btl tax

firsttimebob

Hi,

Been lingering for a while now and wanted to post an issue i have so please be gentle!

I am a landlord and have for different and regrettable reasons not filled in a tax return yet. Am want to do this for the coming tax year what implications are there for not filling in the previous years of income?

Should i fill out this year to cover all previous years? If so will i be fined?

Thanks,
bob
ps i am a honest person please don't tear me to shreds

fengirl_2

I dont think you will find anyone on here to encourage you to evade tax.
By not declaring this income in previous years, you are opening yourself to being charged a penalty of up to 100% of the tax which has been lost to HMRC, although this is mitigated for various reasons including whether it was you who owned up, the size of the evasion and your co-operation. HMRC would also have free reign to investigate all your affairs for past years, not just the incoem which has not been declared. This will be a lot of hassle for you, but I expect you realise that.
You will also be charged interest on tax paid late.
if we are talking a large amount of tax here, I would advise getting an accountant to represent you on a one-off basis and they could potentially negotiate a better settlement for you.

firsttimebob

So they don't have any way of finding out unless they check? Its not a lot if any so am going to risk it and fill it in for this year and go from there.

Thanks for your reply.

fengirl_2

Bear in mind that HMRC may already know you are letting but not got round to challenging you yet. They sit on a lot of info and only lack of resources prevents them for using it all at once. I wouldn't be surprised if lenders are required to advise HMRC of all buy to let mortgages which they provide.

firsttimebob

It would be against the law for them to do that due to data protection.

Im sure theyve got bigger things to worry about than me. Like non doms and the vat fraud that equates to billions of pounds a year lost from this country but i take your advice on board.

Thank you.

fengirl_2

It wouldnt be against the law to provide this info - HMRC have very wide powers and can request all kinds of info. Banks and building societies for example have made returns of interest paid to customers for years and years.
(Was HMIT for 26 yrs)