Difficulties accessing HMRC’s online systems from overseas

In 2006 the taxpayer moved to China. He owned a flat in Edinburgh on which he received rental income. He lived in the flat a few weeks or months every summer to carry out maintenance and improvement works. The rents were his main source of UK income. 

The taxpayer filed his self-assessment tax returns late for 2013-14 and 2014-15. HMRC imposed late filing penalties. He appealed saying strict government controls over electronic communications in China made it difficult for him to access his HMRC tax account. The two-step verification process whereby a code is sent by text message to the taxpayer’s mobile phone was not operable in China. 

The First-tier Tribunal said the online security issues gave the taxpayer a reasonable excuse for 2013-14. Further he submitted the return online when he returned to the UK in September 2015 so corrected the failure without unreasonable delay. The...