could the taxman take our house?

climbeverymountain

Hi, not sure if I'm posting in the right section as I'm a first timer...

Earlier this year a hand delivered letter arrived from the baillifs. They had come to take everything as my partner owes a huge amount to the inland revenue. I was under the impression that he owed about 6k and that he had come to an agreement with them and had been paying them back monthly. However it turns out that he now owes them nearer £40k and that he had only made 2 monthly payments to them and then cancelled the direct debit. At the time I agreed that we would remortgage our house in order to pay off this debt, however in order to do this he had to get his accounts for 09/10 up to date. It's taken 8 months (and all the associated fines) for him to do this. He has a significant drink problem but has always held down a well paid job. However this summer his drinking has spiralled out of control and he has had many days off work and also arrived home from work drunk (and therefore is now drink driving). I do realise now of course that to remortgage would be madness.

I paid the large deposit from the proceeds of my own house sale, I also paid the stamp duty, legal fees, bought furniture etc etc. Unfortunately none of this is documented. However he has paid the mortgage for the last 3 years so I could stay at home with the children. At the moment the only thing I can think of doing is selling the house and paying off his tax bill and hopefully I will still be left with some of my initial money so I can support the children on my own. However on top of the £40k there will be another 18 months of tax that he has put no money aside for to pay next year.

What I'd like to know is 1) in the short term, can the taxman make us sell our house and 2) if we pay off his £40k debt, sell the house etc can the taxman come after the rest of the proceeds of the house to cover his next tax bill (which will be for his earnings while we were still together). Any advice gratefully received!

crofton23

in short the answer is Unfortunately yes, i am guessing you have a joint loan on the property. in my experience the judge if presented with such a request from the tax man will have sympathy for your situation, especially if the children are young or fully independant on you....(this applies to any debt to the IR or secured debts on the property)....and in some cases it is likey that the IR would consider a charging order placed against the propertym this has cost implications and you must check this out in more detail.

the IR would more than likely if they have not done so already make your husband bankrupt and then pursue his portion of any equity in the property.

this process does not happen overnight and i assume, rightly or wrongly that you are unsure what actions the IR has taken to recover the money since the ballifs called...sadly the bare facts of the matter is his debt to any agency and or companys can result in a forced sale.

I would recomend taking some free legal advice - do you have a housing aid service in your area - often run or supported by your local council.

climbeverymountain

Thanks for your reply. Is this yes to both questions? ie can the IR come after money from me even after we have sold the house and I have given him his share?