Does anyone ever use the white box on the Tax return to give extra information?
The situation is, I have a subbie who has given me his paperwork and CIS deduction statements for 2017/2018 however one is for the month ending 5th April 2017 which obviously should have been included on the 2016/2017 return which I submitted last year, he doesn't earn a lot so apart from a bit of NI to pay the rest of the tax deducted would be due back in a refund, so I am planning to amend the return to allow for this extra Income, would you include an explanation in the white box of the return or would you just amend and submit it.
Also I am not going to charge a lot as he will only be due about £250 but should my fee be allowed as an expense or would HMRC see it as a mistake by the client (which it was) and then disallow.
Any advice appreciated.
Cheers
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Doug
These are only my opinions of how I see things and therefore should not be taken as advice
Hi Doug
Question has to be - how on earth did he miss it and what has he done about it to ensure it doesnt happen again (and HMRC would be wondering if there were any other instances, where the deduction of CIS wouldve meant he never had to own up to the error!)
Not had to use it myself. Ive seen comments about using it for 'estimated' when its close to the deadline. Other things Ive seen for correcting errors although the advice was to cover off all the aspects to avoid /reduce potential penalities including the how, what, whys, conclusion and evidence, your assessment of the penalty to be applied (careless blur blur, had there been one). Understand that this reduces the chance of using discovery and then HMRC going back 20 years (although dont quote me on that as I cannot be sure/cannot locate my source knowledge just at the mo!)
I would assume that your charge is just wrapped up in the latest return isnt it?!!!
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Hi Doug Question has to be - how on earth did he miss it and what has he done about it to ensure it doesnt happen again (and HMRC would be wondering if there were any other instances, where the deduction of CIS wouldve meant he never had to own up to the error!)
Not had to use it myself. Ive seen comments about using it for 'estimated' when its close to the deadline. Other things Ive seen for correcting errors although the advice was to cover off all the aspects to avoid /reduce potential penalities including the how, what, whys, conclusion and evidence, your assessment of the penalty to be applied (careless blur blur, had there been one). Understand that this reduces the chance of using discovery and then HMRC going back 20 years (although dont quote me on that as I cannot be sure/cannot locate my source knowledge just at the mo!)
I would assume that your charge is just wrapped up in the latest return isnt it?!!!
Hi Joanne, thanks for the reply
I did ask why this was not included in the last year and the reply was 'I thought April was the start of the new tax year' he is only a young kid and I know that is know excuse, this (2017/18) is only his second year of trading, but the thing is a lot of subbies don't really understand that they are actually running there own business and all the consequences that comes with it they still think of it as being employed but just having there tax deducted and getting a refund at the end of the year.
I have already said that he is lucky that he is due a refund otherwise it could have been a very costly mistake, and that I will be charging for the amendment
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Doug
These are only my opinions of how I see things and therefore should not be taken as advice
I think the fact its only his second year might go in his favour.
The ones I find hard work are the ones who invoice someone after the year end for work they did before the year end and think that doesnt need to be included. (or that I only want purchase invoices once they are paid!)
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
The ones I find hard work are the ones who invoice someone after the year end for work they did before the year end and think that doesnt need to be included. (or that I only want purchase invoices once they are paid!)
I had a very interesting conversation the other day with a new client about prepayments and accruals which was greeted with a completely blank expression
Cheers
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Doug
These are only my opinions of how I see things and therefore should not be taken as advice
Just wait until you mention basis periods. Their heads explode :)
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
How about as a subbie being asked to back date an invoice from 30th April to 31st March by a very large Main contractor. (I refused as all our Year End and VAT quarter figures had already been submitted) for that period and the accountant agreed).
Doug - this is a real problem in the construction industry isn't it. I do feel sorry for all these little one man subbies who really should be employed but are finding it impossible to find work that way.
I would make a disclosure in the white box that it includes the extra income (and how much) and forget it. The error is in HMRC favour as there is a refund to come, so it means HMRC have held on to some of his money for an extra year. Unless it was a regular occurrence I can't see HMRC getting their knickers in a twist over it.
As a rule I always check that the subby has a full history of deduction statements and query any that are missing (sometimes happens if they move to a new contractor)
One this year I had to squeeze the information out of him bit by bit. 3 different contractors 2 big gaps. What have you been doing inbetween. "Nowt" Did you do any other work "No" Did you claim any benefits? "Oh yeah"
Arrrghhh!!!
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John
Any advice given is for general guidance and professional advice should be sought applicable to your circumstances.
Hi Shaun, Yes maybe I should have mentioned this to the bloke at the start of the thread, might have helped get the right information but somehow I doubt it but certainly something to make sure of in the future.
Hi John, as with above I will also have to double check that I have received all the relevant information I have just assumed that if that's all they give me then that is all they have
Hi Julie, as mentioned in a previous post (one of Johns I think) unless HMRC do something about cracking down on the contractors then this will always continue, they did say they were going to a number of years ago but nothing seems to have changed
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Doug
These are only my opinions of how I see things and therefore should not be taken as advice
