Tax investigation going back some years

[Rift2]

Back in December i received notice of investigation regarding a trading as business i owned back in 2010 and also admit i did not pay the VAT or filed a self assessment. They also are looking at a business i was involved in back in 2002 and also trying to prove that i underpaid VAT for which I'm sure i did but dont have any records to prove likewise.

To be honest I'm happy i was caught as its been playing on my mind for many years and I'm finding HMRC pretty good to deal with but I'm wondering if there is a time limit on the 2002 case seeing as i dont have records and cant really fight my corner ?

HMRC received all documents as requested and wondering how long they will take before working out whats owed as i want to get it over with and I'm thinking its fairly obvious they will go for bankruptcy as no way of paying.

Any help appreciated and to add I have been paying tax for the past 6 years and have learnt the hard way not to mess with the taxman.

[Rift2]

[quote="Rift2"]

[wamstax]

There are time limits under which HMRC require to operate and these depend on the nature of your failures/irregularities and your behaviour.

If for example you completed tax or other HMRS tax returns and you made a mistake
(a) that was neither caused by your carelessness or deliberate behaviour - then HMRC would have 4 years in which to make an assessment to recover the unpaid duties
(b) if it was caused by you carelessness then they would have 6 years
(c) and if it was caused by your deliberate behaviour (in the context that you knew what the correct answer or action needed was but still went ahead with the incorrect treatment ) then they would have 20 years

If on the other hand you just never notified HMRC that you were trading or receiving taxable income and did not fill up any tax returns then
(a) if your failure was no more than careless - e.g it was because of a misunderstanding that was wrong - then HMRC would have 20 years in which to address your shortcomings.
(b) if you had a reasonable excuse for failing to tell them then they would have 4 years

I hope that this helps you to consider the extent of your debts that they could technically pursue.