Penalties for deceased persons have been an area of contention recently. For those individuals who die not having their tax affairs in order, HM Revenue & Customs are able to go back and enquire into an individual’s tax affairs for the 6 tax years prior to the date of the deceased’s death, in the case of careless or deliberate understatement of tax.
However, HM Revenue & Customs are no longer allowed to apply penalties for deceased persons in relation to the tax affairs of the 6 tax years preceding the individual’s death as it is deemed to be a contravention of an individual’s human rights.
Eaves and Co have been able to apply this to a recent client situation where an individual had died not disclosing trading income to HM Revenue & Customs. This had led to undisclosed profits resulting in unpaid tax for the 6 years prior to their death. This would have incurred significant penalties for non-disclosure without the case law findings against the application of penalties.
