Tax Health Plan Tax Amnesty. Why appoint a professional advisor?  

Although HMRC as part of their tax health plan disclosure literature encourage people to seek professional advice what are the advantages to this?

An expert tax investigation adviser can help you approach the disclosure under the tax health plan tax amnesty in a professional and compliant manner. They can look at all aspects of the tax disclosure (including seeing if there are any expenses you can claim) and also make any estimates in such a way that they will be more likely to be accepted by HMRC.

Taking advantage of the tax health plan tax amnesty is a serious matter and getting the disclosure of tax evasion wrong can have serious consequences for the medical practitioner. When you submit the report under the tax health plan tax amnesty it will eventually be reviewed by specially-trained tax Inspectors who are looking for reasons why your unpaid tax bill is incorrect. The disclosure will be checked against information available to HMRC (such as information provided by the NHS and medical insurers) to ensure that a full disclosure has been made. Failure to make a full disclosure could result in prosecution (and as a minimum will increase the level of penalty and potentially result in your name being added to HMRC's "name and shame" list of tax evaders).

Although the tax health plan offers no guarantee against prosecution (unlike the Civil Investigation of Fraud procedures) you should not find yourself the subject of a criminal prosecution by HMRC for the specific tax issues disclosed under the tax health plan tax amnesty, unless you knowingly withhold information or make deceptive or materially false disclosures during the course of the tax health plan disclosure or unless the source of the funds is a result of serious criminal activity.

How a Specialist Tax Investigation adviser can help

HMRC's article relating to the tax health plan covers the process relating to the tax health plan tax amnesty and makes reference several times to the role an adviser can play in your tax investigation disclosure.

A copy of these documents and some general advice is available online at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-health-plan/
https://disclosures.hmrc.gov.uk/
and you should read these carefully to make sure you understand the process. Here are some specific areas where a good adviser can help:

Calculating the duties due under the tax health plan

Where there are a number of taxes involved in the disclosures (such as corporation tax, income tax, National Insurance and VAT) the calculation of the tax due can be difficult.

There is only limited advice on the HMRC website and they have stated "We cannot provide individual advice on calculating how much you should pay". In addition the individual will be expected to calculate the interest due using the factors provided by HMRC. Given the number of different due dates, interest on payments on account due etc this will be a complicated process and easy for someone not versed in taxation to make an incorrect calculation.

"You must include all undeclared UK tax liabilities - not just those connected with a medical practitioner."

The tax health plan disclosure form will in most instances cover the last 20 years (although there are some instances where HMRC will only go back 6 years). A professional advisor will be able to distinguish between the two circumstances and assist in putting together estimates of any income and expenditure. Establishing what are the right amounts for an estimate takes a lot of time and experience.

If your records are incomplete you should make your best estimate of the undeclared income.

The outcome of participating in the tax health plan tax amnesty is the preparation of a full disclosure form. The items to be included in the disclosure form are defined in the form and you will have to sign a declaration about the accuracy of the statements and make a signed offer to pay the tax, interest and penalty due. It is far better for a specialist adviser to prepare this disclosure form. They will have experience of producing documents for HMRC and will be familiar with the form and content needed in order to satisfy HMRC. Although it is your responsibility to ensure that everything is accurate and nothing is left out, your adviser can save you time and money by preparing the tax health plan disclosure and speaking to HMRC Inspectors on your behalf.

How can Gilbert Tax help me?

Gilbert Tax helped hundreds of people through the perils and pitfalls of the last tax amnesty. For further information about how we can help you in the current tax amnesty (new disclosure opportunity) call us for a confidential free discussion on 0800 734 3333 or e-mail scott.gilbert@gilberttax.co.uk now

Gilbert Tax:

• Are non- judgemental.
  
• Rigorously defend your position within the scope and parameters of the law.
  
• Take control of the investigation.
  
• Focus on working towards the most cost effective and efficient way to achieve the closure of the tax investigation.
  
• Encourage you to concentrate on your business and leave dealing with the Inland Revenue to us.
  
• Pride ourselves on caring vehemently about our clients and that they are treated justly and fairly within the scope of the law

Between the 6 partners and 2 members of staff Gilbert Tax has over 90 years' experience of tax investigations from both working for HMRC and spending significant time in top accountancy firms tax investigation teams defending businesses subject to Inland Revenue Investigations. Gilbert Tax offer a unique blend of relevant experience at affordable prices.

For a private discussion about how we can resolve your tax investigation and potentially save you money contact us at any time on 0800 7343333. Our initial discussion will be undertaken without charge. Although based in the North of England we have clients all over the country

To find out what some of our clients have said about us please visit out testimonials page.