Not paid tax for 10 years. Help!
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And yes there is a risk HMRC will trigger an enquiry but it's a risk you've got to run. Also they are in such a mess that just doing the easy peasy stuff is hard for them right now, so unless the database flags up the gap you are safe. To do this, it will have to marry up your PAYE and self-assessment records. It can only do that using an NI number - here is a hint, a self-assessment submission does not require an NI number but you can include it as on option.
It is incredible that even in 2011 HMRC are in this position. They have so many databases that many people do not realise they cannot be easily linked without some serious legwork by HMRC themselves. As you say NINO is the easiest option
In theory this should have changed within a couple of years and a whole history will be available on one system - whether we will see that in my lifetime is another matter!
And property.advert your advice is irresponsible at best0 -
Some of the posts on here are pretty silly. At present the OP has been remiss with his tax records and submissions but committed no fraud. Falsifying and destroying records is fraud even for MPs. Whether a full disclosure is made going back 10 years is a matter for the OP to consider. If you find a decent accountant and submit returns for the last few years then:
1. The OP will have a weight off his or her mind.
2. The accountant gets some fees and hopefully a decent new client.
3. The country gets some cash it badly needs.
So everyone wins.Hideous Muddles from Right Charlies0 -
PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »I would like to hear more from the OP: did HMRC send a letter each year asking for an update because a P45 was left dangling?
There might also be a question of VAT ...
then again, was the relationship and working terms between the OP and the people who paid him really that of self employment? This could make a difference if not.
I still think that owning up and paying all the tax due is the best option, despite what other people say. Staying out of the system forever sounds horrific; registering as Self Employed might trigger HMRC into asking about the past. I think that HMRC would be more lenient with someone who came forward voluntarily than with someone whom they discovered or someone who self assessed but under-declared income.
I think that HMRC provide a leaflet about penalties for unpaid tax.
Sorry the internet's been down for a week.
I am still investigating.
P45: No Letter but I moved a few time around then. I'll point you back to my loss of, well, sanity for the want of a better word. Just don't think they know where I am now.
VAT issues: I don't think I have come remotely close to the VAT limits ( something else I've learnt! )
Clients: Ask for work to be done. I do it. I invoice. they pay me a cheque. No Contracts.0 -
Some of the posts on here are pretty silly. At present the OP has been remiss with his tax records and submissions but committed no fraud. Falsifying and destroying records is fraud even for MPs. Whether a full disclosure is made going back 10 years is a matter for the OP to consider. If you find a decent accountant and submit returns for the last few years then:
1. The OP will have a weight off his or her mind.
2. The accountant gets some fees and hopefully a decent new client.
3. The country gets some cash it badly needs.
So everyone wins.
Yes. I don't think the previous ideas of just dropping back in will work.
My concern is of course a 50K bill - I simply don't have that in any way. No savings. Nothing of worth apart from a 3k Car!0 -
property.advert wrote: »If you follow the advice of all those who advise you to confess and tell all then your next post will be on the bankruptcy board !
The "wrong" but "right" thing to do is to do get a clear picture of just what information the authorities have right now. They know you were on PAYE and then disappeared. You would do so had you won the lottery for instance and hidden it away so as not to pay tax. You could have retired. There are loads of scenarios but be careful, you could not have gone abroad for instance as they could find out the location of your passport. You also have to factor in just what they did collate back then and now. Even today, not all arms of the government talk to each other, though many more do so than before, even if not instantaneously.
My solution ? get rid off all evidence and all computers which have anything to do with this, any file, even if erased. Get rid. Work from a USB thumb drive and sort out your real history but going forward, just drop back into society. Of course, change all bank accounts, bin and burn the past - though perhaps get a friend to open some storage.
You may feel like confessing but unless you are loaded, you cannot live with the truth. If you accept that, then the only thing you can do is sort out a compromise.
Now I don't know what to think!
My main problem is I Know I am not going to be able to afford anything they ask for which is the problem.
Your plan appears good but I know it's only going to end up with me jail and I am far too good looking for that. :P0 -
You of course also don't have 50k if they just pick you up on a random check. Speak to an accountant first, get your books in order and then go to them with a repayment plan sketched out.Breakingpoint wrote: »Yes. I don't think the previous ideas of just dropping back in will work.
My concern is of course a 50K bill - I simply don't have that in any way. No savings. Nothing of worth apart from a 3k Car!"Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world."— Frank Warren0 -
Breakingpoint wrote: »Yes. I don't think the previous ideas of just dropping back in will work.
My concern is of course a 50K bill - I simply don't have that in any way. No savings. Nothing of worth apart from a 3k Car!
So if you did get hit with a tax bill, bankruptcy might be an option - its tough, but it might be less stressful to have it all out in the open and a time limit on getting it behind you rather than lying awake every night waiting for the tax man to come knocking on the door! Again, an accountant would be able to discuss the pros & cons and advise you properly.0 -
Well, it is good to hear that you were always under the threshold for compulsory registration for VAT. It is around £68k now but would have been less each year you go back.
Presumably there will be a big gap in your NI contributions: this might affect your State Pension.
I understand that this is a delicate question, but what are you doing at the moment? What are you living on? There are other ways of getting back into the system than self employment. I was thinking of casual work: if you have no P45 to give them (they become out of date after a few months|) you just fill in a P46. Some people live on their savings, some travel so can't claim JSA as they are not available for work. However, there is always the chance that HMRC will pick something up.
If you had several clients, and there are no regular payments of roughly the same amounts in their records, then HMRC will not say that you were really an employee if they investigate and spot this. If they did, it is the company that would be liable for all the tax and NI not you.Who having known the diamond will concern himself with glass?
Rudyard Kipling0 -
Not picked up yet, as far as I can see, but:-
Not paying National Insurance either? When it comes to picking up his pension he'll get a nasty shock. Will they want that paying too?
I know nothing about 'self employed' or how they pay N.I.0 -
You have got a lot of people interested in you and your affairs BP. I have included a link to a posting I found where someone in a similar position gets similar responses. You have to tab right down to find it.
I want to be a devil's advocate here and say that HMRC might wonder how, if you were in such a state that you did not sort out the tax due, you managed to complete assignments in such a demanding area as computer programming.
Many IT people use an umbrella company or a limited company by request of the clients, to ensure that the client will never be liable - this is yet another issue.
Who having known the diamond will concern himself with glass?
Rudyard Kipling0
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