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Tax Investigations and Aspect Enquiries

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Being investigated by the Inland Revenue is extremely serious. A major enquiry can seriously disrupt your business, while a self assessment personal tax investigation can be prolonged, detailed and intrusive.

Most tax investigations begin because the Revenue has reason to believe that some aspect of your tax return or business accounts is wrong or some figures in the tax return may not tally with other information they have and we at Keith Rogers accountants endeavor to review your accounts and your tax return to ensure that there is no information contained in the return that will invite enquiry and therefore we avoid investigation and the worry and hassle associated with them. We seek to get a full understanding of your business and financial activities to ensure you are not at risk of an investigation from misreporting your financial affairs.
The revenue may also investigate your affairs as a result of a tip off they receive, or through a random selection. In which case we will represent you and make the investigation as painless as possible.

With all of the major taxes now being self-assessed, the likelihood of a taxpayer being subjected to a tax enquiry has never been higher. Once a tax return has been submitted, both tax authorities work on the basis of “process now, check later”. In addition, both authorities have continually increased the level of resources they allocate to this area of tax compliance. Such enquiries take the form of:

  • VAT Control Visits,
  • An examination by HMRC or the Contributions Agency into Employer records (PAYE, NIC, Benefits in Kind, Employment Status),
  • An enquiry into a Income Tax Self Assessment Tax Return (which includes Capital Gains Tax),
  • An enquiry into a Corporation Tax Self Assessment Tax Return.

Our primary aim is to act for clients in a manner which reduces the risk of them being subjected to a tax enquiry. Although most enquiries are selected on a risk basis, many are either randomly or rotationally selected. In all instances, it is often useful to instruct us to perform a tax healthcheck on your records, first, to prepare for anything untoward that might come to light during the enquiry. This will then give you the opportunity to prepare for the Inspector’s questions, or to make full disclosure in advance.