Have you sold a property and failed to notify to HMRC?
27th September 2021
When you sell a property that you have not used as your only or main home for the period you owned it, you may have to pay tax. You must tell HMRC about it, and you must do so within certain time limits. If you do not do this, HMRC call this a ‘failure to notify’.
HMRC collects information from multiple sources to make sure you have reported property disposal through your personal self-assessment or through direct reporting. They also have an access to the record to confirm if you have lived in this property or not.
If someone does not report such gain on the disposal of a property, HMRC usually write to the seller to check the details of the property disposal to decide whether you have to pay Capital Gains Tax.
If you strongly believe that you do not have any Capital Gain Tax to pay, for example, if this is your main home or you have a separate property trading business and you have sold the property as a part of it, then you do not need to do anything. If you are not sure, you should check with your accountant and tax advisor. If you find that you have tax to pay then you are required to report back to HMRC by a certain date which is usually communicated to you by HMRC in writing.
If you receive such notice, it is advisable to seek help from professionals as they might be able to save you in tax, penalties and surcharges and advise you on what could be the strong grounds and reasons for not reporting it on time. You can also make such declaration with due care online by visiting HMRC disclosure service page.
About Heighten Accountants?
Heighten is a London (UK) based Accountancy, Business and Tax Advisory firm providing practical accounting tools to landlord, property investors and business owners to increase their profitability, and maximise their business share, without affecting their work-life balance. They solve the problems that keep you up at night. Please visit their website www.heightenaccountants.co.uk or call them on 020 3900 2424 to know more about how they can help you to sort out your property and other taxes.
