I havent paid tax/NI since 2003

tk421_3

Hi chaps,

Ill keep this as short as i can. I know im in a really really bad position here, please dont judge me, as believe you me I have been killing myself for years now and its time to get back on top of things.

I worked freelance doing sales on and off for the same company for a number of years, the first 2 i made about £40k, the 3rd i made about £20k and since then i havent made a great deal. I've been abroad on and off, ive done lots of unpaid work for my parents helping them out on their business, and ive done some cash in hand work as well.

Ive been scared out of my mind for eyars and just havent had he guts to do anything about it. I dont know what to do now and want to at least get back on some type of track.

My sales work was invoiced and for the most part (the first couple of years where i earned the most money), I was paid in cheques which i cashed at a cheque cashing place. Later on, it went through my bank. The last 2 years I have earned nothing apart from the odd cash in hand type of job, and ive lived mainly off selling stuff i have got (such as music equipment, rare records etc) to private buyers.

I've never tried to claim any benefits or anything. Im scared stiff to even get temp job as i might get found out. I registered as self employed at the start of 2003 and thats it - i have ignored any correspondance i have had since.

I now have depression, i have lost everything about myself and am literally stuck in a cycle of worry, sadness and have lost all self esteem. I know a lot of this is down to my stupid actions.

I dont know what to do - I am just working for myself trying to build a business up (it hasnt started yet but im hoping it will in a few months and i want to do things by the book).

Again, please please dont reply telling me im bad etc, i know all that, but i would so appreciate any help at all anyone can give me.

What a mess, and what a moron!!

Thanks so much in advance

orangeslimes

tk421 wrote: »

Hi chaps,

Ill keep this as short as i can. I know im in a really really bad position here, please dont judge me, as believe you me I have been killing myself for years now and its time to get back on top of things.

I worked freelance doing sales on and off for the same company for a number of years, the first 2 i made about £40k, the 3rd i made about £20k and since then i havent made a great deal. I've been abroad on and off, ive done lots of unpaid work for my parents helping them out on their business, and ive done some cash in hand work as well.

Ive been scared out of my mind for eyars and just havent had he guts to do anything about it. I dont know what to do now and want to at least get back on some type of track.

My sales work was invoiced and for the most part (the first couple of years where i earned the most money), I was paid in cheques which i cashed at a cheque cashing place. Later on, it went through my bank. The last 2 years I have earned nothing apart from the odd cash in hand type of job, and ive lived mainly off selling stuff i have got (such as music equipment, rare records etc) to private buyers.

I've never tried to claim any benefits or anything. Im scared stiff to even get temp job as i might get found out. I registered as self employed at the start of 2003 and thats it - i have ignored any correspondance i have had since.

I now have depression, i have lost everything about myself and am literally stuck in a cycle of worry, sadness and have lost all self esteem. I know a lot of this is down to my stupid actions.

I dont know what to do - I am just working for myself trying to build a business up (it hasnt started yet but im hoping it will in a few months and i want to do things by the book).

Again, please please dont reply telling me im bad etc, i know all that, but i would so appreciate any help at all anyone can give me.

What a mess, and what a moron!!

Thanks so much in advance

Probably the best thing to do is voluntarily contact the HMRC and try to sort it all out. Don't do it yourself though - get an accountant who knows how to deal with these things to do it for you. (make sure they are properly qualified and do lots of research into them first). It might cost you a bit but that is probably the best way to move forward.

Collect together any invoices, receipts and bank statements you have as evidence of your earnings, along with details of when you were abroad etc.

Randvegeta

Sounds tough!

I am not sure if they can 'find you out' but I would imagine there is nothing stopping you from just picking up now and doing things by the book.

You meantioned you made some money before. £40k in the first 2 years? Is that before or after cost? Remember, as a self employed person, youre taxed on your profit, not your turnover. You may find that the TAX due is not that much. The biggest problem you may have is a fine for not declaring or providing proper records. But if it's been years, chances are, you wont need to worry, particularly if you've done a lot of work abroad.

Good luck!

Occams_Razor_2

I wouldn't assume anything would happen at all.
has anyone contacted you?

I'd think in an likelihood you are far, far too small fry for anyone to care. just make sure, you start paying.

PlutoinCapricorn

You are not the first such person to come on to MSE: the others were given a lot of information and said they were going to bite the bullet. Illness and problems were sometimes responsible.

Living with all this hanging over you must be dreadful. If you voluntarily go to HMRC and co-operate and produce some figures, they are more lenient than they would be if they found you out and you did not make things easy for them.

They are used to such cases: there may be interest and fines in addition to tax owed, but less if you are willing to disclose everything voluntarily.

If you registered as self employed, surely they would have sent you forms to complete?

See these threads: the 2nd poster was in a bad situation.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2671201

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3075308

System

Occam/s_Razor wrote: »

I wouldn't assume anything would happen at all.
has anyone contacted you?

I'd think in an likelihood you are far, far too small fry for anyone to care. just make sure, you start paying.

If HMRC have sent correspondence and got no reply from the address they have for the OP or got the correspondence returned then the reason for no contact now could be because they don't know where the OP lives. However that doesn't mean they aren't interested in them.
Since the OP registered as self-employed then in all likelihood there are several outstanding tax returns which need to be completed to bring their affairs up to date and penalties, surcharges and determinations may be accruing.

I'm not trying to frighten the OP, this is easy to fix and the suggestion of employing an accountant is a very good one.

lazer

I would suggest looking at this link,

there is possibly an amnesty on the fees (limited to 20%) at present

http://www.international-adviser.com/article/hmrc-to-plug-fiscal-holes-with-plumber-tax-amnesty

Take all the information you have to an accountant, is the first step you should take

Good luck

Abbo24

Don't be scared of the HMRC they really do understand this sort of problem. In 1999 they caught up with me after not paying tax for 17 years, after employing an accountant he arranged for me to go in front of the commisioners (don't know if these still exsist under present legislation.) they are a panel of everyday people who listen to such cases and pass judgement on them. Their decisions are binding on the Tax office, they came to the conclusion that I should pay 27k in Tax for the period. This was paid by 2001 and since then have only worked PAYE.

p-pincher

Hi

Its not an uncommon scenario(sp) that your in. I spend quite a bit of time processing tax returns at HMRC and its not uncommon to receive a taxpayers tax returns going back to 2003/04. Obviously its been really worrying you but the advice earlier to find an accountant to help you through the process is probably the best thing for you to do.