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Compliance checks

HMRC compliance check help

If HMRC has opened a compliance check on you or your business, we take over the correspondence, control what is sent, and see the check through to closure. Correct as at 17 August 2026.

What is the situation?

A letter, sometimes preceded by a phone call, says HMRC is checking your Self Assessment return, your Company Tax Return, your PAYE records or your VAT, and asks for information or documents by a stated date (gov.uk, tax compliance checks). It is usually the first formal contact, before anything HMRC would call an enquiry or investigation, and how it is answered shapes everything that follows.

Is a compliance check the same as a tax investigation?

No, and the distinction matters. A compliance check is typically a focused look at specific figures or records. A fuller enquiry opens the return as a whole, and the serious civil procedures for suspected avoidance and fraud sit above that; those tiers and how we handle them are covered on our tax investigations page, and suspected serious fraud under Code of Practice 9 is a different discipline entirely. Part of our first review is telling you honestly which tier you are actually in, because the letter itself rarely says.

What should happen in week one?

Three things. First, diarise the response deadline and do not ignore it: failing to comply with a formal information notice can itself trigger penalties unless you have a reasonable excuse (gov.uk, tax compliance checks). Second, gather what was asked for, and only what was asked for; volunteering extra material is the most common self-inflicted wound at this stage. Third, appoint an agent, because once authorised, HMRC corresponds with the agent rather than with you.

How do we take over the check?

You send us the letter and any earlier correspondence. We register as your agent, tell HMRC the check is now handled through us, and review what has been asked for against what HMRC is entitled to ask for, including the scope of any Schedule 36 information notice. We prepare the response as a complete, well-presented package, answer HMRC's follow-ups, attend or host any visit (you are entitled to have an adviser present), and negotiate the closure position. Where a genuine error surfaces, we quantify it and disclose it ourselves, with the mitigation for disclosure set out, rather than leaving HMRC to assess it.

What happens at the end, and what does ignoring it cost?

HMRC writes with the result. Overpaid tax is repaid with interest; additional tax is normally payable within 30 days, with interest from the original due date (gov.uk, tax compliance checks). Any penalty is set by the underlying behaviour, how promptly you came forward and how helpful you were during the check, which is exactly what good handling improves. Ignoring the letter does the opposite: it invites formal notices, penalty exposure and escalation to a full enquiry. Disagreements can go to statutory review, alternative dispute resolution or appeal (gov.uk/tax-appeals).

Who handles compliance checks?

Compliance check work is led personally by Ghulam Alahi, Managing Director, who has more than 25 years' experience of HMRC enquiry work, with senior managers running the day-to-day correspondence.

Call 020 8554 2135 or email info@visionconsulting.co.uk, and send the letter through ahead of the call. First conversations are confidential and at no cost.

Frequently asked questions

A compliance check is HMRC's process for confirming you are paying the right amount of tax, applied to individuals and businesses alike. HMRC writes or phones to say what it wants to look at, which can be any tax you pay, your accounts and tax calculations, your Self Assessment or Company Tax Return, or PAYE records if you employ people. It usually arrives with a request for information or documents and a response date. It is not, by itself, an accusation, but the quality of the first response influences whether it stays narrow or widens.

No. A compliance check is typically a focused review of specific figures or records. Above it sits the fuller enquiry, which opens the return as a whole, and above that HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service procedures for suspected avoidance and suspected serious fraud under Code of Practice 8 and Code of Practice 9. A compliance check can escalate into those tiers if the responses raise more questions than they answer, which is a strong argument for getting the first response right.

Note the deadline, gather exactly what has been asked for, and take advice before sending anything. Do not ignore the letter: if HMRC issues a formal information or inspection notice and you do not comply, penalties can follow unless you have a reasonable excuse such as serious illness or a bereavement. Equally, do not send more than was requested. Once we are appointed as your agent, HMRC deals with us and the response goes out as a single considered package.

HMRC may ask to visit your home, your business premises or your adviser's office, or ask you to attend its own offices. You are entitled to have an accountant or legal adviser present at any visit, and in practice we host visits at our offices where possible so records are presented in order and questions are answered once, accurately. Refusing a visit after a formal inspection notice can carry a penalty, so visit logistics are something to manage, not resist blindly.

HMRC writes with the result. If you overpaid, the tax is repaid, potentially with interest. If more tax is due, it is normally payable within 30 days with interest from the original due date, and HMRC decides any penalty by reference to the reasons for the underpayment, whether you told HMRC as soon as you could, and how helpful you were during the check. If you disagree with the outcome you can ask for a statutory review, use alternative dispute resolution or appeal. If paying within 30 days is a problem, a payment plan can be raised with the case officer.

Yes, and a significant share of our caseload arrives exactly that way, sometimes after months of correspondence that has drifted. We review everything already sent, establish what HMRC actually holds and what remains open, and reset the dialogue with a complete, organised response. The tax investigations case study on our investigations page involved taking over a matter that had been open for more than 2 years and reaching a contract settlement in under 3 months. Every case differs, but a clean takeover usually shortens the road.

This is general information, not advice. Your position depends on your circumstances. Speak to us before acting.