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Exactly. Depends crucially
Exactly. Depends crucially on whether your problem was of your own making or theirs.
STOP SHOUTING!
and give us some facts, such as:
are you an accountant acting for a taxpayer or the taxpayer paying fees to an accountant?what is the nature of your "tax problem"?
What you haven't said ...
There is so much contained in what you don't say here that makes it so hard to advise. First, there is the true nature of the "problem" arising. Was it ignorance resulting in no declaration being made by you? Was it an assessment prepared by HMRC because they had no information or decided that you had furnished incomplete information? If it was an assessment the accountants you engaged should have been able to argue the value of that down by showing actuals, unless the assessment raised was as a result of information provided by you. Also, the fact that HMRC tell the accountants that it is your fault suggests that any defence that was prepared on your behalf was not accepted by HMRC. The response to your letter of complaint would be interesting, because they wouldn't write off £5,700 of uncollected tax simply because you grumbled. There is simply not enough information for us to give any advice on that aspect. In response to your initial question, normally fees incurred in dealing with tax matters of this nature are not usually allowable. Tax penalties and legal& professional fees in connection with it are also not usually permissible, and this would apply for personal or business tax. However, if you incur these fees defending an incorrect action by HMRC then possibly you could argue to reclaim the costs incurred. Normally the penalties would be reversed by HMRC in that event.THEY TOLD ME I OWED 7,000 POUNDS, I WAS REALLY STRESSED BY THIS SO GOT NO HELP WHAT SO EVER FROM THE TAX HELPLINE SO WAS GIVEN THE NAME OF ACCOUNTANTS WITH A ONE OF FEE TO PAY OF 1,200 POUNDS. THEY WROTE TO HMRC AND GOT A LETTER BACK STATING THIS IS MY FAULT SO THE ACCOUNTANTS SAID THEY COULD DO NO MORE AND TOLD ME TO PAY THE TAX DUE.
See the caps lock?
Please take it off and use caps just for the first letter of the sentence and for proper nouns. It will make your posts much easier to read and you will get a better response.
Doubt it
As if the HMRC wrote off the 4 years you owed then you did actually owe it, the HMRC just decided to not pursue it.
You may be able to claim the fee back directly from the accountant if they advised you incorrectly, but based on the above wouldn't seem to be the case and anyone offering advice will need a lot more information including a copy of the LOE you signed, details of exactly what happened with the HMRC, why they wrote the 4 years off etc.
ALSO MAYBE
YOU SHOULD THINK YOURSELF LUCKY THAT YOUR ACCOUNTANT HELPED YOU GET THE TAX OWED DOWN FROM 7,000 POUNDS TO 1,300 POUNDS.
YOUR ACCOUNTANTS BILL MIGHT BE MONEY WELL SPENT.
ANY OF THIS GETTING THROUGH?
POSSIBLY YOUR FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
WHY DO YOU THINK OTHER TAXPAYERS SHOULD PAY YOUR ACCOUNTANTS BILL?
The accountant didn't help, they wrote to the HMRC, who sent a reply and then said they couldn't help so pay the full amount.
But without know exactly what was owed, why the accountant said they couldn't help and lots of other stuff it's impossible to give any advice.
It sounds like
you received P800 calculations from HMRC. The firm you went to tried an A19 claim and had it batted back at first attempt and said words to the effect of "you're stuffed, pay the man" and that was it. So you wrote to HMRC again personally and on review they accepted your claim and wrote off the tax.That however is pure surmise on the scant details provided [although sort of confirmed by your follow up].
If so I doubt that HMRC will entertain a claim for the accountants fees as they have not caused the cost through their extended failure to deal with matters. You found an accountant who wanted a large up front fee, apparently did little for that and then washed their hands of the matter. Sounds to me like you need to review the letter of engagement you signed with them and talk to them about the fee.
[Edited for typos on the original entered using a tablet :( ]
Not a hope
You (the OP) have clearly indicated that the reduction in the tax bill was nothing to do with the accountant's (lack of) effort. You can only claim costs incurred in sorting things out - the cost in this case was not so incurred. Live with it, and get on with your lfe. (And as others have pointed out - please, please, stop SHOUTING.)
I doubt the accountants bill was for just writing one letter. It probably inclided some payment on account of work to be done if the matter proceeded further. Have you asked them for a rebate of some of the fees or alternatively explain how they calculated the total invoice. Was this firm a member of one of the professional bodies??
dont listen to people who say turn off capitals
its entirely your choice, for some of us who have poorish eyesight find it a boon, ignore those who choose to discriminate against those of us with a disability. NICK
Solution
its entirely your choice, for some of us who have poorish eyesight find it a boon, ignore those who choose to discriminate against those of us with a disability. NICK
Wouldn't a bigger font be the solution?
Anyway, if you have poor eyesight you should deal with it yourself by changing the display.
Capitals
its entirely your choice, for some of us who have poorish eyesight find it a boon, ignore those who choose to discriminate against those of us with a disability. NICK
Wouldn't a bigger font be the solution?
Anyway, if you have poor eyesight you should deal with it yourself by changing the display.
Agreed, Peter - use of capitals is widely regarded as poor form on the internet. And just imagine if Basil or Mikec1965 were to post with the capslock on :(
I'm not sure why this is generating so much discussion.
Basil's initial response was correct, though I would have expressed it a little more concisely - you can submit a claim to HMRC. However, based on the little information that we have, my guess is that it would almost certainly be rejected. Why don't you just do it and see what response you get.
That is your question answered. End of.
Expenses against profits
You ought to be able to count the accountants' fee against profits or income in some way, in your next tax return.
Then at least you could be a little happier.
????
You ought to be able to count the accountants' fee against profits or income in some way, in your next tax return.
On what basis?
I'm sorry, Basil, but ...
... the original question has indeed already been answered - several times. It's actually a very straightforward question, and requires nothing more than a brief response.
A further suggestion ...
Tipp21, w`ithout repeating anything that has already been said, I would like to add the following, which I would hope the accountants you engaged should have explained. Your problem is with PAYE having been incorrectly administered by your employer, resulting in your not paying tax for some years. From HMRC's viewpoint, you are the taxpayer and this tax is correctly recoverable from you if the employer is not willing to bear it or is no longer trading, hence their writing to you. It is possible to negotiate this as you discovered, and I think the accountants you engaged could possibly have done more on your behalf, but not being party to your conversations/correspondence I couldn't really comment. The difficulty with the PAYE helpline is they wouldn't normally deal with this type of enquiry and it is always better to try to talk to the tax officer handling your case. The other aspect I would have considered would be the earnings you received from both jobs, and how that affected your tax liability for each of the years in question. While it may have been true under PAYE that you should have paid BR tax at your second job, perhaps your total earnings didn't justify it and your bill could have been reduced on that basis alone. I don't know if any of this had been discussed or reviewed with you prior to the accountant breaking off the engagement, but depending on the details of your case, it may still be worth reviewing.
Proper rules init!
get a life :-)
I agree...whilst I understand this has become a hanging offence....It is hardly a law of physics is it?
Just some nonsense dreamed up by a computer geek?
I expect some people having difficulty reading because of eyesight or technical ability would prefer the use of capitals.
and at least while you were looking at the CAPITELS it diverted your attention from the poor spelling and Grandma!
Sorry, BK
But regardless of who invented the 'rule' it is in fact a 'law of physics' that capital text is harder to read. Ever wondered why UK road signs tend to be in lower case? (In fact, the font on our signs was specifically designed for the purpose.)
really ?
'Just some nonsense dreamed up by a computer geek?'
You mean dreamed up by those folk who created the internet so people like you could use it.
So why shouldn't they make the rules up ?
Capitals have been seen as shouting on the internet since way before the general public used it, so if you don't like it please feel free to disconnect yourself from the internet and play by your own rules ;-)
you can't do that
'Just some nonsense dreamed up by a computer geek?' You mean dreamed up by those folk who created the internet so people like you could use it. So why shouldn't they make the rules up ? Capitals have been seen as shouting on the internet since way before the general public used it, so if you don't like it please feel free to disconnect yourself from the internet and play by your own rules ;-)
Trouble is you don't have the freedom to do that:
We have a state controlled lack of privacy
Enforced digital by default
Mass misinformation
Misunderstood communications (email and texts being the source of many an unintended upset) (capital letters being a petty example)
Are there any benefits? it's just something you have to live with and very often work round.
and yet people who struggle with reading and writing always seem to use and prefer block capitals.
and the dyslexic have trouble with black on white.
So I don't think it's a case of one size fits all.
Certainly not an issue to get upset about unless you think the intention to shout at you was deliberate?
Depends on the use
I can reassure you that my hand-writing is so poor that capitals would indeed make it easier to understand. But when it comes to typed text, it is a proven fact that capitals are harder to read.
And I agree that there are more important things in life to worry about, such as which fork to use for the fish course.
Common sense
If somebody has a particular problem with the normal conventions then they can change their display properties to make it easier for them.
That is much more sensible than suggesting some unusual practices that helps one person in a thousand and hinders the other 999.
Absolutely not!
The only ways you can get your accountancy fees back is :-
1) You sue the accountant through the small claims court for bad service: or
2) If you already had insurance cover to cover accountancy fees against any sort of tax investigation.