It might just be that it has been a very long week and I need a holiday but please humour me. A new client has an enquiry on a previous year accounts which have turned out to be a total mess. Have written to enquiry officer suggesting we redo the year, to which he agreed. I have had email from client this morning, saying that he has been put in touch with someone in HMRC who will do his accounts for him - for free! Can anyone shed any light on this for me, please. I have lots of obvious issues Revenue doing this, but I just wanted to check that this is actually happening.
j
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Might not be the same thing ..
I've come across clients who have made appointments at the local tax office, taken their bits and bobs along and a tax officer sat down with them and helped them complete the forms. The downside to this is that the tax officers don't question whether the client has claimed capital allowances etc. In one case the client ended up as the subject of an enquiry after a tax officer had helped him complete the forms because they believed he had overclaimed the number of miles he had travelled that year and if he was to be believed he was told he didn't need to keep his diary that had all the journeys he had made that year so he threw it away after 12 months - it cost him £1k.
I've also had a copy of letter from the tax office sent to client giving the details of his Customer Manager at the tax office not sure what all that was about. I never heard from the client again after that and my phonecalls weren't returned so I couldn't ask.
I've never come across this situation with an enquiry - I thought people were usually advised to employ an accountant.
Get the full explanation from client first
My reaction to that is that you may have misread client's email. What client means is that he has found somebody on the side who will do it cheaper (which he is calling free for one reason or another) and that person just happens to work for HMRC. That person will not therefore be putting their name to any accounts or returns, client is on his own there (I have come across this recently). I suspect that the officer working the case, or indeeed HMRC officially, know nothing of this "offer".
I may be wrong, but you need to probe further with your client and find out exactly what is going on
HMRC enquiry
I probably didn't write this well. I am not suggesting that HMRC are offering a client service, but feel uneasy that they are more-or-less saying, 'Oh its in a mess let us sort it out for you,' what I am trying to say as tactfully as poss, they are not really working in the client's interest. I just wondered if anyone else had come across this. My client is particularly naive and would probably think what nice guys they are to offer to help him out. I just hadn't come across this before.
Thanks for not suggesting I get myself committed.
Revenue Accountants
Does he mean it has been referred to one of the Revenue's in-house accountants?
Like Caron I very much doubt they will provide an ongoing service, just prove for the Inspector that there is a significant under declaration of profit in the enquiry year and thus a big settlement for your client to pay.
Or am I just being a cynic?
Hardly think so!!
Either your client trying to get his done from you for free (i take it you will be invoicing him again), or someone at HMRC on the fiddle!
Ask client to forward email to you and suggest you call the Enquiry Officer and ask what is going on. Dont believe the HMRC would get involved like this, especially poaching a client from you, never come across it
Let me know the outcome.....
Caron
www.cstax.co.uk
HMRC enquiry
Finally got to speak to client, I think all he was actually being offered was someone within HMRC who would help him with any errors on his previous tax return, which as far as he is concerned is the same as his accounts. I don't think they were aware of the issues that have arisen from the enquiry and agreement to re-do the year in question. Thanks for your comments.
Client misunderstanding
Years ago I overheard a local farmer saying to his friend that he had been 'ripped off' by his accountant.
"He tells me every year what a lot of work is involved in preparing my accounts and charges me a fat fee. Yesterday the VAT man visited me and he did 3 years accounts in a morning!"