Investigaton

[jimbeam9]

I've been behind with VAT and corporation tax for years and have been trying to catch up, by working day and night and every weekend. This year I managed to catch up on 86k of vat and tax and am almost fully up to date.

I was really looking forward to being up to date and legit and then came the bombshell...

HMRC sent me a letter asking for details of my last 4 self assessment returns, specifically surrounding dividend income. Whilst the first year was ok, the other 4 years (the ones asked about) aren't. I estimate I owe 40k personal tax. My wife owns 50% of the ltd co but isn't a director. House is in her name only. She will also owe 40k, she knows nothing about this.

Even with no penalty applied, the quickest I could repay this would be about 21 months (assuming 40k that I owe, plus 40k from my wife). She's not had a letter, but did recently get one asking her to do her first tax return.

I'm so sick of working these hours that I do wonder if bankruptcy is an option. I'm good to carry on for another 2 years if I can pay it all off, but right now I just don't know where to turn. I've seen a couple of tax investigation specialists on google, I don't know if my accountant would be up to the task in the same way as them.

Feels like the world is ending.

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

First off, congrats for getting this close to up to date. I don't think you'd need an investigation specialist to cover the situation you're in. Any accountant should be able to handle this. Best bet is to establish what the debt is first. Get the returns prepared and see where you are and then make a decision. Bankruptcy should be your very last resort. Aside from the fact that its tax, a foreseeable debt, and therefore you should be paying it, bankruptcy will follow you around forever. And you might lose your house.

[northernladuk]

Sorry to have to ask questions around a difficult subject but you say you have an accountant. What is their part in all this. Surely they have to be part of this carry on and if so you have some potential to push back on them?

[JB3000]

I've been behind with VAT and corporation tax for years and have been trying to catch up, by working day and night and every weekend. This year I managed to catch up on 86k of vat and tax and am almost fully up to date.

I was really looking forward to being up to date and legit and then came the bombshell...

HMRC sent me a letter asking for details of my last 4 self assessment returns, specifically surrounding dividend income. Whilst the first year was ok, the other 4 years (the ones asked about) aren't. I estimate I owe 40k personal tax. My wife owns 50% of the ltd co but isn't a director. House is in her name only. She will also owe 40k, she knows nothing about this.

Even with no penalty applied, the quickest I could repay this would be about 21 months (assuming 40k that I owe, plus 40k from my wife). She's not had a letter, but did recently get one asking her to do her first tax return.

I'm so sick of working these hours that I do wonder if bankruptcy is an option. I'm good to carry on for another 2 years if I can pay it all off, but right now I just don't know where to turn. I've seen a couple of tax investigation specialists on google, I don't know if my accountant would be up to the task in the same way as them.

Feels like the world is ending.

If it's taking you all night and all day to do a bit of bookkeeping your doing it all wrong. What on earth are you doing exactly? Surely you can just download your bank statements in csv and send to your accountant? I think you are taking all day and all night to worry about it rather than actually do it.

I think you think that this is much bigger and more complicated than it really is (the fact that you want to involve a tax investigation specialist for something so straightforward underlines this).

If you can't face doing a bit of data entry can't you just send your accountant the bank statements and receipts and get them to do it? It should just take a few weeks to sort out (hopefully all done before Xmas). Some advice- start communicating with your accountant or get a new one.

[LucidDementia]

If it's taking you all night and all day to do a bit of bookkeeping your doing it all wrong. What on earth are you doing exactly? Surely you can just download your bank statements in csv and send to your accountant? I think you are taking all day and all night to worry about it rather than actually do it.

I think you think that this is much bigger and more complicated than it really is (the fact that you want to involve a tax investigation specialist for something so straightforward underlines this).

If you can't face doing a bit of data entry can't you just send your accountant the bank statements and receipts and get them to do it? It should just take a few weeks to sort out (hopefully all done before Xmas). Some advice- start communicating with your accountant or get a new one.

I think you misunderstand.
Sounds to me that OP is working every hour that God sends in order to earn the shortfall.

@OP - I assume you've had a frank conversation with the tax man about your situation? They're not totally unreasonable and if you can show them the efforts you have made in recent times they won't necessarily expect you to work yourself to death to get up to date. Discuss it with them at least; you might be surprised at the terms they'd accept.

[BolshieBastard]

Kinell! Nearly £130k of tax arrears!?

[SarahL2012]

Following on from what others have said I would get an accountant involved (if you've been using one and are still in this mess then I would get a different accountant involved!).

HMRC will do time to pay arrangements - they would rather get some money out of you than nothing. You need to weigh the pros and cons of that versus bankruptcy.

If you and your accountant speak to them then you might be able to mitigate interest and penalties and work out a number of years to pay the arrears over.

Good luck!

[SueEllen]

The world is not ending and you can sort this out by TALKING to people.

First talk to your accountant and ask them for help, then immediately talk to your wife.

After that do what your accountant suggests.

If the accountant is not helpful there are accountants on here who can help.

[northernladuk]

The world is not ending and you can sort this out by TALKING to people.

First talk to your accountant and ask them for help, then immediately talk to your wife.

After that do what your accountant suggests.

If the accountant is not helpful there are accountants on here who can help.

This but I am still suspicious about the accountants role in all this. We don't know unless the OP splurges all the details which I am sure he doesn't want to but there is the initial situation he got in to and then the SA problems. There is so much going on here that you think an accountant would have been all over already. Unless the OP is certain there is no issues with the accountant then a second opinion might be in order?

[MrMarkyMark]

There is so much going on here that you think an accountant would have been all over already. Unless the OP is certain there is no issues with the accountant then a second opinion might be in order?

This +1.

I can't, for the life of me, understand how an accountant would let things get this bad, for so long.