Latest Tax Enquiry and Investigation Service

Following Rachel Reeves’ recent Spring Statement, it is clear the government will be cracking down harder on tax advisors, unveiling a 6- week consultation to give HMRC more power to tackle those facilitating non-compliance. Proposals are set to increase scrutiny and issue fines of up to £3,000 a day on UK firms if HMRC suspect…

As I am sure we are all aware, HMRC are able to open investigations into the accuracy of tax returns, VAT returns, payroll, etc. via targeted, or random tax enquiries. With an ever increasing budget deficit we fully expect HMRC to raise more enquiries in the coming years to increase tax revenues.   How Can…

Celebrating (sic) its 20th anniversary, HMRC have just set out the Government’s vision for the future of the UK tax authority: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/exchequer-secretary-to-the-treasury-20-years-of-hmrc-reflections-and-looking-ahead   This keynote speech by James Murray, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, has given us advance warning of what specific modernisation and reform changes to the tax system that we might now…

The HMRC “Nudge Unit”, previously called the Behavioural Insights Team, was a department within the Cabinet Office that was tasked with improving government services and saving money by employing a blend of behavioural economics and psychology.  An example of this in practice is the so-called “nudge” letters (referred to by HMRC as ‘one-to-many’ letters) HMRC…

Wondering whether there is tax on selling that unwanted jumper from Granny? HMRC continue their focus on targeting areas where they believe more tax can be collected. Their latest campaign is looking at individuals who sell a high value of unwanted items online and checking that such activities are disclosed and taxed as a trade,…

We share a behind the scenes glimpse into what we discussed at our recent Lunch & Learn with our tax experts!   Training is not only attending events or watching webinars. We make our training practical and share our experiences around the firm through our Lunch and Learn sessions.   Our most recent session starred…

From January 2024 digital platforms like eBay, Vinted, Etsy and Airbnb will have to collect seller data and send onto HMRC.   Do you sell items on these digital platforms? If you are one of the many who sell on digital platforms such as eBay, Vinted, Airbnb and Etsy then be warned that from 1…

Airbnb has been forced to share users’ income details with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) according to widespread reports in the press. It is part of a crackdown on holiday let owners who fail to declare their incomes and to help HMRC identify people who owe tax. If you have not already declared any rental…

What exactly is cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrency (crypto) is a form of decentralised digital currency.  Although there is no central issuing and regulating authority like with traditional currencies like GBP or USD, there are still taxes on crypto in the UK. Crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum have always been popular with investors and tech enthusiasts, but…

With the UK tax system as complicated as ever, there are certain rules which we come across that can very easily give a particularly unexpected (and unpleasant) consequence. Income Tax When either parent has taxable earnings over £50k (after personal pension contributions), entitlement to child benefit is reduced. As higher rate income tax starts at…