HM Revenue & Customs Enquiries and Audits

Workshop Aims

HM Revenue & Customs are taking a much tougher approach to compliance visits and, following the introduction of new Regulations, employers will find their ability to negotiate settlements has been reduced considerably.

Attendance on this important seminar should be before the Audit - not after!

Course Content

The Audit in Action

-Who carries out the audit?
-Preparing for the audit
What are the risk areas?
How is the tax and NI liability determined?
-Managing the audit?
Payroll records
Expenses
Benefits
Purchase ledger
Petty cash
-What happens after the audit?
-Negotiating a settlement

Common areas investigated and how to protect yourself

-Termination Payments including:
Pay in lieu of notice
Compromise Agreements
Redundancy
-Employment status including:
Service companies and IR35 companies
Retired workers returning as self-employed
-National Minimum Wage
-Statutory Payments and their recovery
-Benefits and Expenses
Telephones – home and business lines
Vans
Mileage payments
Fuel benefit for employer provided cars
Private use of assets
Vouchers
Credit cards – corporate and personal
Loans
Canteen facilities
Gifts and awards including long service awards
Hotel bills and personal incidental expenditure
And many other benefits

From considerable hands-on experience, the tutor will cover the tax exposure issues and NIC problem areas in the above areas and any others that may be of concern to the employer.

At the end of this course, delegates will be able to:

-Understand what to expect from a compliance visit
-Prepare an action plan to help eliminate high risk areas before the compliance visit takes place
-Identify how to handle the compliance visit, and
-Examine ways of negotiating the final settlement