Scared to admit to tax mistake!

NicChanna

Thanks for your post Chrismac1.

So can I just clarify; your advice would be to get a Unique Taxpayer's Reference from HMRC? Would that have the effect of disassociating me from my ex-husband for tax purposes? Or does it do something else?

Also did I read correctly that you agree I should give information for all the relevant years back to 2006?

jennifernil

OK, that is clearer. Is he calculating it correctly? He can only deduct the interest on the mortgage.

If so, then neither of you is due that much tax.

Surely £500/600 tax is not beyond his means?

If he is abroad, there are some tax rules regarding landlords living abroad, not sure how that would affect him.

POPPYOSCAR

chrismac1 wrote: »

It's unlikely the Tax Office will ask you any questions, they are too disorganised - unless you start volunteering information which is an inadvisable way of handling dealings with HMRC. If you simply call them and ask for a UTR, explaining you have a source of rental income, and then complete the returns and submit them (claiming every single penny of allowable expenses) you're then totally in the clear. You can advise your ex to do likewise and if he doesn't that's his lookout.

So why does our accountant put down on our tax forms that this income is from joint income?

Savvy_Sue

NicChanna wrote: »

Actually I want to admit to everything and pay everything (I have an inconveniently sensitive conscience lol) but I think if I do that it will show up that my ex-husband had omitted to declare the other years. This might get him into trouble.

I'd have thought that his tax affairs were his problem, and if you doing the right thing gets him 'into trouble' that's still his problem.

mrcow wrote: »

Contact you tax office for advice if you're unclear about what you should be completing or telling them. They are there to help - it's what they are paid for!

One thing I've always found with my local tax office is that you can phone and ask questions without first having to give your name, address and NI No, so you are as good as anonymous.

However you do NOT want HMRC to 'help' you complete your tax returns. Their job is to collect tax, not to encourage you to pay as little as possible. You use an accountant for tax reduction 'hints and wrinkles', and when you've gathered all the figures you might find it worthwhile going to see one if you're so worried about it all.

chrismac1

All I will say about this is I have 4 separate clients who have got into terrible trouble by completing tax returns using the method of calling the tax office and asking their advice. Some of the stuff was really horrible - such us putting the full cost of a repayment mortgage into the "interest" box - and ended up getting the client concerned aggressive calls from credit control to the point where she was in tears about it.

You'd be better off getting a free consultation with a local accountant and picking their brains. The difference is simple - qualified accountants have PII cover. if you come to me and I mess up to the extent of putting full mortgage costs under interest and this leads to problems for you, you have a claim under PII. As far as I know, no-one in HMRC who offers tax advice offers recourse to a PII claim or any other sort of claim if that advice proves to be negligent. And in some cases, that complete lack of consequences for poor advice really shows through in the care taken in dishing out the advice.

suso

chrismac1 wrote: »

You'd be better off getting a free consultation with a local accountant and picking their brains. The difference is simple - qualified accountants have PII cover. if you come to me and WHEN I mess up to the extent of putting full mortgage costs under interest and this leads to problems for you, you have a claim under PII.

corrected that for you

marleyboy

suso wrote: »

Corrected this for you.

I thought it appropriate in this case.

John_Pierpoint

If I remember correctly, on the paper return there is a box that asks something like "Is this rental shared with anyone else?"

Which rather goes against the biblical advice about ".....not being your brother's keeper".

suso

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

If I remember correctly, on the paper return there is a box that asks something like "Is this rental shared with anyone else?"

Which rather goes against the biblical advice about ".....not being your brother's keeper".

yep still there on the SA105 box 3 "If you have any income from property let jointly,put 'X' in the box"

POPPYOSCAR

suso wrote: »

yep still there on the SA105 box 3 "If you have any income from property let jointly,put 'X' in the box"

If I remember correctly you also have to put in the box'Any other information' the name and address of the person who prepares the property records. I know we do this(well our accountant does).