Reasonable misunderstanding

The taxpayer and his wife appealed against a penalty for the late filing of their 2010/11 employer end-of-year return.

The couple employed one person for two four-month periods during the year. They were not computer literate but had managed to submit the end-of-year document electronically by the deadline for some years.

They usually received a CD-ROM containing the HMRC software for filing the return but did not receive one in 2010/11 meaning they had to download the software which they found difficult due to the slow internet speed where they lived.

They submitted the return on 27 April 2011 and received a confirmation email from the Revenue – which later claimed the taxpayer had made a test submission and that the confirmation would have made the matter clear. The tax department produced no evidence.

The First-tier Tribunal said it was “not prepared for purposes of this appeal to...