There continues to be an increased risk of HMRC enquiries and therefore the likelihood of a tax investigation by HMRC continues to rise. HMRC officers are now using new, wider powers to visit premises and inspect financial records and as a result, tax enquiries are at record levels and are becoming more complex.

The cost of a tax investigation both in terms of your time and your professional adviser’s time is inevitably rising.  Many enquiries start with a VAT or employer compliance check (PAYE/NIC) and often move on to more detailed inspections which could potentially include company accounts, corporation and self-assessment Tax returns as well as CIS.

HMRC are especially interested in investigating the various schemes and loans which were introduced during the covid pandemic, for which HMRC have several years to undertake investigations.

Dealing with HMRC can be strenuous and, on top of which you don’t want to be worried about how much your accountant’s fees might potentially be.

Kennedys Accounting are offering fee protection cover for clients for who we submit company accounts, company Tax returns and personal Tax returns for, together with associated services, such as VAT returns and Payroll. With this cover in place, you can rest assured that the professional fees resulting from HRMC enquiries and potential investigations are covered, which leaves you free to manage your business, while Kennedys Accounting handle any enquiry.

Although most of the reported investigations in the press tend to be for high-profile tax evaders, maybe on avoidance schemes or offshore tax schemes, the number of enquiries that HMRC are conducting on ordinary taxpayers and businesses is increasing.

The most recent information from HMRC reported that for every £1 spent on enquiry work, they recovered £20, which is a rate of return any business would like!