Evidence-led support for serious HMRC enquiries
HMRC tax investigation accountant in Cardiff
We review investigation letters, reconstruct the tax position and manage evidence-led correspondence for individuals and businesses facing wider or escalating HMRC enquiries.
Immediate control
What should you do after receiving an HMRC investigation letter?
Keep the complete correspondence and respond according to its status. An informal question, statutory notice, assessment and COP9 offer carry different consequences.
Read every page
Identify the officer, tax, period, questions, statutory references, appeal rights and exact reply date.
Preserve the evidence
Retain electronic and paper records, previous versions, messages and source documents. Do not alter the historic file.
Separate fact from recollection
Reconstruct transactions from evidence before giving an explanation that may later conflict with the records.
Protect every deadline
Seek a reasoned extension where genuinely required; do not assume silence suspends an information notice or appeal date.
Do not destroy, backdate or manufacture records
Missing information should be explained honestly and reconstructed from available evidence. False documents or statements can turn a civil tax issue into a much more serious matter.
Identify the procedure
The type of tax investigation determines the response
“Investigation” is a broad description. The opening document reveals the actual process and the powers being used.
Return enquiry
HMRC may open an enquiry into a Self Assessment or Company Tax Return and examine specified entries or the return more widely.
VAT, PAYE or CIS review
Transaction records, employee treatment, subcontractor deductions and control accounts can extend across several filing periods.
Cross-tax business investigation
Turnover, private expenditure and owner withdrawals may be tested across accounts, personal returns, VAT and payroll.
Information notice
A Schedule 36 notice can require information or documents reasonably required to check the tax position, subject to statutory limits and appeal rules.
Assessment or penalty
The underlying figures, legal time limit, behaviour category and appeal date need separate review.
Suspected fraud procedure
A COP9 Contractual Disclosure Facility offer requires immediate specialist assessment before acceptance, rejection or any outline disclosure.
Investigation support
What our HMRC tax investigation service includes
We review the opening position, obtain agent authority where appropriate and create a chronology of the filings, transactions and records under examination.
Responses are drafted from the evidence, with tax, interest and penalty calculations kept separate. Material uncertainties, missing documents and technical arguments are disclosed to you before anything is sent.
Work can include
- opening-letter and deadline review;
- return and record reconstruction;
- technical tax analysis;
- information-notice response schedules;
- tax and interest computations;
- penalty and behaviour representations;
- meetings, closure and dispute support.
Information requests
Supply relevant evidence with a controlled explanation
A large unsorted download can hide the reconciliation HMRC needs and expose unrelated personal information. A narrow refusal can create penalties if a valid statutory requirement is ignored.
We map each request to the period and issue, identify records held, explain genuine gaps and provide schedules that connect source documents to the filed figures.
HMRC’s compliance-check overview explains the general process and possible outcomes.
Current filings continue
An open investigation does not normally pause later returns or ordinary tax payments. New filings should be accurate and consistent with any position being explained to HMRC.
Code of Practice 9
A COP9 or Contractual Disclosure Facility offer needs urgent specialist advice
HMRC offers the Contractual Disclosure Facility where it suspects tax fraud and considers the case suitable for the civil investigation route. The recipient normally has 60 days to accept with a valid outline disclosure or reject the offer.
The contractual protection depends on complete, accurate, open and honest disclosure of the deliberate conduct covered. Criminal-law risk and legal privilege may require an appropriately experienced solicitor alongside specialist tax investigation support.
Read the official Code of Practice 9 before responding.
Do not use an ordinary disclosure form
A live COP9 offer, criminal investigation or suspected deliberate conduct should not be treated as a routine late tax return. The correct professional team and response route must be identified first.
Cardiff and South East Wales
Business records often connect several taxes at once
For a Cardiff contractor, landlord, retailer, hospitality operator or owner-managed company, one turnover question can affect Self Assessment or Corporation Tax, VAT, payroll and the owner’s personal position.
We keep the response coordinated across those taxes so explanations, bank reconciliations, sales records and returns do not contradict one another.
Bring to the first review
- every page of HMRC correspondence;
- returns and accounts under review;
- original accounting and bank records;
- earlier adviser correspondence;
- known errors or missing information;
- all reply, appeal and payment dates.
Connected tax work
Related services and calculations
These subjects may use the same facts, but each retains its own filing or advisory purpose.
HMRC compliance checks
Support for a defined review of returns, claims or records.
Open this page →Tax disclosure
Correct unpaid tax using the appropriate voluntary route.
Open this page →Self Assessment returns
Prepare current or outstanding personal tax returns.
Open this page →Corporation Tax
Reconstruct company accounts and CT600 filings.
Open this page →Clear fee basis
Scope and price are agreed before work begins
Investigation work is individually scoped because the number of years, taxes, records, information powers and behaviour issues vary. The opening letter and immediate deadline are reviewed before the fee basis is agreed.
Common questions
Questions about HMRC tax investigation support
The correct answer follows the complete facts, records and procedure. These are the usual starting points.
Should I answer HMRC before appointing an adviser?
Protect the deadline, but avoid guessing. Send the complete correspondence for review so the status, scope and evidence required can be established first.
Can HMRC ask for personal bank statements?
HMRC may seek information reasonably required to check a tax position. Relevance, statutory powers, period and privacy should be reviewed rather than assuming every request is either valid or invalid.
Does cooperation mean agreeing with HMRC?
No. Cooperation means responding accurately and constructively. You can explain factual or legal disagreement, use appeal rights and seek review or dispute resolution where appropriate.
Can you guarantee that no penalty will be charged?
No. Penalties depend on the law, facts, behaviour, disclosure and quality of assistance. We calculate and represent the position but cannot guarantee HMRC’s decision.
Is this service suitable for a criminal investigation?
Criminal investigations require specialist legal advice. We can coordinate accounting and tax reconstruction where appropriate, but a suitably experienced solicitor should lead legal and privilege issues.