SOME accountants offer fee protection insurance to their clients, which can help cover the professional costs that are incurred in assisting those clients with a HMRC tax investigation or enquiry, writes Head of Private Clients at Garbutt + Elliott, Richard Whitelock.

Last year, HMRC collected £34.1 billion through such investigations and they can target any business or person that submits a tax return. HMRC do not need a specific reason to start an enquiry or investigation into your personal or business tax affairs.

Their highly-efficient Connect software is constantly accessing and trawling through financial information, with 83 per cent of tax investigations being triggered by the Connect system.

We are already seeing an increase in HMRC enquiry activity, as the Government looks to recover its finances following the economic damage caused by Covid-19.

Businesses that have claimed Covid-19 support such as the CJRS (furlough scheme), can expect HMRC to be looking a lot more closely at their tax returns, payments, and compliance history.

Tax and VAT repayments will also be checked more rigorously alongside the usual full tax investigations.

At Garbutt + Elliott, we offer a fee protection scheme called Tax Investigation Service (TIS). Some of the key benefits for our business clients include:

• Free personal tax return cover for directors/partners and their spouses, and company secretaries, where we are also engaged as personal tax agents.

• Cover for PAYE and VAT compliance visits/checks and any resulting disputes.

• Cover for furlough claims made under the CJRS or Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (unless part of a criminal or fraud enquiry)

Alongside covering the professional fees incurred in dealing with the enquiry, TIS enables our team of tax specialists to step in and assist you.

As your appointed agent, we liaise directly with HMRC on your behalf, adding our technical expertise and experience to the case, aiming to bring matters to the best possible conclusion.

There has never been a more appropriate time to consider fee protection insurance.

If you would like to know more about Garbutt + Elliott’s Tax Investigation Service, and our wider services, please contact us at support@garbutt-elliott.co.uk