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Tax Investigation Service

Regardless of how careful you are with your tax affairs, HM Revenue & Customs can randomly select, or target, you for a tax enquiry.

What is a tax investigation?

Basically, it's when HMRC make enquiries into your tax affairs. This can range from a phone call to check your VAT return to a letter to check your income or corporation tax return to a full blown investigation where they will go through the full books and records on site.

HMRC enquiries are evolving and are now better targeted and more results orientated with greater focus on perceived tax loss. There doesn’t need to be a reason for HMRC to trigger an investigation. Every taxpayer who submits a tax, VAT or PAYE return is at risk. No-one is immune.

What does the service provide?

Win or lose, the cost of handling the investigation is over and above our normal fees and the costs involved could be substantial and a concern.

Our tax investigation service will cover our professional fees that result from most types of HMRC enquiry or investigation. Unlike some fee protection products that appoint their own advisers, by providing this service we can represent you throughout. We believe that we know you/your business best and we want to be there for you when you need us most.

In the event HMRC checks your tax, PAYE or VAT returns or visits you to check books and records, as long as you have a policy and you want our assistance then our fees are covered from the very first contact from HMRC, subject to a few specific limited exclusions. Clients will be responsible for any fees that we cannot recover from our Insurers.

24 hour helpline

Business clients who subscribe to the service also have access to a 24-hour telephone helpline covering legal, commercial, employment and health & safety advice which is run by experts in their respective fields.

Peace of Mind

For peace of mind, we recommend that every client should take out this cover as tax investigations are expensive and can last several months, even years. For limited companies and partnerships, the tax investigation policy provides inclusive cover for all relevant individuals. When a business signs up to the policy, all its directors, partners and their spouses and company secretaries, will also receive representation if there is an investigation into their personal tax affairs, as well as those of their business.

To provide this cover, we need to be acting as the tax return agent for the business or individuals in question. The service will cover companies, partnerships, individuals/sole traders and trusts in respect of income tax, corporation tax, Employer Compliance, VAT, IHT, CGT, COP8 and IR35.

Contact us

It is an annual service starting on 1st July each year but clients can subscribe at any point during the year and the cost is pro-rated. To find out more, or to subscribe, please contact Jo Grieve or call 01635 553261. Alternatively contact your normal James Cowper Kreston representative.