If you have been notified by HMRC that it intends to investigate your tax affairs, you’ll likely be wondering ‘How long does HMRC investigation take?’ The answer depends on several factors, including the reasons for the investigation, the size of your business, and what HMRC discovers during the course of the investigation.
If your business is the subject of an HMRC investigation and you need advice and support, our dedicated HMRC team is on hand to assist. Our highly experienced solicitors and barristers specialise in HMRC-related matters, so we are the perfect choice for anyone facing an HMRC investigation.
For a confidential free discussion, call us today on 01908 414990, alternatively email us at Hello@altion-law.co.uk or complete our Free Enquiry Form and we will call you back.
What is an HMRC Investigation?
HMRC can investigate your tax affairs at any point to check that everything is in order and that you are paying the tax you should be. If HMRC selects you for an investigation, it will usually send you a letter or telephone you to alert you to the investigation and inform you what they intend looking at, which might include:
- The tax you are paying.
- Your tax calculations.
- Your self-assessment tax return.
- If you are an employer, your PAYE returns and records.
- If you are VAT-registered, your VAT returns and records.
HMRC may wish to meet with you at home, on your business premises, or at an advisor’s office during its investigation. Our HMRC solicitors can accompany you to any meeting to ensure you do everything expected of you, and check that HMRC’s officers do not exceed the remit of their powers.
What happens at the end of an HMRC Investigation?
When HMRC has finished its investigation, it will write to you with the results. If it discovers that you have paid too much tax, it will repay you. If it finds that you have not paid enough tax, it will ask you to pay what you owe within 30 days.
HMRC has the right to impose penalties on taxpayers found to have paid too little tax. When deciding whether to do so, it will consider factors such as why you underpaid, whether you informed HMRC that you had underpaid or waited for the officers to discover your underpayment, and how helpful you were during the investigation.
Support and guidance from HMRC solicitors and barristers like ours can be invaluable in helping you avoid penalties if you have paid too little tax. We understand HMRC’s expectations during an investigation, and we will ensure you meet those expectations and do everything else necessary to encourage leniency on HMRC’s part.
How long does HMRC Investigation take?
When you file a tax return, HMRC may open an investigation into it within 12 months of the filing date. When it decides to do so, it may open a ‘full’ enquiry or an ‘aspect enquiry’. You can challenge any decision by HMRC to open an investigation after the 12-month time limit has expired. If you need help with this, please get in touch.
As its name suggests, a full enquiry is an investigation into the tax return as a whole. HMRC usually opens full enquiries when it believes the return contains several errors or is fundamentally wrong.
On the other hand, an aspect enquiry relates to just one aspect or a specific few aspects of your tax return. For example, HMRC may be confused by a particular property transaction and wish to get to the bottom of it.
By their very nature, full enquiries tend to last longer than aspect ones. Unfortunately, though, there are no hard-and-fast rules governing how long either type of enquiry should last. As a very general rule, aspect enquiries might be expected to last between 3 and 6 months, whereas full enquiries can take up to 18 months or much longer if the issue is particularly complex.
How long your HMRC investigation will likely take depends on several factors, including the extent of the documentation HMRC wishes to scrutinise, how many areas of your business are affected, and what the officers uncover. You can sometimes speed up the process by meeting with HMRC in person to discuss the issues rather than liaising with the officers via email, post, or phone. Either HMRC’s officers or the taxpayer being investigated can request a meeting at any time.
Working with experienced solicitors like ours can significantly expedite an HMRC investigation. Our experience in and understanding of HMRC’s procedures enables us to anticipate how the investigation will likely unfold so we can stay ahead of the curve and address any issues before they become problematic. We are well-known for our pragmatic, commercial approach and will do all we can to protect your business throughout the matter.
For a confidential free discussion, call us today on 01908 414990, alternatively email us at Hello@altion-law.co.uk or complete our Free Enquiry Form and we will call you back.
