Garraway - am I liable?

**ConfusedEasily** · 30 May 2018, 10:17

Originally posted by dh1981 View Post

Apologies, I'm sure this is similar to other posts, but I'm so overwhelmed by the situation I'm struggling to understand what I need to do.

I had a worrying email last night:

plus some login details and a letter which makes me want to cry when I read it!! I've been PAYE with a big company since Dec 2013 and hadn't realised there was any 'deadline' for anything.

I have so many questions, and am already in a pretty dire situation before I even received this email.

My situation (which I fully understand is my own fault and I've made an absolute mess of my life):

I worked for my own limited company from April 2011-Sept 2012 - ongoing conversations with HMRC: 11/12 SA complete, 12/13 not submitted (I thought it was when company was closed) and have an ever increasing bill due to penalties etc - struggling to get any sort of breakdown from hmrc about what is owed, and have now requested SA for a 3rd time so I can fill in and send back.

From Sept 2012 - December 2013 I 'worked' for Garraway, receiving part PAYE payment and part loan each week.
I have a P11D for the 13/14 tax year, and the email I received it in states 'You need to do nothing other than keep it in a safe place, we will send a copy of the P11D to HMRC.

Once the P11D has been processed by HMRC you may receive a notice of an amended tax code'
As I recall, my tax code was amended. Trying to find paperwork to confirm it was indeed for that year, but I'm 95% certain it was.

So...I'm aware I'm in a mess for the time with my own limited company (although no loan payments then), but my understanding is that I'm ok for the Garraway time as HMRC had details of loans and adjusted tax code accordingly. Is this correct, or do I still need to do anything/declare anything?

Where do I stand on repaying loans? Not a bloody chance I'm 'repaying' Garraway a penny after they promised legal compliance blah blah, but can/will they chase me for it?

I'm at a point where I have no clue what to do, I'm happy to declare everything and I'm not trying to hide anything, I just don't want to declare something I've already resolved and end up landing myself in more trouble than the £45k I'm already in. I have moments of wondering if my family would be better off without me, and have to remind myself that it's only money and there are people in a much worse position than me. I earned approx. £46k per year (pro rata for 12/13 as I went PAYE properly after that) so am holding out hope there has been an error somewhere and I don't owe near 100% of my earnings.

Any advice appreciated.

Get some advice from a professional. Speak to an accountant or look at https://www.wttconsulting.co.uk/ they'll speak to you for free.

**webberg** · 30 May 2018, 10:28

First - deep breath and pause.

Second, register for the HMRC settlement process. Has to be done before Friday. There is a website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/disguise...ur-tax-affairs and an address to send an email. Do that with your UTR and name. Once you get the acknowledgement, you need to nothing for a while, although some details will be needed by HMRC before the end of September.

The letter you have had is from a firm which appears to be dealing with administrative issues for the trustee of Garraway. There analysis is accurate enough, but you do not have to do anything they ask. Instead you need to seek some professional help to resolve your tax history and future options.

Your time with your own limited company is the first priority. It's now too late to submit a 12/13 return unless HMRC sent you a notice to complete one after the usual last filing date of 31/1/14. You can ask HMRC if they did. If so, complete and send back. If not, that is water under the bridge.

The Garraway period is one where HMRC say you are taxable on the total received. You seem to have the base data and therefore any competent adviser can help explain your options there. At this stage the view of HMRC and the earlier advice from Garraway are a long way apart and you need an arbiter.

The fact that HMRC has adjusted a code by treating loans as benefits means very little I'm afraid. Since than HMRC has had a change of heart and will claim that their earlier actions in treating a loan as a loan was on the basis of incomplete information or understanding. Whether in fact it is a result of spotting an opportunity to extract more tax, is something I'm not prepared to speculate on.

Repaying (or not) the loans is a matter for lawyers. That is beyond my professional competence. We are seeing however a growing band of people who have a similar attitude to you and it may be that we will use Big Group as a focus for bringing together borrowers.

You are not alone here. Your options are:

HMRC settlement - perhaps a long time to pay.

Litigation - I have to say that the tone of the message says to me that this is not for you.

Resolve - via something like Big Group - call us (it's free) to find out more.

My inclination for you is that HMRC settlement is the way to go. Like I say any competent adviser can run a calculation for you for a modest fee.

You can register with HMRC yourself for no cost.

Finally, it is only money. You are worth more to your family than money. This time will pass. It will be a rocky time and perhaps uncomfortable financially for a few years, but it will pass. the sky is blue above the clouds.

Register for settlement.

Speak to an adviser.