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Where Taxpayers and Advisers Meet

Private bank statements

Kazza75
Posts:3
Joined:Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:14 pm
Private bank statements

Postby Kazza75 » Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:30 pm

Hi. Was just wondering if anybody knows, if I have to produce my private bank statements to hmrc for my husbands tax investigation.
All info would very much appreciated.

bd6759
Posts:4262
Joined:Sat Feb 01, 2014 3:26 pm

Re: Private bank statements

Postby bd6759 » Sat Aug 27, 2016 8:05 pm

They can and will ask for anything, but you dont have to provide anything anything unless you are given a statutory notice to do so.

HMRC can send you a statutory notice if you husband agrees. If he does not agree they have to apply to the Tribunal for permission to do so.

John Cassidy
Posts:8
Joined:Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:18 pm

Re: Private bank statements

Postby John Cassidy » Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:55 am

The last reply is not quite correct. HMRC do not need your husband's (or the tribunal's) agreement to issue a statutory notice, they can simply issue the notice, or they can ask informally for the documents at first and then decide whether to issue the formal notice if the documents are not volunteered. This is a complicated area with no one size fits all answer. For example, why are they asking for the bank statements? It could be a fishing expedition, it could be because they are somehow linked to a business, it could be because they think untaxed income may have been credited to the account. In broad terms, the test is whether the documents are reasonably required for the purpose of checking the tax position, which is clearly subjective and may be relevant for one or more tax years depending on the enquiry/discovery situation.
That said, HMRC does have a tendency to ask for things it is not strictly entitled to, largely because they don't know the detail of the relevant rules and safeguards but also because neither do many taxpayers (or advisers) who simply hand it over.

John Cassidy
Posts:8
Joined:Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:18 pm

Re: Private bank statements

Postby John Cassidy » Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:58 am

The last reply is correct but HMRC can also ask informally for the documents at first and then decide whether to go for the formal notice if the documents are not volunteered. They will suggest that not volunteering the data could mean penalties (if any) are increased but you should stand firm on that front.

This is a complicated area with no one size fits all answer. For example, why are they asking for the bank statements? It could be a fishing expedition, it could be because they are somehow linked to a business, it could be because they think untaxed income may have been credited to the account. In broad terms, the test is whether the documents are reasonably required for the purpose of checking the tax position of the person being looked at, which is clearly subjective and may be relevant for one or more tax years depending on the enquiry/discovery situation.

That said, HMRC does have a tendency to ask for things it is not strictly entitled to, largely because they don't know the detail of the relevant rules and safeguards but also because neither do many taxpayers (or advisers) who simply hand it over.[/quote]

John Cassidy
Posts:8
Joined:Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:18 pm

Re: Private bank statements

Postby John Cassidy » Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:59 am

The last reply is correct but HMRC can also ask informally for the documents at first and then decide whether to go for the formal notice if the documents are not volunteered. They will suggest that not volunteering the data could mean penalties (if any) are increased but you should stand firm on that front.

This is a complicated area with no one size fits all answer. For example, why are they asking for the bank statements? It could be a fishing expedition, it could be because they are somehow linked to a business, it could be because they think untaxed income may have been credited to the account, it could be because your husband's financial requirement appear greater than his means. In broad terms, the test is whether the documents are reasonably required for the purpose of checking the tax position of the person being looked at, which is clearly subjective and may be relevant for one or more tax years depending on the enquiry/discovery situation.

That said, HMRC does have a tendency to ask for things it is not strictly entitled to, largely because they don't know the detail of the relevant rules and safeguards but also because neither do many taxpayers (or advisers) who simply hand it over.
[/quote]

John Cassidy
Posts:8
Joined:Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:18 pm

Re: Private bank statements

Postby John Cassidy » Tue Aug 30, 2016 8:00 am

[

John Cassidy
Posts:8
Joined:Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:18 pm

Re: Private bank statements

Postby John Cassidy » Tue Aug 30, 2016 8:11 am

Ignore my first reply, misread the question


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