Haven't paid tax for two years

bunnydrumming

For various reasons!

- because i had money left to me by my grandparents and had some shares and a private pension a friend of my father's always did my pension for me - All i ever had to do was sign the forms and I would usually get a couple of hundred pounds back. I went through a lot of relationship and family issues and at the same time the family friend stopped doing them (about two years ag) and so with all the other things that happened in my life I sank into quite a deep depression and have always felt like i was barely surviving. I'm now back on full form and recently realised i had not done any tax returns for the past two years - WHAT DO I DO

The last time I did them was after I sold my house and since then nothing has really changed for me financially. That money has been sitting in various savings accounts with Halifax and Barclays so I am presuming I pay tax through the bank. I work for a council so pay tax on my wages but what do i do about the non payment. I have earned £2000 each year for renting out a field I own

i can't do the forms on my own as I find numbers very difficult to understand

If I went to a company to do them what would they charge me and what trouble will i get into for not having done them for two years - are there special forms to fill in. I am panicking as it only occurred to me very recently that these forms had never been done.

By the way since I sold my house I have around £250.000 in various accounts which i was saving until I could find a house to buy (been living in rented for 3 years)

Gertie_Walker

You do need to complete the outstanding returns and a snmall accountant will be able to do this for you.Go and talk to two or three and find which one you can work with best. You will be fined up to 100% of the tax lost, plus interest, but the accountant will be able tnegotiate a reduction in this.

partist

Gather all the papers together - details of accounts etc. It might also be worth popping in to the CAB first to get their advice. They may also be able to suggest an appropriate accountant.

bunnydrumming

partist wrote: »

Gather all the papers together - details of accounts etc. It might also be worth popping in to the CAB first to get their advice. They may also be able to suggest an appropriate accountant.

Thanks - I never even thought of the CAB even though I'm always telling the parents I work with to use them! :-/

System

HamNeggs wrote: »

....

Given that you have 250,000 spread around various accounts I wouldnt get too excited about paying a 200 pound fine and a bit of interest and surcharge on probably around 800 pounds of tax.

Except that as the OP has said, the £250K is from the sale of the house which will most likely all be needed when their new home is purchased, so it may be incorrect to assume the OP can easily afford the fines etc.

mos26

Actually after the CAB the best people to speak to are the IR themselves - I had a few run-ins with them over the years before I discovered it was better and easier to get on side with them. Individual circumstances vary hpwever, CAB advise first! Personally I wouldn't trust an accountant as far as I could throw one, all they have ever done for me is drop me in it. As I ended up having to sort out my own tax myself, and its generally easy, I don't waste my time or money with them anymore... As well as my own personal tax affairs I run a small business. Unless your tax affairs are really complicated, and this doesn't sound like the case, its not difficult to deal with this...

morgani

HMRC may have a policy of a £100 penalty for late submission but this is limited to the amount of tax outstanding at the due date. i.e. even if the return is filed late if all tax was paid as at 31 January then you can appeal.

Best to get things sorted ASAP.

Most of your income should be taxed at source but the field rent will may mean tax is due unless you have brought forward losses. In which case as a basic rate tax payer you will have a liability of around £400. In which case the quicker you get the returns done and the tax paid the less interest there will be charged.

If you can't face it yourself then get some professional help. For a simple tax return like this you should be able to get it done for around £100-£150 per year.