PENALTIES

Jane Mellor

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

Thomas Wilkinson

Kate Garcia

Kate Garcia and Thomas Wilkinson (Shoosmiths) review the consultation on the potential redesign or reform of penalties imposed for inaccuracies in tax returns and failures to notify.

Catherine Hill

Jessica Kemp

The January Barclays tech outage shines a light on the sometimes uncompromising interest and penalty regimes facing taxpayers which, in this context, demand flexibility, write Jessica Kemp and Catherine Hill (White & Case).

UT denies taxpayer costs protection application: In HMRC v J Wardle [2026] UKUT 335 (TCC) (28 August), the UT rejected the taxpayer’s application for protection against an adverse costs order in HMRC’s appeal concerning when his partnership’s trade...

No late payment penalties on reallocation of earlier tax payments

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...

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