Professional fee protection

For many years HMRC have been putting increasing resources into pursuing more tax, including selecting taxpayers for enquiry at random. In addition, Finance Act 2008 controversially has given HMRC much wider powers allowing them to carry out an informal check of all areas of a taxpayer’s affairs within a single visit or enquiry. HMRC are expected to use the new powers frequently.

The result is that clients face an increased risk of an enquiry into their tax affairs. Our firm’s policy in the case of those unfortunate enough to be selected for a tax enquiry is to settle it quickly and to minimise the final tax liabilities. Even so, answering all of HMRC’s questions always takes time and the enquiries can drag on for many months. The fees to bring an enquiry to a conclusion can be substantial.

Clients who enrol under our fee protection insurance service are covered against the costs of professional fees arising from HMRC enquiries into their tax returns. All tax returns are covered, personal, partnership and corporation tax self-assessment returns, as well as PAYE and VAT returns.