Tax Investigation Insurance
Protection small businesses can rely on
HMRC have begun an escalation of compliance activities, which are having a significant impact upon UK businesses and sole traders.
With the strain of rising costs in the UK, the looming recession and continued recovery post-COVID19, it is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses and sole traders to secure themselves against unanticipated expenses and additional financial burdens.
HMRC are carrying out more and more tax investigations, with a targeted approach and extraordinary precision; mainly on companies and sole traders who took advantage of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Regardless of innocence, businesses and sole traders may be subject to a detailed review of their tax obligations. It is a huge financial hazard not to be prepared for the surge in HMRC inspections.
What is covered within the policy?
With tax investigation insurance, you can keep costs low if HMRC decides to investigate.
This policy safeguards you from a variety of scenarios, allowing you to rest assured.
Corporation tax returns
If HMRC were to investigate your companies earnings, losses, loans and any other factors relevant to your tax liability.
Partnership tax returns
To protect you against HMRC investigating all declared income, losses of your partnerships.
Sole trader tax returns
Protecting sole traders against an investigation into your self-assessment business forms.
Personal tax returns
If HMRC chose to investigate your personal tax after inspecting your declaration of income.
VAT
Should HMRC investigation any products your business may sell.
Employer compliance
Protecting you against an investigation into company guidelines, non-disclosure requirements, business ethics and much more.
IR35
You business may endure investigations into off-payroll and on--payroll workers, to make sure they are being taxed fairly.
Sole Trader
£ 180
per year- Information needed to sign up:
- Name
- Email address
- Postal address
- Company name
- 2 – 3 days process time
Ltd Company
£ 300
per year- Information needed to sign up:
- Name
- Email address
- Postal address
- Company name
- 2 – 3 days process time
How we can protect you with Tax Investigation Insurance
While no one can prevent an investigation from happening, Tax Investigation Insurance will remove any concern you may have about dealing with a claim. Our insurance package enables us to:
- Ensure you receive the best defence
- Challenge HMRC’s assumptions
- Handle all communication with HMRC
- Ensure the tax inspector is only requesting relevant information
- Prepare for and attend any face-to-face meetings with HMRC
- Address any complex or technical tax questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the subscription for the Tax Investigation Insurance automatically renew the following year?
Yes; when you subscribe to the insurance, we will automatically take payment the following year until you advise us to cancel your subscription. However, you will always receive an email from us to let you know the renewal process is coming up. The protection will always begin from the date you subscribe, and lasts for 12-months; so you can easily monitor this payment on your bank statements.
What does the Tax Investigation Insurance cover?
Investing in Tax Investigation Insurance – whether you’re a limited company or a sole trader – will give you peace of mind that you’ll be protected and have the right help available, should you be selected for a random investigation by HMRC. Nobody can prevent an investigation, but Tax Investigation Insurance provides some protection for you, such as:
- Removing your concerns about the rising costs of enquiries
- Having the right support to argue any complex or technical tax cases, which could be raised during the enquiry
- Ensuring you receive the best defence to protect your position
- Enabling us to challenge HMRC’s assertions and assumptions head on – as well as ensuring the basis of any enquiry is correct and your case is handled fairly
- Giving you peace of mind the tax inspector is only asking for relevant information and documents, and providing all supporting information from our files which relates to your accounts
Why should I take out a Tax Investigation Insurance policy?
There are many different reasons you should look to take out a policy. Here are just some reasons to act now:
- Enquiries are taking more time to deal with and are becoming more expensive as a consequence. The cost of not defending any enquiries by HMRC properly is huge
- If you can’t afford defence, you could end up paying a much higher tax bill than required
- Tax investigations can happen to anyone – at any time; whether you’re an individual, or a business; however good your records – even at random
- HMRC have access to data from merchant acquirers, banks and building societies, property-based information, land registry, letting agents, mortgage applications, DVLA, foreign data from overseas tax authorities, the tax evasion hotline – and they continue to expand their data sources. Even if you have done nothing wrong, you can still be selected for an investigation
- HMRC are using their compliance resources to undertake targeted campaigns and cross-tax enquiries in an attempt to maximise the tax they can recover
- We can’t take away the stress and anxiety of being under investigation, but we can remove the cost and provide you with the right level of support you need
How many of my companies can I protect?
You can protect as many companies as you require.
Is this service offered internationally?
No; it is only a service provided in the United Kingdom.
How far back can HMRC go in a tax investigation?
HMRC will carefully inspect and look into any particular case based on its severity. If there are signs of wilful tax avoidance, an investigation could potentially extend as far back as two decades.
What can prompt a tax investigation?
HMRC will conduct a more thorough investigation if they believe errors have been made in regards to taxes, or any income has been purposely hidden. Tax investigations are more likely to happen if:
- You are late in filing tax returns, you pay your tax late or you make errors which need correcting
- There are inconsistencies between different tax returns, such as a large fall in income or increase in costs
- Your costs are higher than normal for businesses in your industry
- The tax returns are inconsistent with how busy your business actually is
- You have offshore bank accounts
- You gain income from property
- You deal with businesses that routinely take cash payments, or in an industry that HMRC has decided to target
- HMRC receives a tip-off
How will I know HMRC have begun a tax investigation?
Should HMRC decide to investigate your tax return, they will notify you. This typically comes in the form of a letter that specifies whether the investigation will cover a certain element or encompass a more comprehensive look. The specifics of what instigates such an inquiry is kept secret, but certain circumstances have been highlighted as potential factors:
- It could be plainly obvious, such as an omission picked up by HMRC
- It could be completely random
- You could be in a HMRC target area. There are task forces set up by HMRC to target areas that are thought to be at high risk of tax fraud
- You may have done something to attract the attention of HMRC. Some of the reasons in the previous list can make you high risk in the eyes of HMRC
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