Tax Investigation Helpline

How Bad Expense Advice Happens

Accountants can give incorrect guidance on expenses in several ways, including:

• Advising clients to claim personal costs as business expenses.
• Failing to identify all allowable expenses, leading to higher tax bills than necessary.
• Misinterpreting rules on travel, subsistence, or home office claims.
• Incorrectly handling expenses that are partly personal and partly business.
• Poor record-keeping guidance, leaving clients without evidence to back up claims.

In each case, the accountant’s mistakes expose the client to unnecessary HMRC scrutiny.

What’s at Risk When expense claims are mishandled, the consequences can be significant:

• HMRC investigations into past tax returns.
• Reclaimed tax relief, leaving you with a surprise bill.
• Penalties and interest on incorrectly claimed expenses.
• Lost opportunities, where legitimate expenses were not claimed.
• Stress and disruption, as you try to defend yourself against HMRC when the fault lies with your accountant.

These problems can affect both individuals and companies, and often drag on for years if not addressed properly.

How We Help

At Tax Investigation Helpline, we have extensive experience in supporting clients who have been given bad advice on expenses. We provide:

• Independent review: We analyse your expense claims and identify errors made by your accountant.
• Representation with HMRC: We manage the investigation process on your behalf, protecting you from further risk.
• Correction and recovery: We ensure your tax returns are corrected and that all legitimate expenses are claimed properly.
• Negotiation: Where liabilities exist, we work to reduce penalties and agree fair settlements.
• Accountability: If your accountant’s negligence caused the problem, we can help you hold them to account.

Our aim is always to protect your position and limit the financial impact of poor advice.

Common Issues We See From our experience, the most frequent expense-related mistakes caused by accountants include:

• Encouraging clients to claim private costs such as family holidays, clothes, or meals as business expenses.
• Missing out on genuine business expenses, such as use of home for work or allowable travel costs.
• Incorrectly advising on entertaining expenses, which are usually not deductible.
• Mishandling expenses under CIS, IR35, or other specific schemes.
• Providing little or no guidance on how to keep proper records.

These mistakes can cause unnecessary HMRC challenges and financial loss.

Don’t Let Poor Expense Advice Cost You If your accountant has misadvised you on expenses, you may feel frustrated and vulnerable, particularly if HMRC is now questioning your returns. But you don’t have to face this alone.

We’ve helped many individuals and businesses resolve problems caused by bad expense advice. With our support, you can reduce penalties, reclaim missed reliefs, and pursue accountability from your accountant.