We are a professional accounting business. It’s our job to help clients deal with an array of financial issues. We’re so good that people consider us the leading establishment working in tax enquiries and investigations Soho has. As expert advisors, it’s our pleasure to aid you in understanding the consequences of your actions.
Usually, the tax man can appear to be a shadowy figure. We rarely hear from or see them until they suspect something is off. Someone could have been thought to be evading payments. They may have done so purposefully or by accident. Here, they will initiate an investigation to regain money that’s owed. Culprits will experience HMRC tax penalties for not sticking to the rules.
Some of you are likely wondering how far back a HMRC investigation can go. That’s what we’re going to answer here so you know what to expect.
Notification and documentation
The first step with any tax investigation is HMRC will send you a letter saying they’re looking at your submissions. This is something they might do because they’ve come across a clerical error. Alternatively, there could be a few inconsistent figures. It may even be possible that they’ve gotten a tip-off from some anonymous source.
HMRC will ask you to generate some documents during their investigation. They may include quotes from third parties, expense receipts, and bank statements. All these can aid them in figuring out if there has been an offence.
Looking back
As for whether HMRC can investigate companies no longer trading, for historic cases, they have certain powers. As a result, they can reopen previous tax returns. This is if their investigations turn up irregular results.
In standard cases, four years is HMRC’s tax investigation time limit. They can go that far back to gain money from taxpayers. However, there are also cases where they can look further into the past.
For people who’ve been visibly careless, HMRC can go as far back as six years. It gives them more records to look through so they can examine the case and recover tax.
With signs of deliberate tax avoidance, they can examine twenty years’ worth of tax returns to do their job. Therefore, it could result in a massive bill if you have intentionally avoided taxes for years.
Do you want info about tax enquiries and investigations in Soho?
At Brian G Lonis & Co, we have a deep understanding of the tax process. Being subjects to an investigation is a stressful experience to say the least. Fortunately, the work we do makes things easier for our clients. Whatever it is you’re up against, we can get you the help and support you need.
So, let us know if you’d like to work with the greatest company excelling in tax enquiries and investigations Soho has. We would be happy to help you in any situation.