Lost again on penalties!

In a week where we again saw our footballers lose to Germany on penalties, I thought I would console any taxpaying football fans by saying HMRC are no Germany when it comes to winning on penalties.

Whether taxes are corporate or personal the fact HMRC seems to be getting more aggressive with penalties does not mean they are set in stone.

It is often the case that when I take on new clients, there are compliance issues that come with them and then invariably penalties for late submissions or late tax payments. Late filing penalties can be appealed and cancelled if you have a ‘reasonable excuse’.

The first step is to ensure all late returns and taxes are paid and caught up before any appeal is made.

You usually have to appeal within 30 days of the penalty notice, although in some circumstances HMRC may consider late appeals.

Ordinarily HMRC will argue it is the taxpayers responsibility to ensure returns and taxes are paid, however unless there is a track record of the accountant being unreliable in the past they may consider it reasonable to expect  the accountant would file returns on time. HMRC usually then look favourably when the accountant is changed and compliance caught up.

At Perrys we can offer support throughout the appeal process and bring all compliance up to date. We then will ensure you never have to worry about losing on penalties again!

Article written by Dave Horn