WePaye Tax Avoidance

[aps83]

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I was with WePaye umbrella for 2 years (2019-21) WePaye has recently been identified as a tax avoidance promoter and has been liquidated since and I am really worried that HMRC would be chasing me up anytime soon.
I was paid through Revolving Line of Credit/Grant Annuity scheme where i was taxed for NMW & received another chunk of the Grant as a non taxable income. I have not had any letters/warning notes whatsoever about both the umbrellas in the past 3.5years from HMRC.
However I am looking to get my act right now and settle my tax affairs. Just seeking advice on how to approach this. Should I make a voluntary disclosure to HMRC about this and take it from there? If so, could you kindly point me to any previous thread about how to go about doing this, what documents to provide to work out the calculation etc so I can have it all ready before reaching to HMRC. Thanks in advance

[eek]

You can do it yourself but it may be worth getting someone to help you settle things GregRickshaw - who did you use to sort things out as I don't remember them being expensive compared to the other options.

1 issue you will have (and this is why I think an expert may be useful) is that HMRC will base any figures they generate on the amounts reported by the agency reporting regulation reports. Which means HMRC will be after the appropriate tax on every penny WePaye / Apricot received not just the amount you received from them.

[aps83]

You can do it yourself but it may be worth getting someone to help you settle things GregRickshaw - who did you use to sort things out as I don't remember them being expensive compared to the other options.

1 issue you will have (and this is why I think an expert may be useful) is that HMRC will base any figures they generate on the amounts reported by the agency reporting regulation reports. Which means HMRC will be after the appropriate tax on every penny WePaye / Apricot received not just the amount you received from them.

Thanks for your response. That was one of my most important question. How will HMRC work out the monies I owe. Is it based on the grant/loan amount that I received from my agency or the amount my agency would have paid the Umbrella. If that's the case I would have quite a hefty tax to pay. Is there any experts here who I can reach out to to seek professional advice on this. Thanks

[DealorNoDeal]

You could just sit back and wait and see if HMRC comes after you.

However, bear in mind that the clock is ticking on late payment interest. HMRC charge bank base + 2.5% per year (currently 5.5%) but this is likely to rise further. You'll already have accrued some interest since 2019 but fortunately at lower rates.

You can find the late payment rates here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...interest-rates

[Fred Bloggs]

Thanks for your response. That was one of my most important question. How will HMRC work out the monies I owe. Is it based on the grant/loan amount that I received from my agency or the amount my agency would have paid the Umbrella. If that's the case I would have quite a hefty tax to pay. Is there any experts here who I can reach out to to seek professional advice on this. Thanks

Personally, I think you’re doing the right thing in settling your tax. Leaving it and waiting only means you'll ultimately pay more and have the stress of sitting and waiting for the inevitable to happen. It is your responsibility to pay the correct tax due on your earnings and now that you have woken up to what has happened, it makes perfect sense to straighten things out. In fact, you're obliged to do so.

Good luck sorting it all out and well done for getting out of these schemes.

[GregRickshaw]

You can do it yourself but it may be worth getting someone to help you settle things GregRickshaw - who did you use to sort things out as I don't remember them being expensive compared to the other options.

1 issue you will have (and this is why I think an expert may be useful) is that HMRC will base any figures they generate on the amounts reported by the agency reporting regulation reports. Which means HMRC will be after the appropriate tax on every penny WePaye / Apricot received not just the amount you received from them.

I used Gilbert Tax, ex HMRC themselves, I seriously can't recommend them highly enough. They don't do the part thereof nonsense in their fees either, they were £150 per hour but if they do an email which takes 5 mins you pay pro rata 5 mins etc.,

[aps83]

I used Gilbert Tax, ex HMRC themselves, I seriously can't recommend them highly enough. They don't do the part thereof nonsense in their fees either, they were £150 per hour but if they do an email which takes 5 mins you pay pro rata 5 mins etc.,

Thanks for your response. I will reach out to them and seek advice.

[HelenF]

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I was with WePaye umbrella for 2 years (2019-21) and with Apricot (2021-Oct'22) Being a stupid self I didnt really think to question too good to be true take home pay from both WePaye & Apricot. WePaye has recently been identified as a tax avoidance promoter and has been liquidated since and I am really worried that HMRC would be chasing me up anytime soon.
I was paid through Revolving Line of Credit/Grant Annuity scheme where i was taxed for NMW & received another chunk of the Grant as a non taxable income. I have not had any letters/warning notes whatsoever about both the umbrellas in the past 3.5years from HMRC.
However I am looking to get my act right now and settle my tax affairs. Just seeking advice on how to approach this. Should I make a voluntary disclosure to HMRC about this and take it from there? If so, could you kindly point me to any previous thread about how to go about doing this, what documents to provide to work out the calculation etc so I can have it all ready before reaching to HMRC. Thanks in advance

Voluntary disclosure is probably the correct option. There is always a chance you would 'get away' with it and never gets noticed but chances are minimal and longer it goes on the higher the bill as HMRC will add interest and pretty much anything else they can dream up between now and then. Nor is it a good way to spend your life, constantly panicking at the site of the postman. Many people on here will confirm that sometimes settlement is the lesser evil no matter how painful it may seem at the time. Likely is worth going through an agent to ensure you are only pay the correct amount and they can chase HMRC as and when necessary, as its not unknown for cases to go missing once in their hands. Write out an income/expenses sheet so you know what you can afford per month and give that to any advisor you employ and go from there. I note that someone mentions Gilbert Tax. I wouldnt disagree that better to use them rather than a big 4 firm or anyone who charges thousands for what is less than an hours work.

[aps83]

I used Gilbert Tax, ex HMRC themselves, I seriously can't recommend them highly enough. They don't do the part thereof nonsense in their fees either, they were £150 per hour but if they do an email which takes 5 mins you pay pro rata 5 mins etc.,

Thanks GregRickshaw . I have spoken to Gilberts tax and they are going to sort everything out hopefully soon.