Requirement to Correct – Are you sitting comfortably?

The deadline for individuals, Trusts and Estates to submit a full disclosure to HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) under the Requirement to Correct (RTC) legislation is almost upon us. With the 30 September 2018 now less than one week away, HMRC have published a timely information leaflet, simply titled “Do you have any offshore income or assets?”.

So how would you answer that?

If the answer to this question is a resounding “No”, just relax and don’t read any further.

On the other hand, if the answer is “Yes, maybe…”, here is another question for you: Are you comfortable that your offshore income and assets have been disclosed to HMRC?

If you are not sitting comfortably, you should seek professional advice immediately to determine whether you have a Requirement to Correct your tax position. As confirmed in our “Last Call”, the potential sanctions for failure to comply with the RTC are severe:

• Tax geared penalties of between 100% – 200% of tax unpaid.
• Asset based penalty of up to 10% of asset value if undisclosed tax exceeds £25,000.
• Enhanced penalties of up to 300% of tax unpaid if HMRC can prove assets were moved in an attempt to avoid the Requirement to Correct.
• Ability to publicly name those in the most serious cases.

If a disclosure is required, HMRC must be informed by 30 September 2018 of an intent to bring the tax position up to date, with a full disclosure then being made under the Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) within 90 days.

So, this is the LAST last call. If you have overseas income or assets which have not featured on your UK tax returns, you should take advice NOW to establish your position. Remittance Basis users should satisfy themselves of their domicile status and be comfortable that they have not obtained a domicile of choice in the UK.

We have helped a number of individuals to make a disclosure under WDF with significantly reduced penalties. For more information please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Find out more about our dedicated Private Client team.