UK and International Tax news

New HMRC Settlement Opportunity And Property Sales

Monday 18th March 2013

HMRC has recently announced a new disclosure facility or ‘Property Sales Campaign’  [PSC] which allows taxpayers who have sold property and who might not have disclosed such sales to HMRC in the past to come clean.

The PSC applies to sales of residential property in the UK or abroad, that is not the taxpayer’s main home.  It is not for taxpayers who run a property business or for trusts, companies or partnerships.

In order to qualify for the terms under the campaign, the taxpayer must voluntarily disclose the related income or gains and pay the tax owed by 6 September 2013. Thereafter, HMRC will use the information it holds to target those who should have made a disclosure under this campaign and failed to do so.

Where a taxpayer discloses to the HMRC any gain which has not been previously reported, he may assess the correct level of penalty to reflect why tax was not paid in the past and, if the circumstances warrant it, he may be able to pay the tax in instalments.  The taxpayer should also tell HMRC about any other income or gains that have not previously been disclosed, including income from property or land rental less expenses relating to that income, earned income not taxed before receipt, profits from another business,  investment income untaxed before receipt, taxed income where additional tax is payable and capital gains on the sale of other assets or properties.

A taxpayer must notify HMRC by 9 August 2013 of his intention to disclose and provide name, address, national insurance number, and self assessment UTR.  Notification may be made online or by phone.

Once HMRC has received notification, a unique Disclosure Reference Number (DRN) will be issued together with a Payment Reference Number to use for the payment of tax.

If you would like further information on the PSC, please contact Keith Rushen on 0207 486 2378.

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