Newsletter December 2018

Tax Update and HMRC reasonable excuses not accepted.

May we also wish all our clients, readers, new and old, a very Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year.

We have been reading the reviews of First Tier Tribunal (FTT) decisions on penalties. That vexed question of whether ignorance of the law can ever be a reasonable excuse for a filing failure crops up time and time again in appeals against late filing penalties by HMRC.

Conversely, the Self Assessment system seems to entice people into 'DIY' and if HMRC does wish people to self file then HMRC have to also ensure that there is some way of ensuring that DIY taxpayers stay up to date with changes affecting their particular area of tax. Apparently only about 8% of taxpayers have ever managed to access their Personal Tax Account. What can be done? Well, this is where communication is important. If you do DIY you need to know how to stay up to date, and that is still your prerogative, not HMRC's. If we were non tax experts we would honestly be lost, there is so much information out there. So, the answer is; subscribe to our free Newsletters, but otherwise, why not appoint accountants, like ourselves to help take the headache away?

This takes us to Making VAT Digital (MVD). As far as we can see, if you do not have an accountant assisting you with your VAT you probably have no idea what might happen in April 2019. HMRC have recently sent out details to all VAT registered business, who may not have even read these.

Reasonable Excuses Not Accepted

1. My tax return was on my yacht, which mysteriously caught fire and everything on it went up in flames
2. A wasp flew in the window of my car and stung me on my hand which caused me to have an accident and my tax return, which was on the seat beside me, was destroyed
3. My wife helps me with my tax return, but she suffers from terrible migraines and she developed one on 22nd January which lasted till the 1st February which made me late
4. My dog doesn’t like our postman and he ate my tax return and also every reminder you sent me
5. I couldn’t complete my tax return, because my husband unexpectedly left me and not only that, he also took our accountant with him and I haven’t been able to find a new accountant that I like
6. My two year-old son scribbled all over my tax return with his crayons, so I couldn’t send it back in the state it was in
7. I work for myself and a neighbour who’d lost his tax return borrowed mine to photocopy it, but the photocopier went ballistic and ate it
8. My husband is a civil servant and categorically assured me that the deadline was the 5th April
9. I live in a high rise tower block and the postman doesn’t deliver to my flat when the lifts are broken
10. My internet connection failed, therefore it was B.T.’s fault not mine
11. I do voluntary work with the homeless and winter is our busiest time of the year
12. The form didn’t put the questions in plain English, so rather than put something down that might be wrong, I didn’t fill it in

DATES TO REMEMBER:

1 December 2018 - Due date for Corporation tax for companies with an accounting period ended 28 February 2018.

7 December 2018 - Due date for filing and payment of VAT for the period ended 31 October 2018, unless you submit a paper return then the date is 30 November 2018.

30 December 2018 - Latest date for filing your 2018 online tax return if you have less than £3,000 tax due and wish to pay it through your PAYE coding during the 2019/2020 tax year.

Monthly Dates:

19th of the Month:

Due date for postal payments of PAYE, NIC and CIS deductions and on-line filing deadline for CIS300 monthly return to HMRC.

22nd of the Month:

Due date for electronic payments of PAYE, NIC and CIS deductions to HMRC.

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