Call us now on 0800 734 3333
Here to help, not to judge
Tax Investigation Specialists - Call 0800 734 3333 or email scott.gilbert@gilberttax.co.uk
We specialise in resolving tax investigations, disclosures and HMRC disputes for individuals and businesses in and around Manchester in the most efficient, cost effective and timely manner.
Find out more about some of the most common HMRC disputes we help our Manchester clients with.
Non-judgemental, we are here to help, not to judge
Rigorously defend your position within the scope and parameters of the law
Take control of the HMRC 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 (HMRC) to us
Pride ourselves on caring vehemently about our clients and that they are treated justly and fairly within the scope of the law
HMRC tax investigations are very stressful and difficult for the person under enquiry even if handled well. If handled badly a tax investigation can be unbearable and how they are handled affects many issues mainly relating to the actual amount of tax due and the penalties charged.
It should always be noted that HMRC rarely raise a tax investigation without believing that there is something wrong.
If you are an individual or business in Manchester that has been selected for a HMRC compliance check, it's important to be aware that before HMRC contacted you, they are likely to have conducted a rigorous exercise to try to ensure that the information that they are basing their belief that there is something wrong with the tax affairs of the person they intend to investigate is accurate and robust.
It's therefore important to first speak with a tax investigation specialist in Manchester or the UK before responding to HMRC. If you have received a letter or been contacted by HMRC, please call us or email us for an initial free and no obligation consultation. We have offices in Yorkshire and London, and work with clients UK wide.
We are passionate about defending our tax investigations clients within the scope and parameters of the law. Our firm works both with tax advisors direct, helping them defend their clients position with regards to a HMRC tax investigation and directly with individuals and businesses.
We are available whenever someone wishes to speak to us. This includes weekends and evenings as well as office hours. If we do not answer please leave a message or email us at enquiries@gilberttax.co.uk and one of our experienced partners will contact you as soon as possible.
We believe in taking control of an enquiry from the hands of HMRC at the earliest stage possible to ensure that it is proactively managed to our client’s time scales not those of HMRC. Our ethos is that we cooperate with HMRC where appropriate and will normally try to use persuasion and negotiation over brute force. However, this does not mean that we accept aggressive tactics or that we will comply with all requests made by HMRC as part of the tax investigation.
Each tax investigation is different and we tailor our approach in order to decide exactly what is best for our client with regards to cooperating with requests for information etc from HMRC. Learn more about what to expect from a tax investigation.
HMRC will write and explain that they are doing a compliance check and ask for information. Sometimes they will also ask for a meeting. They will examine the records and then engage in communication about areas where they think that there is something wrong.
When figures are agreed, they will then ask various questions as to why the errors occurred and base the period of assessment and penalties on this. Usually these are settled by agreement. If agreement cannot be reached, then the matters in dispute end up before the Tax Tribunal.
These are in effect tax investigations where HMRC visit the business premises and look at the records on site. They can be arranged in advance or HMRC can turn up with an authority which gives them a legal entitlement to visit (which can be refused. In general, these sorts of visits relate to VAT, PAYE, National Minimum Wage or Cross Tax Enquiries.
The key to getting the best result with regards to a tax investigation is control. The best way to keep control is to engage with someone who has significant experience of dealing with tax investigations who will ensure that HMRC are provided with what the law allows and no more.
Managing the flow of information to HMRC and knowing how to tell HMRC if there are issues before HMRC find them is also important and all of this can have a significant impact in:
Most HMRC tax investigations follow a format and most people (including accountants) just assume that HMRC are entitled to anything they ask for. They get a request for information and rush round in a panic to provide it.
Our experience is that HMRC often ask for significant amounts of information in a tax investigation which they are not legally entitled to. Where this information is provided, it leads to many additional questions which would not have been asked if HMRC had been restricted to what the law says they can have. If nothing else this leads to costs and time delays that were not needed.
HMRC will send a letter inviting someone to take part in the Contractual Disclosure Facility which can either be declined or accepted. If declined HMRC will conduct their own enquiries and are always looking to move this to prosecution if they uncover evidence of tax fraud. If accepted, then generally there will be a meeting with HMRC.
As part of acceptance the individual agrees that they will appoint a professional advisor to do a report of the tax irregularities. When that report is sent to HMRC it is vigorously tested and if HMRC are not satisfied with the contents they will conduct their own enquiries and if the report is found to be materially incorrect they will consider prosecution.
"We understand that people sometimes make mistakes in their dealings with HMRC and that HMRC make mistakes in dealing with taxpayers. Many people do not know how to deal with HMRC or who to turn to for help resolve the tax dispute.
Our firm of tax advisors specialise in resolving people's problems with HMRC. We have extensive expertise in dealing with all forms of tax investigations and tax disputes as well as with taking matters to the Tax Tribunal where agreement cannot be reached.
We deal both directly with the individual who is under enquiry and also work with many firms of accountants supporting them in dealing with HMRC disputes and advising them on how to handle HRMC to get the best result.
The fact is that proper management of HMRC is the best way of reducing the tax, interest and penalty as well as the time taken in resolving any tax dispute.
Our expert team are none judgemental and rigorously defend your position within the scope and parameter of the law. We take control and manage the process to minimise the interruptions that any form of tax investigation causes to an individual's life and business."
