Approaching HMRC to resolve overseas income declaration

[Mcddung88]

Your kind and thoughtful response will be appreciated - newbie here.

I have some overseas income which I carelessly have not declared (yes, idiot me) to HMRC. I've engaged a firm but the engagement and experience with them has been terrible - I feel scared talking and getting emails from them. They said to use COP9 instead of the voluntary disclosure

Question - what is your experience of engaging directly with HMRC? Have they been helpful to guide you through the process / give you more leniency given you're not a tax expert?

Some fees paid have been lost, but I need to find alternative solutions of ridding this problem. Many thanks.

[wamstax]

COP9 is not appropriate for "CARELESS" behaviour and by accepting COP9 you are telling HMRC that you accept that your tax evasion was deliberately done. There could be anumber of factors relevant in dealing with any such disclosure including whether you have other sources of income that may have also been understated or failed to notify chargeability to HMRC.

The trouble is that once you have gone down the COP9 route it is difficult to retract such an avenue and you may have to stick with the accountant you have chosen unless they have only gone down that route to make a packet from you.

[wamstax]

A major factor in determining the route that would be best followed would be why and under what circumstances the understatement or failure to notify liabilities happened and the rough amounts of the profits and tax liabilities involved BUT the overall factor would be your "actual behaviour" in failing to make full and correct returns mainly at the point when you completed any tax returns or failed to report your chargeability on income - including the reasons you may not prebiously have considered that a report or return to HMRC was necessary. Of course equally your speed of action after you realised your errors - or lack of it or continuing evasion - with whether your disclosure would be voluntary in that HMRC had not discovered you (or discovery was unlikely to be imminent) would all be factors in determining whether you needed the protection of Code of Practice 9

[wamstax]

Presumably if they were suggesting the COP 9 route they also explained why they considered your tax evasion was deliberately ( knew you were doing wrong but still decided to do it) done; why there was a clear risk of prosecution by HMRC; that acceptance of the COP9 route was accepting that some of your tax evaded was deliberately done and the likely level of penalties and possible inclusion of your tax evasion details in the List Of Deliberate Defaulters for 12 months.