PENALTIES

HMRC’s latest guidance still leaves key questions unanswered, writes Jane Mellor, Head of Professional Standards at the CIOT and ATT.

Discovery assessment in respect of travelling expenses: In F Uzoh v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 231 (TC) (5 February), an employee, who had not been within self-assessment, signed up with a repayment agent ‘Tommy’s Tax’, which then filed tax returns on his...

HICBC and joint incomes: I Odina v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 158 (TC) (28 January) confirms that for married couples living together, rental income from jointly‑owned property is taxed 50-50 by default, regardless of who actually receives it. The taxpayer...

Upper Tribunal cancels inaccuracy penalties

SDLT overpayment relief claim successful: In BTR Core Fund JPUT v HMRC [2026] UKUT 27 (TCC) (21 January), a company acquired a large property in Manchester consisting of 350 flats above shop premises. It claimed multiple dwellings relief,...

Burden of proof and civil penalties: The Court of Appeal in HMRC v Sintra Global Inc and another [2025] EWCA Civ 1661 (18 December 2025) decided in favour of HMRC, holding that the UT had made various errors of law, in particular, by...

Determining domicile: In A Weis v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 348 (TC) (21 March), the taxpayer, a Rabbi, had been born in the UK in 1949 in Manchester to a father who had been born in Eastern Europe but had come to the UK in 1938. The father had acquired...

Adequacy of reasons given by FTT: In H Rafferty v HMRC [2025] UKUT 63 (TCC) (19 February), the taxpayer was given limited permission to appeal to the UT against closure notices, assessments and penalties. The decision of the UT in rejecting the...