Penalty factsheets: CC/FS7a, CC/FS11, CC/FS18a and how penalties are reduced

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a says it tells you about the penalties HMRC may charge if you have sent HMRC an inaccurate return or other document.

“This factsheet tells you about penalties we may charge if you’ve sent us an inaccurate return or other document.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a says HMRC may charge a penalty if a return or other document contains an inaccuracy that results in tax being unpaid, understated or over-claimed and that was careless, deliberate or deliberate and concealed.

“We may charge you a penalty if you send us a return or other document that contains an inaccuracy, and the inaccuracy: … results in tax being unpaid, understated or over-claimed … was careless, deliberate or deliberate and concealed (we refer to these as ‘behaviours’ which are explained later in this factsheet)”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a says HMRC will not charge a penalty for an inaccuracy if you took reasonable care to get things right but your return or document was still wrong.

“We won’t charge you a penalty for an inaccuracy if you took reasonable care to get things right, but your return or document was still wrong.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a explains that telling HMRC about an inaccuracy before you have reason to believe HMRC has found it, or is about to, is an unprompted disclosure, and that any other time is a prompted disclosure. It says the minimum penalty for an unprompted disclosure is lower.

“If you tell us about an inaccuracy before you have any reason to believe that we’ve discovered, or about to discover it, we call this an ‘unprompted disclosure’. If you tell us about an inaccuracy at any other time, we call it a ‘prompted disclosure’. … The minimum penalty for an unprompted disclosure is lower than the minimum penalty for a prompted one.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a gives the penalty range for a careless inaccuracy as 0% to 30% for an unprompted disclosure and 15% to 30% for a prompted disclosure, and says there is no penalty where reasonable care was taken.

“The penalty percentage falls into one of 6 ranges. … Reasonable care | No penalty | No penalty | … Careless | 0% to 30% | 15% to 30% |”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a gives the penalty ranges for deliberate inaccuracies as 20% to 70% (unprompted) and 35% to 70% (prompted), and for deliberate and concealed inaccuracies as 30% to 100% (unprompted) and 50% to 100% (prompted).

“Deliberate | 20% to 70% | 35% to 70% | … Deliberate and concealed | 30% to 100% | 50% to 100% |”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a says the reduction for the quality of disclosure depends on how much assistance you give, with up to 30% for telling, up to 40% for helping and up to 30% for giving access to records.

“The reduction we give depends on how much assistance you give us. … telling we give up to 30% … helping we give up to 40% … giving access to records we give up to 30%”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a says that if you take a long time to make a disclosure, for example 3 years or more, HMRC will usually restrict the maximum reduction to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.

“If you take a long time (for example, 3 years or more) to make a disclosure, we’ll usually restrict the maximum reduction for the quality of disclosure. We’ll restrict it to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a gives a worked example: for a careless inaccuracy with a prompted disclosure (range 15% to 30%) and a 70% reduction for quality of disclosure, a PLR of £3,000 gives a penalty of £585.

“The penalty range for a careless inaccuracy with a prompted disclosure is 15% to 30% of the PLR. … The reduction for quality of disclosure (telling, helping and giving) was 70%. … In the example above, the PLR is £3,000. This means the penalty is £585 (£3,000 × 19.5% = £585).”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a says HMRC can suspend a penalty for a careless inaccuracy for up to a maximum of 2 years if it can set conditions to help you avoid penalties in future and believes you can meet them. It says it cannot suspend penalties for any other type of behaviour.

“We can suspend a penalty for a careless inaccuracy if we: … can set conditions to help you avoid penalties in the future … believe you can meet these conditions … We can suspend a penalty for up to a maximum of 2 years. … We cannot suspend penalties for any other type of behaviour.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a lists rights that apply when HMRC is considering penalties, including a right not to answer HMRC's questions about whether to charge a penalty, and a right to appeal if you disagree about a penalty.

“if we ask you any questions to help us decide whether to charge you a penalty, you have the right not to answer them … if you disagree with us about any penalties we believe are due, you can appeal”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7a says you can ask someone else, such as a professional adviser, friend or relative, to deal with HMRC on your behalf.

“You can also ask someone else to deal with us on your behalf. For example, a professional adviser, friend or relative.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b says it tells you about penalties HMRC may charge if there has been an under-assessment and you have not told HMRC about it within 30 days.

“This factsheet tells you about penalties we may charge if there has been an under-assessment and you have not told us about it within 30 days.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b explains that if you do not send a completed tax return, HMRC may send an assessment showing the tax it believes is due, and that an assessment lower than the amount that should have been on your return is an under-assessment.

“If you do not send us a completed tax return, we may send you an assessment showing the tax we believe is due. If the amount of tax we’ve assessed is less than the amount that should have been shown on your return, our assessment is an ‘under-assessment’ because it is too low.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b says HMRC may charge a penalty for an under-assessment if it sent an assessment that was too low and you did not tell HMRC so within 30 days of the date of the assessment.

“We may charge you a penalty for an under-assessment if: … we sent you an assessment that was too low … you did not tell us that it was too low within 30 days of the date of the assessment”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b says HMRC will not charge a penalty if you took reasonable steps to tell it the assessment was too low within 30 days of the date of the assessment, and that what counts as reasonable steps depends on each person's circumstances.

“We will not charge you a penalty for an under-assessment if you took reasonable steps to inform us that the assessment was too low within 30 days of the date of the assessment. … What ‘reasonable steps’ are depends on each person’s individual circumstances.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b says that for an under-assessment the maximum penalty percentage is 30%, and the minimum is 0% for an unprompted disclosure and 15% for a prompted disclosure.

“For an under-assessment, the maximum penalty percentage is 30%. … For an unprompted disclosure, the minimum penalty percentage is 0%. For a prompted disclosure, the minimum penalty percentage is 15%.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b says the reduction for the quality of disclosure depends on how much assistance you give, with up to 30% for telling, up to 40% for helping and up to 30% for giving access to records.

“The reduction we give depends on how much assistance you give us. … telling we give up to 30% … helping we give up to 40% … giving access to records we give up to 30%”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b says that if it has taken you a long time to disclose, such as 3 years or more, HMRC will usually restrict the maximum reduction to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.

“If it’s taken you a long time (such as 3 years or more) to make a disclosure, we’ll usually restrict the maximum reduction we give for the quality of disclosure to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b says that telling, helping and giving could be covered just by giving HMRC your return showing the correct figures.

“Telling, helping and giving could be covered just by giving us your return showing the correct figures.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b says that where HMRC makes a decision you can appeal against, you will usually have 3 options within 30 days: send new information, have the case reviewed by an HMRC officer not involved in it, or have an independent tribunal hear the appeal.

“You’ll usually have 3 options. Within 30 days you can: … send new information to the officer dealing with the check and ask them to take it into account … have your case reviewed by an HMRC officer who has not been involved in the matter … arrange for an independent tribunal to hear your appeal and decide the matter”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS7b says you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve a dispute, which it calls Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and that ADR is only available for disputes about particular tax areas.

“you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve the dispute. We call this ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution’ (ADR). … ADR is only available for disputes that relate to particular tax areas.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says it tells you what happens when HMRC considers suspending penalties for careless inaccuracies in returns or documents.

“This factsheet tells you what happens when we consider suspending penalties for careless inaccuracies in returns or documents.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says HMRC can only suspend penalties for careless inaccuracies if it is able to set at least one suspension condition, and that it cannot suspend penalties for deliberate or deliberate and concealed inaccuracies.

“We can only suspend penalties for careless inaccuracies in returns or documents if we’re able to set at least one suspension condition. … We cannot suspend penalties for deliberate or deliberate and concealed inaccuracies.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says each suspension condition must be 'SMART', and describes it as one that must be directly related to the cause of the inaccuracy, that you can show you have met, and that must be met by the end of the suspension period.

“Each condition must be ‘SMART’. … it must be directly related to the cause of the inaccuracy. … you’ll need to be able to show us whether you’ve met the condition. … you must meet the condition by the end of the suspension period.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says the conditions are in addition to the condition that you must file all your returns on time during the suspension period.

“These conditions are in addition to the condition that you must file all your returns on time during the suspension period.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says HMRC will not suspend a penalty for a careless inaccuracy if it cannot set any SMART conditions or believes it is unlikely you will comply with any of the conditions, and says you can appeal a decision not to suspend.

“We will not suspend penalties for careless inaccuracies if: … we’re not able to set any SMART conditions … we believe it’s unlikely you’ll comply with any of the suspension conditions … If we decide not to suspend a penalty, you can appeal against our decision.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says the maximum suspension period allowed by law is 2 years, but that it would normally be less, depending on how long it will take you to meet the conditions.

“The maximum suspension period allowed by law is 2 years. However, it would normally be less than this.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says that during the suspension period you must meet the agreed conditions and not send any other inaccurate returns, and that if you incur another inaccuracy penalty in that period you will have to pay the penalty previously suspended.

“During the suspension period, you must meet the conditions that you’ve agreed to. You must also make sure that you do not send any other inaccurate returns during the period. … If you incur another inaccuracy penalty during the suspension period, you’ll have to pay the penalty we previously suspended.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says that at the end of the suspension period HMRC will ask whether you have met the conditions, and will cancel the penalty if it agrees you have and require payment if it decides you have not.

“At the end of the suspension period, we’ll ask you if you’ve met the conditions. … If we agree that you’ve met the conditions, we’ll cancel the penalty. If we decide that you haven’t met the conditions, you’ll have to pay the penalty.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says you cannot appeal against HMRC's decision that you have not met the suspension conditions, but can apply for judicial review, which it describes as potentially expensive.

“You cannot appeal against this decision. However, you can apply for judicial review of our decision. But this can be expensive, so you should get legal advice first.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS10 says you can ask someone else, such as a professional adviser, friend or relative, to deal with HMRC on your behalf.

“You can also ask someone else to deal with us on your behalf. For example, a professional adviser, friend or relative.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 says it tells you about the penalties HMRC may charge where there has been a failure to notify.

“This factsheet tells you about the penalties we may charge where there has been a failure to notify.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 explains that a failure to notify is where you do not tell HMRC, within the time limits, about certain circumstances that affect your liability to tax.

“There are certain circumstances that affect your liability to tax that you must tell us about. You must do so within certain time limits. If you don’t do this, we call this a ‘failure to notify’.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 gives examples of time limits for telling HMRC: within 30 days when your business exceeds the VAT registration threshold, and within 6 months of the end of the relevant tax year when your profits from self-employment first make you chargeable to tax.

“your business exceeds the VAT registration threshold … you must tell us within 30 days of this happening … your profits from self-employment first make you chargeable to tax … you must tell us within 6 months of the end of the relevant tax year”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 says HMRC will not charge a penalty for a failure to notify if all of three things apply: you have a reasonable excuse, the failure was not deliberate, and you told HMRC without unreasonable delay after your reasonable excuse ended.

“We won’t charge you a penalty for a failure to notify if all of the following apply: … you have a reasonable excuse for the failure … the failure wasn’t deliberate … you told us without unreasonable delay after your reasonable excuse ended”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 explains that telling HMRC about a failure before you had reason to believe HMRC was about to find it is an unprompted disclosure, and any other time is a prompted disclosure. It says the minimum penalty for an unprompted disclosure is lower.

“If you tell us about a failure to notify before you had any reason to believe that we were about to find it, we call this an ‘unprompted disclosure’. If you tell us about a failure at any other time, we call it a ‘prompted disclosure’. … The minimum penalty for an unprompted disclosure is lower than the minimum penalty for a prompted one.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 gives the penalty range for a non-deliberate failure to notify as 0% to 30% for an unprompted disclosure within 12 months of tax being due, and 10% to 30% for an unprompted disclosure 12 months or more after tax was due. The factsheet adds that non-deliberate does not apply to failures to notify waste disposals at unauthorised waste sites.

“Non-deliberate doesn’t apply to failures to notify waste disposals at unauthorised waste sites … Unprompted … within 12 months of tax being due | 0% to 30% … Unprompted … 12 months or more after tax was due | 10% to 30%”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 gives the penalty range for a non-deliberate failure to notify as 10% to 30% for a prompted disclosure within 12 months of tax being due, and 20% to 30% for a prompted disclosure 12 months or more after tax was due. The factsheet adds that non-deliberate does not apply to failures to notify waste disposals at unauthorised waste sites.

“Non-deliberate doesn’t apply to failures to notify waste disposals at unauthorised waste sites … Prompted … within 12 months of tax being due | 10% to 30% … Prompted … 12 months or more after tax was due | 20% to 30%”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 gives the penalty ranges for a deliberate failure to notify as 20% to 70% (unprompted) and 35% to 70% (prompted), and for a deliberate and concealed failure as 30% to 100% (unprompted) and 50% to 100% (prompted).

“Deliberate | Unprompted | 20% to 70% | … Deliberate | Prompted | 35% to 70% | … Deliberate and concealed | Unprompted | 30% to 100% | … Deliberate and concealed | Prompted | 50% to 100% |”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 says the reduction for quality of disclosure includes up to 30% for telling, up to 40% for helping and up to 30% for giving access to records. It says that if disclosure takes a long time, such as 3 years or more, HMRC will usually restrict the maximum reduction to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.

“telling we give up to 30% … helping we give up to 40% … giving access to records we give up to 30% … If it’s taken you a long time (such as 3 years or more) to make a disclosure, we’ll usually restrict the maximum reduction we give for the quality of disclosure to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 gives a worked example: for a non-deliberate failure with a prompted disclosure more than 12 months after the tax was due (range 20% to 30%) and a 70% reduction for quality of disclosure, a PLR of £3,000 with no other reductions gives a penalty of £690.

“The penalty range for a non-deliberate failure to notify with a prompted disclosure more than 12 months after the tax was due is 20% to 30% of the ‘potential lost revenue’ (PLR). … The reduction for quality of disclosure (telling, helping and giving) was 70%. … if the PLR in the example above was £3,000, and there were no other reductions, the penalty would be £690 (£3,000 × 23% = £690).”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 says that where HMRC makes a decision you can appeal against, you will usually have 3 options within 30 days: send new information, have the case reviewed by an HMRC officer not involved in it, or have an independent tribunal hear the appeal.

“You’ll usually have 3 options. Within 30 days, you can: … send new information to the officer dealing with the check and ask them to take it into account … have your case reviewed by an HMRC officer who hasn’t been involved in the matter … arrange for an independent tribunal to hear your appeal and decide the matter”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS11 says you can ask someone else, such as a professional adviser, friend or relative, to deal with HMRC on your behalf.

“You can also ask someone else to deal with us on your behalf. For example, a professional adviser, friend or relative.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says it tells you about old penalty rules and when they apply, and that it explains the old Self Assessment penalty rules for earlier periods.

“This factsheet tells you about old penalty rules and when they apply. … This factsheet explains the old Self Assessment penalty rules that apply to earlier periods.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says HMRC gives it to you because it is checking a Self Assessment return for a period before the new penalty rules started, so it may charge a penalty under the old rules.

“We’ve given you this factsheet because we are checking a Self Assessment return for a period before our new penalty rules started. This means that we may charge you a penalty under our old penalty rules.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says the new penalty rules are for errors in returns covering a period starting on or after 1 April 2008 if the return was due on or after 1 April 2009, and for failures to notify liability to tax that happened after 1 April 2010.

“The new penalty rules are for: … errors in tax returns that cover a period commencing on or after 1 April 2008 if the tax return was due … to be sent to us on or after 1 April 2009 … failures to notify liability to tax that happened after 1 April 2010”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says HMRC can charge a penalty if an error or failure happened because of your neglect or fraud, and that penalties under the old rules cannot be suspended.

“We can charge you a penalty if the error or failure happened because of your neglect or fraud. … Although penalties under the new rules may be suspended, penalties under the old rules cannot.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says HMRC works out the penalty by starting with the maximum penalty, which is 100% of the tax.

“We will work out the penalty by starting with the maximum penalty. This is 100% of the tax.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says the amount the penalty can be reduced by depends on disclosure, co-operation and seriousness.

“The amount we can reduce the penalty by will depend on: … disclosure … co-operation … seriousness”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says HMRC can normally reduce the penalty by up to 20% for disclosure, or up to 30% for a full disclosure made before you had any reason to believe HMRC would find out.

“We can normally reduce the penalty by up to 20% for disclosure. But if you make a full disclosure to us before you had any reason to believe we would find out about it, we can reduce the penalty by up to 30%.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says that if it has taken you a long time to tell HMRC about anything wrong, such as 3 years or more, HMRC will restrict the reduction for disclosure by 10 percentage points.

“If it’s taken you a long time, (such as 3 years or more), to tell us, we’ll restrict the reduction for disclosure by 10 percentage points.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says the penalty can be reduced by up to 40% for good co-operation and by up to 40% depending on the overall seriousness of the errors or failures.

“We can reduce the penalty by up to 40% for good co-operation. … We can reduce the penalty by up to 40% depending on the overall seriousness of the errors or failures.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says HMRC will finish a check by sending one or more closure notices, tax assessments and penalty determinations, or by agreeing a contract settlement with you, and describes a contract settlement as a legally binding agreement.

“We will finish our check by: … sending you one or more closure notices, tax assessments and penalty determinations … agreeing a contract settlement with you … A contract settlement is a legally binding agreement”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says that where HMRC makes a decision you can appeal against, you will usually have 3 options within 30 days: send new information, have the case reviewed by an HMRC officer not involved in it, or have an independent tribunal hear the appeal.

“You’ll usually have 3 options. Within 30 days, you can: … send new information to the officer dealing with the check and ask them to take it into account … have your case reviewed by an HMRC officer who has not been involved in the matter … arrange for an independent tribunal to hear your appeal and decide the matter”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS15 says you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve a dispute, which it calls Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

“you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve the dispute. We call this Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a says it applies to annual and occasional returns for Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and certain other taxes, and tells you about the increased penalty percentage HMRC may charge when a return is more than 12 months late.

“This factsheet applies to annual and occasional returns for Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, The Registered Pension Scheme, Bank Payroll Tax, Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax. … It tells you about the increased penalty percentage we may charge when your return is more than 12 months late.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a says that when HMRC has already charged the second further penalty, it will increase the percentage rate if, by failing to file within 12 months, you withheld information that you knew would help HMRC establish your correct liability to tax.

“When we’ve already charged the second further penalty, we’ll increase the percentage rate if, by failing to file your return or document within 12 months, you: … withheld information … knew that the information would help us to establish your correct liability to tax”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a lists penalties HMRC may already have charged for late filing: an initial penalty of £100, daily penalties of £10 for 90 days, and a further penalty of £300 or 5% of its estimate of your liability to tax, whichever is higher, at 6 months late.

“an initial penalty of £100 on the day after the date your tax return or document was due … daily penalties of £10 per day for 90 days after your return or document was 3 months late … a ‘further penalty’ of £300 or 5% of our estimate of your liability to tax (whichever was the higher) after your tax return or document was 6 months late”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a says a second further penalty of £300 or 5% of HMRC's estimate of your liability to tax, whichever is higher, applies once the return is 12 months late, and that HMRC can estimate your liability if the return has not been filed.

“a second ‘further penalty’ of £300 or 5% of our estimate of your liability to tax, (whichever was the higher) after your tax return or document was 12 months late … When your return or document has not been filed, we can estimate your liability to tax.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a says HMRC will not charge penalties for late filing if you had a reasonable excuse and filed without delay once it ended, and will cancel any it has already charged if it accepts the excuse.

“We will not charge you any penalties for failing to file your return or document on time if you had a reasonable excuse, as long as you then filed your return or document without delay once the reasonable excuse had ended. … If we accept that you have a reasonable excuse, we will not charge you penalties for failure to file on time. If we’ve already charged any, we’ll cancel them.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a explains that telling HMRC about withheld information before you had reason to believe HMRC was about to find out is an unprompted disclosure, and any other time is a prompted disclosure, with a smaller penalty percentage rate for unprompted disclosures.

“If you tell us about information that you’ve withheld before you had any reason to believe that we were about to find out about it, we call this an ‘unprompted disclosure’. If you tell us about information that you’ve withheld at any other time, we call it a ‘prompted disclosure’. The penalty percentage rate for unprompted disclosures will be smaller than for prompted disclosures.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a gives the increased penalty ranges as 20% to 70% (unprompted) and 35% to 70% (prompted) for deliberate behaviour, and 30% to 100% (unprompted) and 50% to 100% (prompted) for deliberate and concealed behaviour, with no penalty increase for non-deliberate behaviour.

“Non-deliberate | No penalty increase | No penalty increase | … Deliberate | 20% to 70% | 35% to 70% | … Deliberate and concealed | 30% to 100% | 50% to 100% |”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a says that for deliberate and deliberate and concealed failures, if it has taken you a long time to tell HMRC about withheld information, such as 3 years or more, HMRC will usually restrict the maximum reduction to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.

“When we work out the quality of disclosure for deliberate and deliberate and concealed failures … If it’s taken you a long time, (such as 3 years or more), we’ll usually restrict the maximum reduction we give for the quality of disclosure to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a gives a worked example: for deliberate behaviour with a prompted disclosure (range 35% to 70%) and a 100% reduction for quality of disclosure, a liability to tax of £10,000 and a rate of 35% gives a second further penalty of £3,500.

“The penalty range for deliberate behaviour with a prompted disclosure is 35% to 70% of the liability to tax. … The reduction for quality of disclosure (telling, helping and giving) was 100%. … The liability to tax is £10,000 and the increased penalty percentage rate is 35%. This means that the amount of the second further penalty is £3,500.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a says that where HMRC makes a decision you can appeal against, you will usually have 3 options within 30 days: send new information, have the case reviewed by an HMRC officer not involved in it, or have an independent tribunal hear the appeal.

“You will usually have 3 options. Within 30 days, you can: … send new information to the officer you’ve been dealing with and ask them to take it into account … have your case reviewed by an HMRC officer who has not been involved in the matter … arrange for an independent tribunal to hear your appeal and decide the matter”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18a says you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve a dispute, which it calls Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and that ADR is only available for disputes about specific tax areas.

“you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve the dispute. We call this Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). … ADR is only available for disputes that relate to specific tax areas.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says it contains information about the penalty or penalties HMRC will charge if you do not file your monthly CIS returns on time.

“This factsheet contains information about the penalty or penalties we’ll charge if you do not file your monthly CIS returns on time.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says its penalty rules apply to CIS returns with a filing date of 19 November 2011 or later.

“The penalty rules in this factsheet apply to CIS returns with a filing date of 19 November 2011 or later.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says HMRC will charge an initial fixed penalty of £100 if a CIS return is one day late, a second fixed penalty of £200 at 2 months, and a further penalty of £300 or 5% of any liability to make payments at 6 months, if it still has not received the return.

“If any of your CIS returns are one day late, we’ll charge an initial fixed penalty of £100. … 2 months after the date it was due, we’ll charge a second fixed penalty of £200 … 6 months after the date it was due, we’ll charge a further penalty of £300 or 5% of any liability to make payments that should have been shown in the return”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says that at 12 months HMRC will charge a second further penalty whose amount depends on why the return was late, which can be a 'higher' penalty of up to 100% of any liability to make payments or a minimum of £1,500 or £3,000, if it finds you deliberately withheld information.

“12 months after the date it was due, we’ll charge a second further penalty … the amount of this penalty will depend on why your return was late … up to 100% of any liability to make payments … a minimum penalty of £1,500 or £3,000 … We’ll charge a ‘higher’ penalty if we find out that you deliberately withheld information from us.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says HMRC will not charge penalties for filing a return late if you had a reasonable excuse, as long as you filed the return without unreasonable delay after the excuse had ended.

“We will not charge you any penalties for filing a return late if you had a reasonable excuse for doing so … as long as you filed the return without any unreasonable delay after the excuse had ended.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says it cannot normally accept lack of funds to pay, unless caused by circumstances outside your control, or reliance on another person to file your return, unless you took reasonable care to avoid the failure to file, as a reasonable excuse.

“We cannot normally accept the following as a reasonable excuse: … lack of funds to pay … unless it’s because of circumstances outside your control … reliance on another person to file your return on your behalf, unless you took reasonable care to avoid the failure to file”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says that when a contractor first files a CIS return and has not previously filed any for earlier periods, HMRC will cap the total of the £100 and £200 fixed penalties for that first and earlier returns at a maximum of £3,000.

“When a contractor first files a CIS return, and has not previously filed any CIS returns for earlier periods we’ll cap the total amount of £100 and £200 fixed penalties that we charge for that first and earlier returns to a maximum of £3,000.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b gives the higher second further penalty ranges, where there is a liability to make payments, as 20% to 70% (unprompted) or 35% to 70% (prompted) for deliberate behaviour, each with a minimum of £1,500, and 30% to 100% (unprompted) or 50% to 100% (prompted) for deliberate and concealed behaviour, each with a minimum of £3,000.

“Deliberate | 20% to 70% of the liability to make payments or a minimum of £1,500 | 35% to 70% of the liability to make payments or a minimum of £1,500 | … Deliberate and concealed | 30% to 100% of the liability to make payments or a minimum of £3,000 | 50% to 100% of the liability to make payments or a minimum of £3,000 |”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b gives the amount of the increased penalty where there is no liability to make payments: a minimum of £300 for non-deliberate behaviour (unless the penalty is capped), £1,500 for deliberate behaviour and £3,000 for deliberate and concealed behaviour.

“Non-deliberate | No penalty increase so we charge a minimum of £300 (unless the penalty is capped) | … Deliberate | £1,500 | … Deliberate and concealed | £3,000 |”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says that for deliberate and deliberate and concealed failures, if it has taken you a long time to tell HMRC about withheld information, such as 3 years or more, HMRC will usually restrict the maximum reduction to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.

“When we work out the quality of disclosure for deliberate and deliberate and concealed failures … If it’s taken you a long time, (such as 3 years or more), we’ll usually restrict the maximum reduction we give for the quality of disclosure to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says that where HMRC makes a decision you can appeal against, you will usually have 3 options within 30 days: send new information, have the case reviewed by an HMRC officer not involved in it, or have an independent tribunal hear the appeal.

“You’ll usually have 3 options. Within 30 days, you can: … send new information to the officer you’ve been dealing with and ask them to take it into account … have your case reviewed by an HMRC officer who has not been involved in the matter … arrange for an independent tribunal to hear your appeal and decide the matter”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS18b says you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve a dispute, which it calls Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and that ADR is only available for disputes about specific tax areas.

“you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve the dispute. We call this Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). … ADR is only available for disputes that relate to specific tax areas.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says it tells you about the 'old' penalty rules and when they apply.

“This factsheet tells you about the ‘old’ penalty rules and when they apply.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says HMRC gives it to you because it is checking whether you have filed a late or incorrect employer or contractor return for a period before the new penalty rules started.

“We’ve given you this factsheet because we’re checking whether you’ve filed a late or incorrect employer or contractor return for a period before our new penalty rules started.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 lists where the old penalty rules apply, including incorrect forms P35 and P14 for the tax year 2007 to 2008 and earlier, late contractor returns due on or before 19 October 2011, and late forms P35 and P14 for tax year 2013 to 2014 and earlier.

“The old penalty rules apply to: … incorrect forms P35 and P14 for the tax year 2007 to 2008 and earlier … late contractor returns due to be filed on or before 19 October 2011 … late forms P35 and P14 due to be filed for tax year 2013 to 2014 and earlier”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says the old rules also apply for all years to incorrect forms P11D, late forms P11D and late P11D(b) Class 1A National Insurance contributions returns.

“The old rules also apply for all years to: … incorrect forms P11D … late forms P11D … late P11D(b) Class 1A National Insurance contributions returns”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says some penalties have a maximum set by law, giving the example that an incorrect P11D return due to neglect or fraud has a maximum penalty of £3,000 for each incorrect return.

“Some penalties have a maximum amount set by the law. For example, if your P11D (expenses and benefits) return is incorrect due to your neglect or fraud, the maximum penalty is £3,000 for each incorrect return.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says some penalties are tariff based and normally increase the more times you get something wrong, giving the example of a contractor monthly return (CIS300) more than 12 months late, with a maximum penalty of £3,000.

“Some penalties are tariff based. The penalty normally increases the more times you get something wrong. For example, if you send in a contractor monthly return (CIS300) more than 12 months late, we can charge you a maximum penalty of £3,000.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says tax-related penalties are charged as a percentage of the difference between the amount that ought to have been paid or declared and the amount actually paid or declared, and that the percentage can be up to 100% of the difference.

“We charge tax-related penalties as a percentage of the difference between the amount you should have paid or declared to us and the amount you actually paid or declared to us. The percentage we can charge can be up to 100% of the difference.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says that for a full disclosure at the start of a compliance check HMRC can normally reduce a tax-related penalty by up to 20%, or by up to 30% for a full disclosure before the check starts when you had no reason to believe HMRC would find out.

“If you make a full disclosure at the start of our compliance check, we can normally reduce the penalty by up to 20%. But if you make a full disclosure before we start our check when you had no reason to believe we would find out about it, we can reduce the penalty by up to 30%.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says a tax-related penalty can be reduced by up to 40% for co-operation and by up to 40% depending on the overall seriousness of the errors or failure.

“We can reduce the penalty by up to 40% for co-operation. … We can reduce the penalty by up to 40% depending on the overall seriousness of the errors or failure.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 gives a worked example: a £4,000 difference with total reductions of 60% gives a penalty of 40%, so £1,600.

“Maximum penalty 100% less reduction 60% means the penalty to be charged is 40%. In this example, the penalty payable would be £1,600 (£4,000 × 40% = £1,600).”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says that where HMRC makes a decision you can appeal against, you will usually have 3 options within 30 days: send new information, have the case reviewed by an HMRC officer not involved in it, or have an independent tribunal hear the appeal.

“You’ll usually have 3 options. Within 30 days, you can: … send new information to the officer dealing with the check and ask them to take it into account … have your case reviewed by an HMRC officer who has not been involved in the matter … arrange for an independent tribunal to hear your appeal and decide the matter”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS19 says you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve a dispute, which it calls Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and that ADR is only available for disputes about specific tax areas.

“you may also be able to ask for an HMRC specialist officer to act as a neutral facilitator to help resolve the dispute. We call this Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). … ADR is only available for disputes that relate to specific tax areas.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 says it contains information about penalties HMRC may charge if you have sent HMRC an inaccurate return or other document.

“This factsheet contains information about penalties we may charge if you’ve sent us an inaccurate return or other document.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 says HMRC may charge a penalty if a return contains an inaccuracy that results in the disallowed amount being understated or the reactivation cap being overstated for the period of account, and that was careless, deliberate or deliberate and concealed.

“We may charge you a penalty if you send us a return that contains an inaccuracy, and the inaccuracy: … results in the disallowed amount being understated or the reactivation cap being overstated for the period of account … was careless, deliberate or deliberate and concealed (we refer to these as ‘behaviours’ which are explained later in this factsheet)”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 says HMRC will not charge a penalty for an inaccuracy if you took reasonable care to get things right but your return was still wrong.

“We’ll not charge you a penalty for an inaccuracy if you took reasonable care to get things right but your return was still wrong.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 explains that telling HMRC about an inaccuracy before you have reason to believe HMRC is about to find it is an unprompted disclosure, and any other time is a prompted disclosure. It says the minimum penalty for an unprompted disclosure is lower.

“If you tell us about an inaccuracy before you’ve any reason to believe that we’re about to find it, we call this an ‘unprompted disclosure’. If you tell us about an inaccuracy at any other time, we call it a ‘prompted disclosure’. … The minimum penalty for an unprompted disclosure is lower than the minimum penalty for a prompted one.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 says the penalty is a percentage of what it calls the notional tax, which is the amount that arises as a result of correcting an inaccuracy in a return.

“The penalty is a percentage of what we call the ‘notional tax’. Notional tax is the amount that arises as a result of correcting an inaccuracy in a return.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 lists its penalty ranges as no penalty for reasonable care, 0% to 30% (unprompted) and 15% to 30% (prompted) for careless, 20% to 70% and 35% to 70% for deliberate, and 30% to 100% in both columns for deliberate and concealed.

“Reasonable care | No penalty | No penalty | … Careless | 0% to 30% | 15% to 30% | … Deliberate | 20% to 70% | 35% to 70% | … Deliberate and concealed | 30% to 100% | 30% to 100% |”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 says the reduction for the quality of disclosure depends on how much assistance you give, with up to 30% for telling, up to 40% for helping and up to 30% for giving access to records.

“The reduction we give depends on how much assistance you give us. … telling we give up to 30% … helping we give up to 40% … giving access to records we give up to 30%”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 says that if disclosure takes a long time, such as 3 years or more, HMRC will usually restrict the maximum reduction for the quality of disclosure to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.

“If it’s taken you a long time, (such as 3 years or more), to make a disclosure, we’ll usually restrict the maximum reduction we give for the quality of disclosure to 10 percentage points above the minimum of the penalty range.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 says a company that is not the reporting company may also be liable to a penalty equal to the amount of the notional tax if the inaccuracy was due to it deliberately supplying false information to, or withholding information from, the reporting company.

“In certain circumstances, a company that is not the reporting company may also be liable to a penalty. … was due to another company deliberately supplying false information to the reporting company or withholding information from the reporting company … the other company will be liable to a penalty equal to the amount of the notional tax.”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 says that where HMRC makes a decision you can appeal against, you will usually have 3 options within 30 days: send new information, have the case reviewed by an HMRC officer not involved in it, or have an independent tribunal hear the appeal.

“You’ll usually have 3 options. Within 30 days, you can: … send new information to the officer dealing with the check and ask them to take it into account … have your case reviewed by an HMRC officer who has not been involved in the matter … arrange for an independent tribunal to hear your appeal and decide the matter”

HMRC's factsheet CC/FS55 says you can ask someone else, such as a professional adviser, friend or relative, to deal with HMRC on your behalf.

“You can also ask someone else to deal with us on your behalf, for example, a professional adviser, friend or relative.”