Tax Investigation

A tax investigation is conducted by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in an effort to determine whether a business’s tax affairs are involved in any “foul play”.

You will be notified as soon as an investigation is underway often asking for pieces of relevant information in addition to stating whether the investigation is looking at one aspect of your taxes or a full-fledged investigation. In more serious circumstances they may request to visit in order to collect more documents to help their inquiry.

The notion that only larger companies and ‘big cats’ are targeted by HMRC is an outdated mindset. Mounting pressure on HMRC from the government means HMRC will not hesitate to launch an investigation on any sized business.

Tax Investigations can be long and arduous and often incredibly stressful. Therefore, it’s best to leave it to the Tax Experts.

How can we help?

We communicate with HMRC directly and operate with our client’s best interest at all times. This allows you to resume business and operations with the knowledge that your investigation is being handled by a team of trained experts and professionals.

The team at Ilyas Patel’s Accountants aim to:
• Reduce the risk of a serious investigation
• Simultaneously reduces the chance of an investigation spreading
• Focus on Director protection, including assets such as your home
• Negotiate with HMRC for the best settlement possible including the option of affordable payment plans

Why are you being investigated?

Investigations are initiated by HMRC for a number of reasons but usually down to anomalies. For example:
• A large one-off cash payment that has been received
• Significant losses arising for any reason not in line with sector average
• Or even an unusual increase in costs

However, HMRC investigations can be randomly initiated or in retaliation to a tip off from a third party such as an ex-business partner, or if certain patterns form such as continuously missing self-assessment deadlines. Normally HMRC limit investigations to the 12 months surrounding the tax returns filing date.