HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are running several campaigns aimed at encouraging different groups of taxpayers who have not declared all of their taxable income to correct their tax affairs. Usually these campaigns offer you better terms than you would get if HMRC discover that you have not declared all of your income and start their own investigation.
The Campaigns that are currently open are:
- Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF)
- Digital Disclosure Service (DDS)
- Let Property Campaign
- Credit Card Campaign
In these pages, we will outline the campaigns that are available and how WLH Tax can assist clients in making disclosures via these opportunities. WLH Tax can offer specialist advice and has assisted numerous clients in making managed disclosures via all of these campaigns.
If you have not declared all your income to HMRC, whether by mistake or deliberately, then HMRC’s campaigns are a good opportunity to bring your tax affairs up to date. It is often a good idea to seek professional advice when making use of a campaign, particularly if you deliberately did not declare taxable income to HMRC and WLH Tax can provide advice and guidance dependent on your circumstances.
When HMRC run a campaign for a particular group, it means they have access to information about that type of income. This makes it more likely that they will identify taxpayers who choose to ignore the campaign. If you do not make a voluntary disclosure using a campaign and HMRC later catch up with you, it is likely that they will charge higher financial penalties and may even prosecute some taxpayers.
All individuals who might have undeclared liabilities in these areas should make disclosures to HMRC sooner rather than later to minimise penalties, interest and the pain of a formal investigation.
In the last few years HMRC have created a series of campaigns aimed towards:
- Business sectors such as plumbers, doctors and solicitors
- Types of investment income such as from offshore assets or second homes
- Compliance failures such as outstanding VAT or self-assessment Tax Returns
Each campaign broadly follows the same pattern:
- HMRC will identify taxpayers from a specific group who it considers may have outstanding tax liabilities.
- HMRC offers taxpayers the opportunity to make a voluntary disclosure using a published notification form or by other agreed means.
- Ordinarily the taxpayer will first notify HMRC of their intention to make a disclosure, after which they will have further time (normally 90 days) to fully disclose what is owned and make a payment to HMRC.
- Making a voluntary disclosure under a scheme will enable taxpayers to benefit from reduced penalties and in some cases to avoid penalties altogether.
Most disclosure opportunities have a fixed closing date, after which HMRC may investigate any identified taxpayers who did not come forward voluntarily.