Voluntary Disclosures
Highly experienced, commercial accountancy expertise
What is a Voluntary Disclosure?
A voluntary disclosure is where a taxpayer identifies for themselves that they have made an error in their reporting or failed to report something to HMRC and discloses that to HMRC whilst they are not under enquiry.
Not all errors will require a voluntary disclosure. For example, for an income tax matter the window may still be open to amend the Tax Return and so it may be possible to deal with the error in this way. If not, a voluntary disclosure will be required.
The benefit of making a voluntary disclosure is that the level of penalties charged will be significantly lower than if HMRC discover the error and it may also be that HMRC take a lighter touch, for example by requiring fewer years to be corrected. For a business which may be sold, a significant additional reason for making a disclosure is that the discovery of errors during buyer due diligence can hold up or prevent a sale or require a retention of sale proceeds.
Video: Introduction to Wilson Partners
What are the “Disclosure Opportunities”?
HMRC have previously and continue to promote various “disclosure opportunities”. These opportunities have been focussed on particular areas or industries, such as offshore income and the legal profession. Typically these have offered enhanced terms to those who come forward to disclose historic errors.
Except for the Let Property Campaign and the Worldwide Disclosure Facility, all of the specific disclosure opportunities have now closed and instead there is a general mechanism for making disclosures in relation to direct taxes with separate mechanisms for employer liabilities, VAT and inheritance tax.
What happens after the disclosure is submitted?
Once your disclosure is submitted, it will be acknowledged fairly swiftly (typically within two weeks). After that there will be a delay whilst HMRC review your disclosure, which will normally be several months. If they raise any queries on your disclosure, we will then assist you with these queries, respond to HMRC on your behalf and work to ensure that the settlement is finalised as quickly as possible.
How is the disclosure made?
For direct taxes, disclosure is normally made via the Digital Disclosure Service. For other taxes, the disclosure is made by letter. Under the Digital Disclosure Service, the process is to first notify HMRC that you intend to make a disclosure. You then have 90 days to make your disclosure and prepare calculations of the liability due to HMRC, including appropriate penalties. This calculation forms the basis for a settlement offer to HMRC, which must be accompanied by a declaration that it is a complete and accurate disclosure.
When making a disclosure it is vital that it is complete and accurate otherwise HMRC may consider that there is a deliberate attempt to hide information which could result in higher penalties or even prosecution. Our service is therefore based on all disclosures being complete and accurate.
Our role is to assist you to identify what needs to be disclosed, to formulate the disclosure to be made, taking account of the legislation, and to quantify the settlement that will be required. We will try to make the process as easy as possible for you. As part of this process it will be necessary to consider the level of penalty which should apply: under the Digital Disclosure Service, this is self-assessed and reviewed by HMRC. For a simple careless error it may be appropriate to self-assess a penalty of 0% or 10%.
Call us on 01628 770 770 for a no-obligation chat
Innovation
We strive to find new ways of doing things that improve the client experience, develop our people and bring sustainable benefit to our community. We maintain the highest standards and make changes to our world before the world changes us.
Relationships That Last
Whether it’s our team, our clients or our wide-ranging network, everything we do is driven by the relationships we build. Together we achieve more, so we form professional relationships that last.
Dedicated Experts
With “Big 4” expertise and practical experience, our people add real value to our clients. From advising on wealth management to getting you working more efficiently, our commitment to and passion for client service shines.
Committed to People
Our values are centred on the understanding that it’s all about the people. Every client and team member is an individual with ambitions and goals in life. We recognise this, and openly encourage and support the achievement of those ambitions.
Find out more information about Tax Investigations:
At our core is an understanding what our clients need and value – after all we’re an ambitious business ourselves. We advise our clients the way we would wish to be advised. Our values that shape and define the character of our business are usually shared by our clients. Review our accounting and business services for Businesses in Maidenhead.
For more detailed information and a meeting to discuss your accounting and finance requirements, please call us on: 01628 770 770 or email:[email protected]
Call us on 01628 770 770 for a no-obligation chat
You may also be interested in...
Who we are
We are Wilson Partners. We combine the financial expertise, experience and accessibility of our talented team with a deep understanding of our clients to help achieve their goals.
What’s keeping you awake at night?
Running your own business is no mean feat. It can literally become your life and if you’re not careful, that can have you questioning the very reasons you went into business in the first place.
Our aim is to deliver the highest quality content to help existing and aspiring business leaders to reach their goals quicker. Material is generated primarily by our own team of experts.
Get in touch...
For more detailed information and a meeting to discuss your accounting and finance requirements, please call us on: 01628 770 770 or email: [email protected]