During the summer, we sent out letters to all our clients who don’t currently subscribe to the tax fee protection service which we offer against potential HMRC enquiries.

Each year, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) carries out thousands of tax enquiries and compliance checks on both individuals and businesses to ensure the correct amount of tax is paid. Between 2020-21 and 2022-23, the number of new enquiries increased by around 21%, and this trend is set to continue.

A key tool in HMRC’s armoury is its powerful database, ‘Connect’, which now holds over 55 billion items of data. This includes information from the Land Registry, banks, savings and investment providers—and even publicly available social media activity.

In 2022-23 alone, HMRC’s compliance activity secured an additional £34 billion in tax that would otherwise have been lost through avoidance, evasion, and non-compliance. Looking ahead, HMRC has also committed more than £36 million to further crack down on undeclared income, with particular focus on sideline businesses and online sales through platforms such as eBay, Etsy, Airbnb and Vinted.

For taxpayers, an HMRC enquiry can be stressful, time-consuming, and costly. It’s important to note that dealing with such enquiries is not included in your standard accountancy fees. By subscribing to our tax fee protection service, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that we can represent you throughout the process—at no additional cost, for as long as the enquiry lasts.

If you already have this protection in place for your limited company, you may also wish to consider extending cover to your personal tax affairs for complete peace of mind.

If you wish to know more about this service or wish to subscribe to it, please don’t hesitate to contact us either on 01227 277667 or at admin@mphaccountants.co.uk.