Solicitors are Targets of HMRC’s Latest Tax Campaign

This week HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) launched a new campaign that will see them target solicitors who owe unpaid taxes.

As part of HMRC’s Solicitor’s Tax Campaign, solicitors have been asked to ensure their tax affairs are up-to-date. In order to do this, the tax man has given them until 9 March 2015 to declare that they will take part in their campaign; they will then have until the 9 June 2015 to disclose any tax they owe and pay it. Through cooperating with HMRC these solicitors will face lower penalties. Tough penalties will be issued to those that owe tax and ignore the request.

So, do you need to take action?

You will only need to take action if your tax affairs are not up-to-date or if you have not declared any additional income to HMRC. If you fall into these categories, The Solicitor’s Tax Campaign gives you the opportunity to ‘voluntary disclose’ any undeclared income. Gov.uk provides all of the forms you need to take part, and also provides a calculator to help you work out how much you owe. It is advised that all solicitors who owe unpaid taxes take part in the campaign. Those who participate voluntarily are likely to be issued with lower penalties than those who HMRC have to come to directly. HMRC have also declared that voluntary disclosure may be taken into account when considering whether to pursue a criminal investigation. If you owe tax, the tax and interest will need to be paid, as well as a penalty, which is likely to be between 0 – 20% of the amount owed. For further advice or to find out if you need to register, please get in touch.