Newsletter issue - January 2015
As a qualified solicitor you need to be very careful not to make mistakes on your tax returns, as a tax investigation could do serious harm to your professional reputation. Taxpayers who make deliberate errors that lead to tax underpayments of £25,000 or more, may have the details of their name, address, amount of tax avoided and penalties paid, published on the internet by HMRC.
HMRC are currently targeting solicitors who have omitted income from their tax returns, and at the same time are offering a chance for solicitors to disclose any errors before they receive the call from HMRC.
This disclosure opportunity is open to solicitors who work within the legal profession as a partner or employee in a legal firm, or within a company. HMRC has promised that it will not publish the details of solicitors using this disclosure campaign. However, to secure this confidentially guarantee the taxpayer must make an accurate disclosure, and co-operate fully with HMRC if asked to supply any further information following the disclosure.
You can make a disclosure in respect of your own tax return, or in respect of a tax return for a company or deceased person's estate for which you act as director or executor. If you want to make a disclosure you must first notify HMRC by 9 March 2015, then make a full disclosure and pay all tax, interest and penalties due by 9 June 2015. We can help you with those disclosures and the calculations of tax due.