Fee Protection Service

Most HMRC enquiries are routine, and many are opened completely at random.

Even where everything has been done correctly, dealing with HMRC can still take a significant amount of time and professional input. Questions are often detailed, deadlines can be tight, and enquiries sometimes continue for many months.

Our Tax Fee Protection scheme is designed to cover our professional fees for dealing with qualifying HMRC enquiries and compliance checks on your behalf.

What does the scheme cover?

The scheme covers our professional fees in dealing with a wide range of HMRC enquiries and disputes, including:

  • Self Assessment enquiries
  • Corporation Tax enquiries
  • VAT compliance checks and disputes
  • PAYE and CIS compliance checks
  • IR35 and employment status enquiries
  • Business records checks and inspections
  • Certain HMRC “nudge” letter enquiries

The cover is provided through our Tax Fee Protection arrangement with Vantage Fee Protect.

What is not covered?

The scheme covers our professional fees in dealing with HMRC. It does not cover:

  • Any additional tax due to HMRC
  • Interest or penalties charged by HMRC
  • Tax returns submitted late beyond HMRC time limits
  • Tax avoidance arrangements or schemes
  • Fraud or criminal investigations
  • Enquiries that were already underway before joining the scheme

As with any protection policy, terms and conditions apply.

Additional support included

The scheme also includes access to telephone advice lines covering:

  • Employment issues
  • HR matters
  • Health & safety
  • General legal matters

Is it worth it?

That depends on your attitude to risk.

Some clients prefer to pay as they go if HMRC ever contacts them. Others prefer the reassurance of knowing that if an enquiry does happen, the cost of dealing with it is already covered.

There is no obligation to join, but we do recommend it as HMRC compliance activity has increased significantly in recent years.

Further information

You can download the following documents for more detail:

Or simply contact us if you would like to discuss the scheme.