She's in a mess - dissolved company NHS contractor

[starstruck]

I totally agree she needs to take responsibility, I'm just trying to give her the barebones to get started

You're a good friend! Well done for helping. Can't' offer any further advice than above, but I commend your efforts.

[villamaria]

So any tax liability may be manageable on some sort of agreed debt payback when HMRC catch up with it. i.e. tax due on that gross amount shouldn't be that much prior to any pentalites, once personal tax allowance etc taken into account.

To manage this and her personal debt without going through bankruptcy there are debt management plans and voluntary schemes agreed with creditors to pay off as much as financially possible over a period of time.

Start with the citizens advice which is free:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/

I'll look into Citizen's Advice but our local one is woefully understaffed.

This is made all the more complicated due to the fact that she was also employed during this period so any money she's taken from the ltd company would be taxed at BR

[NotAllThere]

Don't forget to calculate liability for ERNIC and EENIC pre April 2017. That's owed as well.

[Hobosapien]

See how the money was taken from the Ltd in regards any accounts submitted before the Ltd was dissolved. Unless it was a total screw up (nothing declared via the Ltd and the money paid direct to personal account that should have been paid into Ltd ) then some form of record must have been prepared for companies house prior to dissolving.

If any accounts were prepared then it's up to HMRC to want to investigate and request the Ltd is re-opened for them to take action. For such small amounts they may just write off the Ltd debt that was due when the company was closed that otherwise would have become due later. They should have objected to the closure at the time if they wanted to pursue outstanding Ltd debts. The limited personal liability, a benefit of running a Ltd in the first place, may mean it's all done and dusted unless there is sufficient proof of negligence to chase the individual director(s), but for small amounts it may not gain their attention.

So the separation of Ltd potential debts needs assessing as well as the personal debts accrued outside the Ltd.

[SueEllen]

I totally agree she needs to take responsibility, I'm just trying to give her the barebones to get started

If her mental health has been recognised by her doctor then some of this generic information may help while sorting the mess out - linky

[Loan Ranger]

Presumably there'll be VAT to sort out as well?

[pr1]

Presumably there'll be VAT to sort out as well?

not necessarily on 23k

[craig1]

First up, did the company submit annual accounts? Have a look on Companies House for them. That's always a useful baseline.

Second, has she been "paid" since the company was dissolved using a Ltd company invoice? If so, there's a problem. If it has been dissolved, especially in a mandatory dissolution, then the money was never hers.

Third, find the agency contract. You never know, there may actually be a point in there about tax and NI being deducted. At least you'll know for sure... She can get this from the agency without bothering with the accountant.

Fourth, look at Companies House again, was she actually a director or shareholder? If so, sole on either?

Fifth, did she do a tax return or did her accountant do one for her? Get copies of them, she can get them from the HMRC self assessment website, if registered and she has the details. Even if she has forgotten then the Gov.uk Verify thing should get her online and access the same day.

Sixth, log on to her HMRC Personal Tax Account and see what they say about this year's tax status and estimated tax. Just to see if there's any record of any agency work on there.

Seventh, reconcile invoices against payments. Do they match up £ for £? If they do, how was the accountant getting paid? If not, where was the extra money going? Investigate until you're fairly sure you can match £ for £ somewhere.

Finally, take all of the above and seek professional advice, regardless of cost, from a proper accountant (some hang around here) on what to do, especially with regards to HMRC and reporting underpaid tax. Put it specifically in writing to the accountant, or Citizens Advice if she really can't find the few hundred pounds this would take, that she wants to get an accurate figure for HMRC before doing a disclosure to them. That way if they come sniffing before she actually does disclose then she can point to an independent organisation for proof she had the right intentions to fix it. It'll cost far less doing this than bodging it and getting a wilful evasion penalty from HMRC.

p.s. speak to National Debtline or even PayPlan as they won't charge you for debt advice and can usually find a way out of any problem if there's will and clear honesty involved.

[cojak]

Also get her to register at Money Saving Expert - Debt-free Wannabes

[BlasterBates]

I see no choice than to go through all the invoices simply add up all the income and then go down to the local tax office and work out a plan to pay off the tax for the outstanding tax year. If any tax has been paid then HMRC will have records.

The only other alternative would be to see an accountant.