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Electricians’ Tax Safe Plan Campaign

Posted by: edwinsmith on March 9th, 2012

HMRC have announced their latest campaign to target rule breakers and home in on tax evaders - the Electricians’ Tax Safe Plan (ETSP) campaign.  If you are an electrician and you've not yet told HMRC that you have started working for yourself or you've not disclosed all your income, you can use the ETSP to enable any unreported income to be declared and the related tax paid to. By making a disclosure under the ETSP you may benefit as follows:

  • you may only have to pay for a maximum of six tax years
  • you can tell HMRC how much penalty you should pay
  • you may be able to pay what you owe by instalments

If you owe tax in respect of anything else such as capital gains or rental income you can use the ETSP to tell HMRC about that too and make a full disclosure.

Under the ETSP an electrician is anyone who installs, maintains and tests electrical systems, equipment and appliances under stringent safety regulations.

If you wish to use the plan to bring your affairs up to date you will need to tell HMRC by 15 May 2012 that you intend to make a disclosure and follow this up with a full disclosure and payment of the tax liability by 14 August 2012.

If you think that you have not paid the correct amount of tax or would like advice please contact us.

Filed under: HMRC campaigns, Tax

HMRC Tax Catch Up Plan for tutors and coaches campaign

Posted by: edwinsmith on November 8th, 2011

HMRC have announced the Tax Catch Up Plan for tutors and coaches to enable any unreported income to be declared and the related tax paid to target rule breakers and home in on tax evaders. If you are paid for providing coaching, instruction or tuition and tax is not deducted and you don't include that income on a tax return or you don’t have an adjustment already in your tax code, then you need to use this plan to tell HMRC about that income now. By making a disclosure under the Tax Catch Up Plan you will benefit from the best possible terms. If you owe tax in respect of anything else such as capital gains or rental income you can use the Tax Catch Up Plan to tell HMRC about that too and make a full disclosure.

You will need to tell HMRC by 6 January 2012 that you intend to make a disclosure and follow this up with a full disclosure and payment of the tax liability by 31 March 2012.

HMRC is using legal powers to obtain information about payments made to tutors and coaches from various sources, including the academic, sport, leisure and other sectors. After 6 January 2012, when the deadline to notify has passed, HMRC will use data from an extensive range of sources to identify those who have failed to come forward and notify their intent to make a full declaration. HMRC uses advanced IT tools such as 'web robot' software which helps identify people who have failed to pay the right tax. Those identified face substantial penalties or even criminal prosecution.

If you think that you have not paid the correct amount of tax or would like advice please contact us.

Filed under: HMRC campaigns, Tax

VAT initiative campaign

Posted by: edwinsmith on August 8th, 2011

HMRC have recently announced the VAT initiative campaign which is an opportunity for businesses to tell HMRC that they should be registered for VAT. This should happen between now and 30 September. The VAT initiative campaign is aimed at businesses that:

  • have already passed, or are expecting to pass within the next 30 days, the current VAT threshold of £73,000
  • have passed the VAT threshold in a previous 12 month period but did not register for VAT
  • would like HMRC help to register now
  • want to take advantage of a reduced penalty

Should I be registered?

You must register for VAT if any of the following applies:

  • your VAT taxable turnover for the previous 12 months is more than £73,000 (the current VAT registration threshold)
  • you think your VAT taxable turnover will exceed the threshold in the next 30 days
  • you exceeded a VAT threshold at an earlier point in time and have not registered for VAT
  • you take over a VAT-registered business as a going concern

 

It is an offence to not register for VAT when you have exceeded the threshold and there may be penalty charges in addition to the VAT due. By telling HMRC voluntarily under the VAT Initiative before 30 September, you will incur a lower penalty than if HMRC have to enforce your registration and in some cases, there will be no penalty charge at all. You may also be able to spread the length of time over which you have to pay HMRC rather than paying in one lump sum.

Who cannot take part in the VAT Initiative?

You will not be eligible to take part in the campaign if:

 

  • Your tax affairs are already under investigation (whether civil or criminal). You should tell the HMRC officer dealing with your check that you want to make a disclosure. A full and early disclosure may reduce the amount of any penalty HMRC charge
  • If you have already made a disclosure under any of the earlier HMRC campaigns you won’t be eligible to disclose under this campaign.

 

You can find out if you could have disclosed under a one of the previous HMRC campaigns - for example plumbers tax safe plan - but failed to do so, on the HMRC website.

What do I need to do?

30 September is the last day which you can notify HMRC that you wish to take part in the initiative. You will need to complete the VAT initiative notification form and send it to HMRC.

If your notification is accepted HMRC will send you an acknowledgement and a Notification Reference Number (NRN). Please state on the notification form if you want HMRC to send you a VAT registration form (VAT1). Alternatively, you can download a form VAT1 but you should not send it to HMRC until you have received your NRN.

You will need to complete the VAT1 and return it to HMRC by 31 December, making sure you enter your NRN in the top right hand corner of the form. You cannot register online if you wish to take part in the VAT Initiative.

What if I decide not to notify - even though I should be registered for VAT?

In preparation for the launch of the VAT Initiative HMRC has been looking at information they already hold about taxpayers and their income. When the deadline for notifying has passed, HMRC will compare this information which they already hold with the details that customers have shown on their tax returns.

Where HMRC thinks that someone should have registered for VAT, they will compare information from various sources and will target the customers who they think should be registered, but who have not told HMRC they want to take part in this initiative. HMRC will carry out checks into their tax affairs or use their legal powers to get detailed information about their financial affairs and other undeclared income.

Those businesses that are found to owe additional tax will be charged higher penalties than those offered under the campaign and HMRC can charge penalties of up to 100 per cent of the additional tax.

If you are unsure of whether you should have registered for VAT, and would like assistance then please contact us at Edwin Smith.

Filed under: HMRC campaigns, VAT

The Plumbers Tax Safe Plan – A new disclosure opportunity for those in the plumbing industry

Posted by: edwinsmith on March 8th, 2011

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have recently announced The Plumbers Tax Safe Plan (PTSP) which is designed for people working within the plumbing industry who have not told HMRC about all their income in the past and who now want to get back on track. It is intended to cover people who work (or worked) in the plumbing, heating or gas installation trades and this includes anyone who installs and repairs pipes and fixtures for water, drainage or gas systems in a building.

HMRC has obtained information from Gas Safe and Corgi registers and compared it to various directories and databases to build up their own database to help it identify people who, it believes, are under-declaring their income.

If you have under-declared your income in the past or have not even registered with HMRC then it is likely that you will not have paid the right amount of tax and it is important that you rectify this now.

If you take advantage of the PTSP you can tell HMRC about any income that you haven't previously told them about and you will pay a lower penalty. Depending upon your circumstances you may also be able to spread your payments if you find that you can't afford to pay what you owe.

To take advantage of the PTSP you must:

  1. Notify HMRC by 31 May 2011 of your intention to take part in the PTSP. This is a simple process and can be done online, by phone or by post. At this stage, HMRC only need to know that you will make a disclosure. If you fail to notify you will not be able to make a disclosure under this PTSP.
  2. Once you have done this you will receive your disclosure reference number and then you must make your disclosure and pay HMRC what you owe by 31 August 2011 or at any time before then.

You can make your disclosure in one of two ways:

  1. online by completing the Plumbers Tax Safe Plan disclosure form
  2. by completing and posting a disclosure form

For more detailed information see the Plumbers Tax Safe Plan Guidance Pack.

These terms will not be available to people who choose not to sign up for PTSP if later HMRC find that they are behind with their tax affairs.

HMRC will look at all disclosures to see whether they think they are complete and accurate. HMRC expect that they will accept most disclosures. If they accept your disclosure, they will send you a letter confirming this. If they cannot accept your disclosure for any reason, they will contact you (or your adviser, if you have one), to let you know.

If you are not a plumber, you may still find that the forms cover everything you need to tell HMRC. If that is the case, you can still use PTSP forms. You should notify and disclose following the instructions in this guidance. Please ensure that you show your correct business or trade on the forms, making clear that you are not a plumber. If you don't provide this information your disclosure could be sent back for completion.

If you are not a plumber, and you do not want to use the PTSP forms, you should send details of your disclosure to the following address:

HMRC
Local Compliance
Parkway House
49 Baddow Road
Chelmsford
Essex
CM2 0XA

Customers who voluntarily come forward and put right their tax position can expect very similar terms to those on offer through PTSP. If you do not come forward and HMRC later find that you owe additional tax, you may face higher penalties or even criminal investigation.

If you believe that you may be affected by this, then it is important that you act now. Please contact us if you need any further information, assistance or advice.

Filed under: HMRC campaigns, Tax

Tax Health Plan Disclosure & Payment Required By 30 June 2010

Posted by: edwinsmith on May 21st, 2010

Further to our news article, Tax Health Plan (THP) - Tax Amnesty for Doctors and Dentists, the deadline of 30 June 2010 is approaching for disclosing and paying any tax, interest and penalties due.

Previously, notification of the intention to disclose should have been made by 31 March 2010.

Accountants are able to disclose on behalf of their clients.

HMRC will not calculate your tax, interest or penalties so you or your accountant will need to calculate this. The penalty, to include with your disclosure, is 10% of the underpaid taxes/duties and Class 4 National Insurance unless the unpaid liability is less than £1,000 where there will be no penalty. Interest will be calculated from the date the tax was due to the date of payment using HMRC’s interest rates.

HMRC have confirmed that if a disclosure made within the terms of the disclosure opportunity is incomplete, or there is a failure to disclose amounts liable to tax or duty, they will consider the instigation of a criminal investigation, in line with their criminal investigation policy.  They also stated that they will “pursue those with undeclared tax liabilities who decide not to make a disclosure. In these cases the penalties could be up to 100% of the tax due and in exceptional circumstances criminal investigation may be considered”.

More information regarding the THP disclosure is available on the HMRC website. Alternatively, please contact us and we can assist you.

Filed under: HMRC campaigns, Tax

Tax Amnesty for Doctors and Dentists

Posted by: edwinsmith on February 4th, 2010

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched a Tax Health Plan (THP) to offer medical professionals the opportunity to disclose understated income. Since the initial release of the THP, further guidance has been provided by HMRC to state that dentists as well as GMC members are included within the THP.

Intention to notify must be made by 31 March 2010 and then, once registered, disclosure along with payment of tax, interest and penalties must be made by 30 June 2010.

Accountants are able to notify and disclose on behalf of their clients. To notify you will need your GMC registration number and National Insurance number.

HMRC will not calculate your tax, interest or penalties so you or your accountant will need to calculate this. The penalty, to include with your disclosure, is 10% of the underpaid taxes/duties and Class 4 National Insurance unless the unpaid liability is less than £1,000 where there will be no penalty. Interest will be calculated from the date the tax was due to the date of payment. Details of interest rates can be found on the HMRC website by clicking here.

HMRC has stated that they will “pursue those with undeclared tax liabilities who decide not to make a disclosure. In these cases the penalties could be up to 100% of the tax due and in exceptional circumstances criminal investigation may be considered”.

Click here to find out more information on the HMRC website. Alternatively, please contact us and we can assist you.

Filed under: HMRC campaigns, Tax

New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) – tell the Revenue now

Posted by: admin on October 27th, 2009

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is using its legal powers to obtain information about holders of offshore accounts from all UK banks and financial institutions.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with holding an offshore account or owning an offshore asset as long as you have paid any tax due on the capital invested and on any interest arising on the account or on any income received relating to the asset.

In 2007 HMRC operated the Offshore Disclosure Facility to give the offshore account holders with five major UK banks the opportunity to put their tax affairs in order. HMRC now want to encourage the customers of other financial institutions with unpaid tax and/or duties connected in any way to offshore accounts or assets to pay what they owe. HMRC are therefore introducing the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) to help them get their tax affairs up to date.

This is the final opportunity for customers with offshore accounts or assets. HMRC will not offer preferential terms to offshore account and asset holders in the future.

You must have notified before the 30 November 2009 to be able to go on and disclose.

At the end of the notification period, HMRC will target those with offshore bank accounts and undeclared tax liabilities who have chosen not to come forward to make a disclosure.

Filed under: HMRC campaigns, Tax
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