tax return

billozz

firstly can i apologise if this is in the wrong place i couldnt see anywhere else to put it.
my problem is my business partner and i have been fined £100 and have another fine on the way for a partnership tax return that hmrc say they didnt recieve.
our accountsnt is adamant that he delivered the return by hand to the local tax office, as apparently you cannot file these online as you can with a personal return. he has informed us that when you deliver a return the redvenue do not issue you with a receipt, so how can we prove that it went in, i do trust the accountant and believe him when he says he delivered it. hmrc have shown a fair bit of incomptence over the years and it wouldnt surprise me if they had lost the return, how can it be that they can just say we didnt get it and they are taken to be right, with no form of redress, dont spose anyone can help but just wondered
thanks
Bill

chrismac1

First I can say that I file all my tax returns, including partnership returns, online for exactly this reason. The only ones I have to file by hand are when I get a new client who is several years behind with tax, so 06-07 and 07-08 are manual for example.

I have sent mail into HMRC by recorded delivery which they have later denied as follows:

Me: "I have proof from the Post Office that you received this mail on date X, do you accept this?"

HMRC : "We did receive mail from you on date X. How do we know it was for this client?"

So even recorded delivery mail is deniable in the wacky world of HMRC. There is redress, though, and this is one I would be fighting if I were your accountant. My argument would be along the lines of "I give you my word as a Chartered Accountant I hand delivered this mail, and got no receipt. I have my mileage log for the day in question and my timesheet to back up the fact I made a journey to X tax office. It is known that HMRC lose a great many documents, due to moving the mail queue around the country, sub-contracting this to couriers, and generally running the operation shambolically. I therefore submit that it is much more likely HMRC have lost these returns than that I failed to hand deliver them on time."

billozz

chrismac,
thanks for the reply, so you are saying that you can file the partnership return online, we were told that this one could not be done online
thanks
Bill

System

This HMRC web page lists the type of tax returns that can be filed online : Click Link

POPPYOSCAR

billozz wrote: »

chrismac,
thanks for the reply, so you are saying that you can file the partnership return online, we were told that this one could not be done online
thanks
Bill

Our accountant files our partnership return online.

POPPYOSCAR

We have found the tax office to be quite helpful in the past, I suppose it just depends on who you talk to.

We once had a mix up(accountants fault) the tax office were very understanding, told us to get the accountant to ring them to sort it out, which they did and everything was fine.

heretolearn_2

You can file partnership tax returns on line, but not using the HMRCs own free software - this is only for personal tax returns.

You can file partnership tax returns on line using a commercial software and most accountancy firms have this to avoid the sort of problems you describe. It's built in as standard to the software we use to prepare all our tax returns, for example.

So your accountant isn't being entirely up-front there. HE can't submit on-line for whatever reason (not having a professional tax software) but it is perfectly possible.

This alone makes me a bit suspicious. If he lied about that, why believe him about going in with the return. He could have just said 'sorry I don't have the software to submit on-line but I took it in personally'. That would have been a better approach.

System

heretolearn wrote: »

You can file partnership tax returns on line, but not using the HMRCs own free software - this is only for personal tax returns.

You can file partnership tax returns on line using a commercial software and most accountancy firms have this to avoid the sort of problems you describe. It's built in as standard to the software we use to prepare all our tax returns, for example.

I think you will find you have it wrong....

What's covered by the HMRC free online service

You can send the main Self Assessment Tax Return (SA100) online free of charge using the HMRC Self Assessment service. You can also use this service to send the following pages online - these support your main tax return:

• Employment
• Self-employment
• Partnership - to report the income you receive as a partner
• UK property
• Capital gains
• Foreign

Bear in mind that the free HMRC Self Assessment service only covers the tax return and pages listed above.

antrobus

BAA1 wrote: »

I think you will find you have it wrong....

No I think you'll find that he (or she) has it right.

You can file the main Self Assessment Tax Return (SA100) online including the suplementary pages that deal with your Partnership income. But to file the separate Partnership Tax Return (SA800) electronically you need to buy some software that provides that facility, otherwise you have to send in a paper copy.

Bear in mind that the free HMRC Self Assessment service only covers the tax return and pages listed above.

It doesn't cover the SA800.

System

antrobus wrote: »

No I think you'll find that he (or she) has it right.

You can file the main Self Assessment Tax Return (SA100) online including the suplementary pages that deal with your Partnership income. But to file the separate Partnership Tax Return (SA800) electronically you need to buy some software that provides that facility, otherwise you have to send in a paper copy.

It doesn't cover the SA800.

My appologies, I was not aware that an SA800 was also required, shame the HMRC help info doesn't mention it.

antrobus

BAA1 wrote: »

My appologies, I was not aware that an SA800 was also required, shame the HMRC help info doesn't mention it.

No worries.