With the deadline for sending your 2016/2017 tax return to HMRC and paying any tax owed having just gone, HMRC have released examples of the types of creative reasons people have given for not completing it on time.
Some of the recent excuses include:
- I couldn’t file my return on time as my wife has been seeing aliens and won’t let me enter my house.
- I’ve been far too busy touring the country with my one-man play.
- My ex-wife left my tax return upstairs, but I suffer from vertigo and I can’t go upstairs to retrieve it.
- My business doesn’t really do anything.
- I spilt coffee on it.
There’s also a list of some questionable items that taxpayers have tried to claim their expenses back on:
- A three-piece suite for my partner to sit on when I’m doing my accounts.
- Birthday drinks at a Glasgow nightclub.
- Vet fees for a rabbit.
- Hotel room service – for candles and prosecco.
- £4.50 for sausage and chips meal expenses for 250 days.
Unsurprisingly, all the excuses and expenses listed were rejected.
Angela MacDonald, HMRC Director General of Customer Services, commented, “Each year we’re making it easier and more intuitive for our customers to complete their tax return, but each year we still come across some questionable excuses, whether that’s blaming a busy touring schedule or seeing aliens. However, help will always be provided for those who have a genuine excuse for not submitting their return on time.
“We also receive absurd expense claims from vet fees for a rabbit to room service at a hotel. It is unfair to make honest taxpayers pick up the bill for other people’s spurious claims, so HMRC will only accept sincere claims such as legitimate expenses for a job.”
To find out more about contracting please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.
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