Loading…
Close iconClose icon DarkLight mode

Find us quickly

130 Wood Street, London, EC2V 6DL
enquiries@buzzacott.co.uk    T +44 (0)20 7556 1200

Google map screengrab
Ambient _wave_ Buzzacott _top_20_accountancy _firm _for _charities _corporates _individuals
Last updated: 26 Jul 2023
On this page

Case study: Rectifying an error disclosing foreign income and planning for the future

In this article, we share Claude’s story which highlights how our Private Client and Tax Investigations experts worked together to successfully resolve historical filing errors and implement tax planning to optimise his international tax affairs going forward.
Discovering the error

Discovering the error

Claude recently appointed Buzzacott’s Private Client experts to prepare his 2021/22 UK tax return. Claude was UK resident and deemed UK domiciled (as he had been UK resident for more than 15 of the preceding 20 tax years). As such, he was liable to UK tax on his worldwide income and gains in 2021/22. 

As part of our bespoke approach to reviewing Claude’s tax affairs when preparing his tax return, it was noted that funds had been transferred to the UK from an overseas bank account. Upon querying this with Claude, it was identified that the funds which had been brought to the UK could generate an additional UK tax charge if they related to a tax year in which the remittance basis was previously claimed. The remittance basis allows non-UK domiciled individuals foreign income and gains to only be subject to UK tax to the extent they are brought to the UK. To further complicate matters, in Claude’s case some of the remittances were sourced by distributions from his family’s non-UK resident trust. 

A detailed technical analysis of Claude’s bank statements was undertaken, which determined that taxable remittances had been made in 2021/22 and also in earlier tax years. This required a review of the offshore family trust to determine the tax treatment of the distributions Claude had received. 

About the authors

Neal Lees

+44 (0)20 3972 6627
leesn@buzzacott.co.uk
LinkedIn

Justin Stevenson

+44 (0)20 7710 3181
stevensonj@buzzacott.co.uk
LinkedIn

Discovering the error

Claude recently appointed Buzzacott’s Private Client experts to prepare his 2021/22 UK tax return. Claude was UK resident and deemed UK domiciled (as he had been UK resident for more than 15 of the preceding 20 tax years). As such, he was liable to UK tax on his worldwide income and gains in 2021/22. 

As part of our bespoke approach to reviewing Claude’s tax affairs when preparing his tax return, it was noted that funds had been transferred to the UK from an overseas bank account. Upon querying this with Claude, it was identified that the funds which had been brought to the UK could generate an additional UK tax charge if they related to a tax year in which the remittance basis was previously claimed. The remittance basis allows non-UK domiciled individuals foreign income and gains to only be subject to UK tax to the extent they are brought to the UK. To further complicate matters, in Claude’s case some of the remittances were sourced by distributions from his family’s non-UK resident trust. 

A detailed technical analysis of Claude’s bank statements was undertaken, which determined that taxable remittances had been made in 2021/22 and also in earlier tax years. This required a review of the offshore family trust to determine the tax treatment of the distributions Claude had received. 

How Claude’s tax affairs were resolved

How Claude’s tax affairs were resolved

Understanding the importance of engaging correctly on this matter with HMRC, our Private Client and Tax Investigations experts worked collaboratively to develop the best strategy to disclose the historic omissions to HMRC. 

In this instance, we recommended HMRC’s Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) to disclose the errors and Claude swiftly instructed them to proceed with the initial WDF notification.  

A full WDF disclosure was subsequently prepared by our Tax Investigations experts who liaised both with Claude and our Private Client specialists to determine the behaviour that that led to the errors. This was then comprehensively presented to HMRC in the best way possible to ensure exposure to penalties was minimised and that the disclosure was promptly accepted by HMRC. Thus, giving Claude peace of mind that matters were resolved as swiftly and efficiently as possible.

Given the inaccuracies in Claude’s tax return, HMRC could have sought to impose a penalty of up to 200% of his tax liability in some years. As a result of the unprompted disclosure, together with our comprehensive and robust representations, maximum penalty reductions were achieved in all years.

Planning ahead

Planning ahead

Once the technical analysis and the WDF disclosure was completed, we presented an advice paper to Claude to assist him in optimising future remittances to the UK. This will reduce the risk of further errors and also meet his future funding needs in the UK, considering both personal funds available and any potential distributions from the family trust. 

Claude has benefitted from the expertise within both our Tax Investigations and Private Client experts and their collaborative approach in advising clients.  

What should you do?

What should you do?

Always take care when providing your accountant with information to prepare your tax return. If you are unsure about a particular issue, consider raising the matter with your accountant/advisers to avoid costly mistakes.  

If you feel hesitant or uncomfortable about your ability to deal with an error or omission that has been discovered, it’s in your best interest to consider appointing a tax investigations specialist to represent you in dealing with HMRC. If a mistake has been made, it is usually a good time to review your affairs thoroughly to ensure all aspects are compliant. 

At the end of any disclosure process with HMRC, consider how similar and errors can be avoided in future and whether any previously received advice is still up to date or needs revisiting.

Speak to an expert
Speak to an expert

For advice on reviewing your UK tax affairs or correcting an error/omission, please fill in the form below and one of our experts will be in touch to discuss your requirements and how we can help.

Close iconClose icon backback
Your search for "..."
did not yield any results.
... results for "..."
Search Tags