety, first aid, RIDDOR and more…
- General Legal Issues – advice on any UK personal or commercial legal issues
This advice service can be very valuable, particularly to many business clients, and is available to all subscribers to the service who need it.
Our Services
To Subscribe Call 01704 320560
Our Core Values
It is hard to convey who we are on a website, after all you haven’t met us, you don’t know us, so, we all sat down and between us came up with what we consider to be our core values, the values that underpin our business and our approach, it goes without saying we are professionally qualified and technically capable, so what are our core values.
Trusted
Our advisors and their skills aren’t just tried and tested; they’re trusted too. We’re technically competent, experienced and completely confidential when working with our customers.
Welcoming
We’re not about the corporate feel. We’re a warm, friendly, approachable team who pride ourselves on communicating in layman’s terms – no silly bamboozle, just simple business.
Analytical
Our analytical skills are second to none; we certainly don’t take things at face value and in our industry, a keen eye for analysis can be the difference between standard assistance and excellent services.
Relatable
Contrary to popular belief, accountants are humans too! We’re wholly empathetic and can relate to a variety of life and business experiences to provide an excellent, trusted service.
Approachable
Our door is always open. There’s no question too complicated, and no job too big or small. We want our customers to feel totally comfortable when seeking help and guidance, and they do.
