Ill health is excuse

The taxpayer was a tenant of a brewery until he retired in August 2010 when he sold back the tenancy.

He said he had been forced to retire because of financial difficulties caused by the economic recession and his ill health. (He was diagnosed with leukaemia after retirement and his wife suffered heart failure.)

HMRC imposed penalties on him because he was late in filing his 2010/11 employer end-of-year return. He claimed he had reasonable excuse because he had passed the necessary information to his adviser who assured him she would submit the tax document.

The First-tier Tribunal found the taxpayer to be “genuine and truthful” and accepted his evidence. He had been diligent in dealing with his tax affairs in the past and relied on his adviser to deal with the employer return.

For this reason and also because of the taxpayer’s ill health the...