HMRC's Let Property Campaign & Non-Disclosure Activities Nearly Net £550 million
Amit Puri, MD of Pure Tax Investigations
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Amit Puri - MD of Pure Tax Investigations
HMRC's Let Property Campaign has been running for some thirteen years now, has seen some 100,000 disclosures made to date, and has no closure date.
Puri said whilst nearly 100,000 have disclosed so far, that over 15 years ago HMRC had estimated some 1.5 million landlords had underpaid or failed to pay taxes! Also, they estimated that the unpaid taxes for just 2009 and 2010 were c.£500 million!
Interestingly, the penalty rates being achieved seem much higher when HMRC carried out compliance checks and enquiries than waiting for LPC disclosures over the same period; more than double! This should not come as a surprise though as HMRC had presumably ‘prompted’ the LPC disclosures that came thereafter. Conversely, it is expected that most of the LPC disclosures made were wholly voluntary, therefore ‘unprompted’ in nature.
The most interesting point to note here was that the total revenues secured, that’s tax, interest and penalties, were a lot higher as a result of HMRC carrying out one-to-one enquiries (or compliance checks if you prefer); more than double in 2024/25!
* See Amit's full article, written for AccountingWEB.co.uk - "HMRC’s Let Property Campaign nears £550m" *
In the past, Puri had specifically asked HMRC, how many of LPC disclosures were based on “deliberate inaccuracies” in tax returns or “deliberate failures to notify" offences. HMRC confirmed then that, only c.0.5% (285 out of the 58,574 LPC disclosures made by that time) were as such - at the most serious end of the behavioural/actions spectrum.
Readers will no doubt be aware that the LPC remains open for their clients to utilise, and that there is no official closure date. The open-ended nature of the campaign means that it is still a good time to review a client’s activities and ensure taxes on rental profits are correctly calculated, disclosed and paid etc.
The Let Property Campaign provides a relatively smooth process for professional, amateur and novice/first-time landlords who owe taxes through having let out residential properties in the UK and/or abroad. It presents the best opportunity to bring their UK tax affairs up to date in a simple way, especially where they have not deliberately / dishonestly caused tax irregularities. They are encouraged to seek out specialist tax disclosures advice where there is a lack of experience in making them and handling corresponding HMRC enquiries, to secure the very best possible outcomes based on robust knowledge about the strict tax assessment rules and time-limits as well as the various penalty regimes that can apply.
Remember, prompted tax disclosures cost more overall because of penalty implications. Investors could even find themselves defending against allegations of deliberate actions or dishonesty, under e.g. a Code of Practice 9 investigation / the Contractual Disclosure Facility. Also, there is the possibility of being named and shamed publicly too.
Amit Puri
Pure Tax Investigations
Amit Puri
Pure Tax Investigations Ltd
+44 2037575669
info@pure-tax.com
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