I'm sorry, this is very long and not very clear. I am in a bit of a state of shock.
I found out yesterday that my partner of 6 years hasn't been paying tax or NI (for the last 20 years). He says that he wants to sort this out with HMRC, but he doesn't know how to go about it.
Being me, I've been online, googling info and I've found him 3 telephone numbers to call (CAB, TaxAid and the HMRC confidential line)but he won't call any of these. He says that he has to work out what to tell them. I'm a bit shocked to realise that he's not planning on telling them the whole truth.
As far as I can see, if you approach HMRC you need to be totally honest(not least to avoid retrospective prosecution for tax evasion), but he is being very stubborn. He seems to think that HMRC will be satisfied with partial disclosure and a story about being partly supported by his parents for years. I think that once they start investigating, they won't be satisfied until they know everything.
The issue is complicated by the fact that he has been working for his Dad for most of the last 20 years and his Dad hasn't paid tax and NI for him (and I suspect not paid any at all) and he doesn't want to drag his Dad into the problem. My partner is now working for himself (last 18 months) and still hasn't paid any tax/NI. He hasn't had any work for the last 5 months and I've been supporting him. I've been trying to persuade him to sign on to get NI contributions paid (knowing that he wouldn't qualify for benefits as I earn a very decent wage). I was annoyed with him that he hadn't done this, but now realise why!
He has never had any payslips from his Dad and the work he's done on his own for the past 18 months (only a couple of very small jobs) has been done off the books. He's never had much money and I suspect that his tax liability wouldn't have been very large at all, if only he'd paid it when he should have done.
My questions will seem selfish, but I am worried about the impact on me and my financial situation. Particularly as he seems determined to either do nothing, or take action that will make the situation infinitely worse.
1. What's his best course of action and the most likely outcome?
2. If he is investigated by HMRC, will they want to talk to me? I have already told him that I won't lie about this, but want to know how likely it is that I will be approached so that I can try to convince him to come clean.
3. Will I be investigated if he is? My tax affairs are beyond reproach, but any investigation would be very upsetting at the moment as my Father is very ill and I need to concentrate on that.
4. Will I have any liability for his debts? We live in my house (in my name and bought before he and I met), all the bills are in my name and we have separate bank accounts.
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