Closing Ltd Co. ---> Umbrella 12 Months ---> Opening Ltd Co.

[Zero Liability]

Re 6 years, I think HMRC only have 12 months after dissolution to challenge anything on the company side of things...

I thought it was 3 - 4 months they had to object to a company being struck off if there were any concerns and then it is closed if they fail to note any (leaving aside issues of restoring companies in incidents of fraud and the like), or is this with respect to IR35?

[Maslins]

I thought it was 3 - 4 months they had to object to a company being struck off if there were any concerns and then it is closed if they fail to note any (leaving aside issues of restoring companies in incidents of fraud and the like), or is this with respect to IR35?

Think you're talking about the time to object before a company's struck off. In cases where HMRC believe they were given false information/not given sufficient information, they do have the power to revive the company after the strike off (or liquidation) has been completed. This is where I think they have 1 year for a liquidated company and 6 years for a struck off company to potentially challenge it.

The above is very unlikely in any but the dodgiest of cases. As part of MVL Online's liquidation process we write to 3 separate addresses re taxes to seek clearance (ie check HMRC are happy with the company's tax affairs before we close). This is for the benefit of both us and the client. However, even with this, it's a case of HMRC being happy based upon the information they have. There's always a (very tiny) risk HMRC decide that whilst perhaps they had all returns and all liabilities were settled, they'd perhaps later decide they weren't happy with one/some of the numbers in one/some of the returns and challenge it. If this involved them having to reinstate the company, again, they'd only do this in fairly extreme cases of fraud, as it'd be a lot of hassle for them as well as the client/us.

The above could in theory be down to IR35...but some of the fears potential clients have had that a company going into liquidation would immediately trigger an IR35 enquiry on the grounds if they don't do it now it'll be lost forever don't seem to have materialised. If this were to happen, we would know about it. However, if someone's personal tax return got enquired into after it was submitted (and hence easily a year after the liquidation was finalised) we probably wouldn't know about it.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

I was wondering how all the "tax rebates R us" type folk get on with this. There seems to be a bunch of companies who reclaim travel, clothing etc for a fee and a cut.

Is it generally the case that this is for non self assessment cases and therefore easier?

Same rules whether self assessment of not. Going back beyond three years from previous year is not possible without going through HMRC "Special Relief" which is tortuous.

A lot of the "tax rebates R us" operators are less than scrupulous. One local to me, ex HMRC inspector, set up by himself, targeted maritime / oil rig workers AFAIR, is now doing time. Locally, most of us in the know saw it coming. Alas money and ethics don't always mix.

[Zero Liability]

Think you're talking about the time to object before a company's struck off. In cases where HMRC believe they were given false information/not given sufficient information, they do have the power to revive the company after the strike off (or liquidation) has been completed. This is where I think they have 1 year for a liquidated company and 6 years for a struck off company to potentially challenge it.

The above is very unlikely in any but the dodgiest of cases. As part of MVL Online's liquidation process we write to 3 separate addresses re taxes to seek clearance (ie check HMRC are happy with the company's tax affairs before we close). This is for the benefit of both us and the client. However, even with this, it's a case of HMRC being happy based upon the information they have. There's always a (very tiny) risk HMRC decide that whilst perhaps they had all returns and all liabilities were settled, they'd perhaps later decide they weren't happy with one/some of the numbers in one/some of the returns and challenge it. If this involved them having to reinstate the company, again, they'd only do this in fairly extreme cases of fraud, as it'd be a lot of hassle for them as well as the client/us.

The above could in theory be down to IR35...but some of the fears potential clients have had that a company going into liquidation would immediately trigger an IR35 enquiry on the grounds if they don't do it now it'll be lost forever don't seem to have materialised. If this were to happen, we would know about it. However, if someone's personal tax return got enquired into after it was submitted (and hence easily a year after the liquidation was finalised) we probably wouldn't know about it.

Thanks for the information. This is what I had in mind, however I wasn't aware of the 1 year limit they had post-closure with regard to the company's affairs. I thought it extended farther back than that.