Last chance to make tax amnesty payment

Businesses and individuals who earlier this year disclosed past tax arrears as part of a tax amnesty are being reminded by leading East Midlands chartered accountants Newby Castleman that they have until Wednesday 31st August to pay up or face further fines.

Back in the Spring, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) offered to limit a penalty to anyone who took advantage of this amnesty to a maximum of 20%, which could be reduced to 10% if the errors were deemed careless rather than deliberate, providing firms contacted their tax office by the end of May.

Those that did now have until Wednesday 31st August to provide full details of the undeclared income, together with payment of the outstanding tax, interest and the reduced amnesty penalty.

Originally this deal targeted plumbers and although it was later confirmed that anyone could take advantage of the temporary amnesty, HMRC recently announced that five plumbers had been arrested and a further 600 are under civil investigation for failing to declare income from the work that they do and therefore not paying the right amount of tax.

Ian Fawcett, Tax Partner at Leicester-based Newby Castleman, comments, “This temporary tax amnesty was designed to ensure that anyone who had not declared extra income or gains did so, thereby avoiding a hefty fine in the future or even being arrested, as some plumbers are now experiencing, if caught out by HM Revenue & Customs. Businesses and individuals who did take part in the scheme now need to ensure they have provided all the correct details, the payment and the penalty by the 31st August or else they will not be able to benefit from the reduced amnesty penalties and could end up paying more.”

Newby Castleman is one of the UK’s leading independent accountancy practices offering a range of specialist financial services, business and tax advice for individuals and businesses. Its head office can be found on Regent Road, Leicester and its Loughborough branch in Forest Road, Loughborough. To find out more about its full portfolio of services, visit newbycastleman.co.uk.