UK: HMRC puts ‘everyone’ on alert and warns ‘it’s tax avoidance’

HMRC has warned “it’s tax avoidance” and urged “everyone” in the UK to know the rules. The taxman and tax department, now operating under the Labour Party government, has spoken out via Twitter, now X, over the risk of tax evasion.

HMRC warned: “Everyone can learn to spot the signs of tax avoidance. Don’t get caught out. Learn more by clicking the link below.” Things to look out for include receiving more money in your bank account than what is shown on your payslip or receiving untaxed payments like loans or capital advances.

Tanya is a single parent and a nurse. She was encouraged to get into a tax avoidance scheme, which left her with a large and unexpected tax bill. She said: “As a nurse, I trust my patients and they trust me. It’s a relationship of care.

“I found the job through an agency and when they recommended an umbrella company for payroll services, I thought it was fine. I trusted the agency, I trusted the umbrella company, but they lied to me. I thought they’d take care of me but they didn’t. 

“They told me not to worry and that they would take care of all my legal tax issues. They sold me the benefits of higher pay but this left me owing HMRC money. Then the umbrella company washed their hands of me. They disappeared and I’ve been left picking up the bill.”

Duncan is an IT project manager. He chose to use an umbrella company to help him manage his payroll admin, without double-checking the details, and ended up in a tax avoidance scheme. He said: “When I started working as an IT contractor I thought I’d use an umbrella company to manage my payroll. I did an online search for umbrella companies and I came across a comparison website.

“I just chose one of them and they got me set up and that was it. I had a couple of sleepless nights at the start. That was really the worst part. I spoke to someone at HMRC and that settled things down. Fortunately, I hadn’t spent all my money and had saved some of it. There was a painful tax bill but at that point I knew it was coming so I’d been able to prepare for it.”