HMRC Pending Statutory Demand & Bankruptcy - Dont know where to turn

[Reval1969]

Good Morning Slick and thank you for your reply,

 

1.Who said a SD is due any time. Was this by phone or in writing. ( I had a letter from the Debt Final Resoultion Dept who in bold letters say impending Bankruptcy, I have been dealing with a someone there who has been very nice but the fact I have been unable to pay a DD for 4k this month most certainly means that they will press the button)

 

2. Were you paid under PAYE from the employer, or treated as self-employed.(PAYE)

 

3. Have you received detailed calcs of how the alleged arrears arose from the Compliance officer, including tax, interest and penalties.(Yes this was presented to me by the compliance officer)

 

4. How did you claim tax relief on the entertaining and motoring costs - ie under what heading did you claim relief for each on your SA tax returns. (under Other expenses)

 

And yes I that have made me feel really ashamed which is why I have been embarrassed about going to see and account

I know that what I am saying is stupid but I have bottled this up and tried not to burden this on anyone else,

 

 

I have 5 children and my wife has been through a lot this year losing her Dad and also best friend and

 

 

I have tried to be strong but all this going on in the background has changed my character as a person

and I just felt the aggressive nature in the way that HMRC has dealt with this has compounded the way I have been feeling as though I am a criminal.

 

KR R

[honeybee13]

Morning Reval.

 

Thank you for the answers, hopefully Slick will be back later to tell you more. They're the best person to deal with this.

 

As I said before, having worked for accountants who routinely dealt with Revenue investigations, they've seen it all before and won't be making you feel ashamed or embarassed. Dealing with this sort of stuff is how they make their living.

 

HB

[unclebulgaria67]

I am curious what happened in regard to relations between you and this employer when they did not pay your expenses that you incurred while working for them. When i had to incur expenses on my personal credit card while travelling on behalf of my employers, i had to pass them the receipt information and they would normally process it within a week. If i were in the situation, where i was incurring expenses and not getting them paid, then i would be in touch with someone senior to get it sorted out urgently.

 

Perhaps you need to speak to a tax accountant now, so they can explain the process and you follow what they ask you to do. I would think they will need all the records you can get your hands on, including HMRC and your former employers. Your former employers must still have files/spreadsheets with all of the paperwork you provided them with.

[slick132]

Thanks Reval,

 

I can assure you, seeing an accountant's tax specialist will help you put this into perspective. They will explain how HMRC work and take advantage of a taxpayer who is not represented by professional who knows the ropes.

 

Stop panicking about this. Stop worrying about shame or embarrassment.

 

Start to sort this TODAY if you can by seeking an accountant who specialise in HMRC tax investigation. Don't pick the first you find - seek recommendations by someone you know who can recommend a firm. Ask the firm for an idea of the hourly fees you'll incur including VAT.

 

Speak to, or visit, 2 or 3 firms to find one you think understands your problem, and you think you could work with.

 

An SD is really not a huge problem and it can be easily challenged and put on hold by a tax specialist, until you have got advice and support.

 

I suggest you get the tax specialist to go over the papers you have from HMRC (including the detailed final calcs showing the amounts due) to see what you can do to have this looked at again with a view to reducing the tax due. Also the interest and penalties.

 

I wonder WHY HMRC never challenged your claim for expenses over all these years. It is pretty rare for an employee to have valid claims for expenses beyond basic amounts for clothing, subscriptions, etc.

 

If HMRC calls you about money owing that you haven't paid on time, tell them to write as you are now dealing with this in writing only.

 

Seek recommendations from family or friends and get yourself the professional help you need - today !

 

[Reval1969]

Thank you Slick

 

I will start looking around with a view to meeting them Thursday/Friday, I will keep you posted.

 

KR R

[honeybee13]

How are you getting on, Reval?

 

HB

[TaxHero]

I would recommend using a Chartered Tax Adviser. They have the most tax knowledge.

 

The issue you have here is that entertainment is not an allowable expense against tax so should not be claimed through the tax return. Mileage can be. It can be claimed through the employerbut the company would not get Corporation Tax relief on it.

[slick132]

Hi TaxHero,

 

I would recommend using a Chartered Tax Adviser. They have the most tax knowledge.

 

I disagree - The CTA (formerly ATII) qualification is something that some people that work in taxation for Chartered Accountants might take but IMHO the majority of tax specialists will work without specific qualifications. There are thousands of tax specialists with vast experience and knowledge who work for Chtd Acct'ts under the supervision and control of the firm they work for.

 

My main concern would be to find a Chtd Acct't with adequate tax staff to have good experience and knowledge of working in HMRC Compliance or Back Duty investigations.

[Reval1969]

Good Morning All,

 

I am not having much luck at all, I have called 3 accountants now and each two of them have said that they cannot help as they believe it has gone to far down the line and I should of contacted them from the beginning and one of them even said that I should except the fact that I am going to be made bankrupt and deal with it, the other one said that I should be speaking to a solicitor not a tax advisor because of the impending SD. Its knocked me back to be honest I know its sounds silly but just plucking up the courage to call them was hard and then to get this response was not what I needed. Can you make any recommendations or are you not aloud to ? I understand if this is the case.

 

KR R

[Reval1969]

Sorry actually that's not strictly true one of them said that they would get back to me but that was on Wednesday and not heard anything since.

 

KR R

[unclebulgaria67]

Good Morning All,

 

I am not having much luck at all, I have called 3 accountants now and each two of them have said that they cannot help as they believe it has gone to far down the line and I should of contacted them from the beginning and one of them even said that I should except the fact that I am going to be made bankrupt and deal with it, the other one said that I should be speaking to a solicitor not a tax advisor because of the impending SD. Its knocked me back to be honest I know its sounds silly but just plucking up the courage to call them was hard and then to get this response was not what I needed. Can you make any recommendations or are you not aloud to ? I understand if this is the case.

 

KR R

 

All you can do at the moment, is get hold of all information that you don't have e.g HMRC subject access request, ask your employers for everything on file.

 

Whichever professional you manage to get to help you, is going to want all the information.

 

If you read back, i did immediately think of a Solicitors that deals with tax issues, because it had got to the stage where HMRC had threatened you with bankruptcy. For an accountant to go through all of your information from scratch without having dealt with you previously is a bit daunting. I should imagine most accountants already have clients they are dealing with over a long period and to take on a new client in your position might be very time consuming.

 

What you need at the moment is breathing space so you have a chance of getting hold of all information and can put it all in chronological order, so that a professional dealing with tax issues can easily work through it. You might then be able to successfully set aside any SD and try to come to an arrangement with HMRC on what you definitely owe. If your former employers do owe you these unpaid expenses, you can then start litigation against them. The point in raising a complaint via your MP about HMRC handling of your case, was to hopefully gain the breathing space you need. If they managed to put matters on hold for a couple of months, then you have time to deal with the situation.

[Reval1969]

Thank you UB,

 

There where very polite about telling me they couldn't help but I understand their reasons and I agree with you have said. I will get the ball rolling on the Subject Access Request and also start to google some Specialist solicitors.

 

KR R

[slick132]

Hi Reval,

 

Continue the search for a firm that'll take on your case and help you appeal on the basis that you didn't know what you were agreeing to, with no professional advice at the time.

 

Sorry but I don't agree with UncleB's post #36 .

 

I see no point in getting info from your employer as this is just not relevant to your case.

 

I would focus on finding a tax specialist to assist - keep at it and you should find the help you need.

 

[unclebulgaria67]

Hi Reval,

 

Continue the search for a firm that'll take on your case and help you appeal on the basis that you didn't know what you were agreeing to, with no professional advice at the time.

 

Sorry but I don't agree with UncleB's post #36 .

 

I see no point in getting info from your employer as this is just not relevant to your case.

 

I would focus on finding a tax specialist to assist - keep at it and you should find the help you need.

 

 

Why do you think employers info is irrelevent ? According to OP, they had correspondence with their employers about expenses they incurred and wanted to be refunded ? The OP mentions that this employer was known not to always pay these expenses ( HMRC were aware apparently) and HMRC had a deal with the employers, so employees did not need to include such expenses in their tax returns ?

 

The OP is being threatened with bankruptcy by HMRC for a six figure amount and may at some stage need to sue his employer to recover expenses incurred in their employment. I am therefore baffled why the OP does not need info from his employers that he does not currently have. It might be useful in dealing with HMRC and later in suing his formee employers.

[slick132]

Hi UB,

 

Reval's entertaining expenses should have been reimbursed by the employer but they were NOT, for whatever reason.

 

Any arrangement between the employer and employee does not alter the fact that OP may have claimed expenses that were not allowed.

 

Reval is NOT going to be able to sue the employer IMHO. The issue really is between Reval and HMRC.

 

Edited September 10, 2017 by slick132