Errors found in mid-sized businesses’ furlough claims

More than one in ten mid-sized businesses that have reviewed their initial coronavirus job retention scheme claim found it to be incorrect according to research from Grant Thornton.

The survey of 605 UK mid-sized businesses found that 47% of businesses used the scheme during the last year. However almost one in five has not yet reviewed their initial claim to ensure it was correct.

David Francis head of tax dispute resolution at Grant Thornton said: ‘The guidance for the scheme has been updated many times since first issued and the focus for many will have been on speed due to necessity which may have impacted compliance. While the majority of claims will have been made in good faith it is inevitable that errors may have been made however unknowingly in many applications.

‘With HMRC investigations building momentum and the introduction of the new taxpayer...