Hi all
I have a client who currentlys owes a substantial amount to HMRC (to the tune of £14k) in unpaid tax
I have been in touch with a Field Force Agent who informs me that the maximum amount of time she can setup a repayment plan for is 12 months.
I have been in touch with Field Force before and in some cases they have offered my clients a repayment terms of up to five years.
However this person remains adamant that HMRC have now given them strict instructions that 12 months is the maximum period allowed.
I am posting this to find out if anyone on here has any recent experience of this and if they have experiences similar criteria, or if we are just in touch with an agent trying to play hard-ball.
Many thanks
Replies (6)
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I'm not generally in favour of taxpayers avoiding their payment responsibilities but I suppose everyone deserves a second chance.
If the taxpayer is potless, what alternative is she suggesting ?
The taxpayer may be in a hole of his own making - or it may be someone else's making but he seems to be making some attempt to dig his way out. Is she simply removing the spade ?
You can always ask to speak to someone more senior, with authority to allow better deals.
The reality is if your client is paying a sum each month they will leave them alone. Suggest to your client to put (say) £1-2k down right now and put in £500 a month and whilst you wont have an official agreement, no court in the land is going to enforce seizures etc if its being paid off.
What they cant do is muck about and pay a £100 here and there and barely hit the interest.
I just don't get involved with my clients' tax payments. I also thought HMRC don't discuss Time to pay arrangements with agents.
I also thought HMRC don't discuss Time to pay arrangements with agents.
They don’t (for about 7 yrs I think), but that doesn’t mean that clients aren’t going to ask you to help/advise.
OP- I don’t know what terms the spate of new HMRC loan shark companies offer, but may be worth a look.
In answer to your question HMRC debt management are getting tough on collecting debt and yes they are turning the screw. I have a client (limited company) who was refused a payment plan that would have cleared the debt in six months and that included paying a large chunk up front. He made his up front payment and made another payment two weeks later as if he had a plan. He is going to continue paying the plan. HMRC kept threatening and are still threatening to wind his company up. It makes no sense if they wind him up they get nothing except what is left after the liquidators have been in. His problem is cash flow he has a large debtors account which would more than clear everything once the project it relates to gets the sign off. Will HMRC listen not a chance all they can say is he's insolvent.
I had two cases last year, one where the company had been hit with a large bad debt. The client proposed clearing the debt over 12 months but this wasn't good enough for HMRC, so HMRC put the company into liquidation - result HMRC received nothing and several people lost their jobs.
Second client, threatened with liquidation as HMRC were insisting everything be settled immediatly even though we knew s.458 refund would become due which would more than offset the tax due. At the begining of December HMRC said they were starting liquidation proceedings, luckily HMRC were as slow as ever and Christmas also delayed things so the s.458 claim was processed and offset before liquidation started.