A tax enquiry can start because an individual or business falls
within a particular group or has claimed a certain tax relief. However,
an investigation can also be launched by HMRC because of
a straightforward mistake on a tax return, such as an incorrect
amount of bank interest declared, through to more serious risks
involving deliberate actions to evade tax.
Small and medium sized businesses can be selected for enquiry
because their turnover appears to be too low based on the credit and
debit card payment data passed to HMRC by the merchant acquirers
who process the transactions. Alternatively, a business may be
chosen because it consistently trades under the VAT registration
threshold or handles a lot of cash. On the other hand, HMRC may be
concerned about some of the expenditure being claimed, in particular
motoring related costs if a mileage log has not been maintained
or whether a director’s loan account accurately reflects payments
made to or on behalf of a company director.