Income Tax Enquiries

An Income Tax Enquiry can be very worrying, distracting you from running your business, and can be very costly; not only in tax, interest and penalties, but also in lost business.  It can put a toll on personal health and relationships.

Lynam Tax partners understand the stress of an Income Tax Investigation and have over 35 years’ experience of dealing with tax enquiries into small businesses.

Income Tax Enquiries are usually carried out by tax officers and tax inspectors in HM Revenue & Custom’s Local Compliance offices.  A tax inspection usually starts within a year of you sending in your Self Assessment Tax Return.  HMRC will send you a legal Notice of Enquiry (or Notice of Intention to Enquire) and Code of Practice 11 (Enquiries into Tax Returns by Local Tax Offices).

Only 3% of traders get investigated each year and only 3% of those are ’Random Enquiries’.  The rest are selected by the Tax Inspector because he suspects there is something wrong with your business accounts or personal Tax Return and he believes he will get more Income Tax, interest and penalties out of you.  Often the tax inspector suspects you of fiddling your books.  If you get a Tax Enquiry Notice or a COP 11 you or your accountant may need specialist help.

A very few Income Tax Enquiries are started with HMRC Code of Practice 9 (Cases of suspected serious Tax Fraud) by either the Civil Investigation of Fraud Unit or the elite Specialist Investigations Team.  If you receive COP 9 then HMRC believes you are guilty of tax evasion and you will need specialist help.

Most Income Tax enquiries are intrusive and cover your personal affairs as well as the business.

Lynam Tax partners can help you.  We have the expertise, knowledge, skills and experience to assist you in these difficult times and get the best result for you, your business and your family.

For more information and a free, private, no obligation discussion phone Paul Lynam today on 0845 643 9997.