[bluesteve]

does anyone have any anecdotal evidence of the inland revenue using ,spying on or reading forums like this, i ask this because if i was a tax investigator i d be doing my homework on these types of sites.
  When i lived in the south west i knew a taxman who's part of his role was to go round shop windows checking out the small ads they have in shop windows , know this was in the earlier 90s before the internet took off. So if they were prepared to do that then ............
   For the record im not bothered, im all kosher and legit, but i 'd just like to know if anyones got any taxman stories? or heard of any
   cheers Steve  

[East coast window cleaning Services]

Not sure mate but i pay me tax.....

[Chris Cottrell]

Not sure mate but i pay me tax...

Say whats on ya mind wont ya

[cvdewsbury]

i had a letter once from them to see if i could help them with some details mainly about how much w/c could earn per hour how many days per week we could work etc ..Nowadays they don,t need to carryout this underneath approach  just observe this site....

[jouk45]

even if they did see you saying what you earned on here, all you need to say is that you where just bragging, 

[Paul Coleman]

does anyone have any anecdotal evidence of the inland revenue using ,spying on or reading forums like this, i ask this because if i was a tax investigator i d be doing my homework on these types of sites.
  When i lived in the south west i knew a taxman who's part of his role was to go round shop windows checking out the small ads they have in shop windows , know this was in the earlier 90s before the internet took off. So if they were prepared to do that then ............
   For the record im not bothered, im all kosher and legit, but i 'd just like to know if anyones got any taxman stories? or heard of any
   cheers Steve  

Oh yes.  I knew a guy who worked for them and did such work.  He told me a few stories too - like the guy who would acquire extra fuel receipts.  Apparently he was found out because he had a petrol vehicle and a number of his receipts were for diesel.  It probably didn't help his cause that he appeared to be doing about 5 miles to the gallon.  I would be amazed if they didn't keep tabs on forums like this.
Like you, I'm not really bothered as I play it straight anyway.
However, they can't really tell what someone is earning just by looking at a sample of work.
If all my work paid like my best work and I W/C'd 35 hours a week, I would be turning over 50 grand+.  In reality it's barely half that, though I have the work in place to improve considerably on that in the year to come.

[Moderator David@stives]

I reckon 100% the tax man frequents this site.

He only has to look through your letter box to see what your household income is.

[Moderator David@stives]

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/blogs/index.cfm?blogid=4&entryid=1227

[jeff1]

My real Name is KEN DODD 

[Paul Coleman]

My real Name is KEN DOD 

And I'm Lester Piggott   

[matt]

well they can see im home, its raining and i DO NOT work in the rain

[Village Gleam]

I would say almost certainly not. It's possible that they might look for general indications of earnings, and upper and lower levels. They are always looking for people who seek to avoid paying tax altogether, but in the sense that you mean, someone bragging that they earn earn £500 pw and then checking if this tallies no.

They have more than their work cut out dealing with people shopping each other over such matters. I've had jealousy in the past, but the taxman has always dealt with me fairly. There is some kind of charter about fairness, and if you could prove they had exceeded their brief then they would be in more trouble than you would.

The advice is to keep proper records that are clear and easy to follow and if in doubt ring the tax office and ask.

(Oh Yeah I almost forgot. Be nice to me in future because you never know !)

[gmcs]

I don't care I pay my tax on what I earn If "The Cowboys" want to hide what they earn I hope they get caught out and leave the reat of us who do pay TAX & NI alone 

[Russell Macdonald]

I know of a Tax Inspector, well i know her brother anyway.

I got talking to her on this subject & yes they do. Was told if year on year your returns are showing a small profit & your always paying no tax or very little, they will do a chack. Like drive past & look at your home, car etc, follow now & again you while at work to see if it matches your tax return. They may do this over a couple of years i was told as they can ask for 7 years of books.

This happened to a mate of mine in London & he was ammased what they new. Because he could not prove or disprove what they said the end result was he owed in eccess of £50,000 in fines, interest & estimated tax he owed.

Macc

[tonyoliver]

i am told you should  put your money cash in a spanish euro account just like the taxi drivers do

[simbo]

with all the government cutbacks to their staff i think they would be looking at bigger fish. we can all earn good money somedays but not all! i have no problems with paying my share of tax apart from extortionate council taxes
simbo

[mark dew]

I think whether they do or not all the time is irrelevant. You have got to assume they do and that if they bring the full weight of their resources in your direction it would take a very lucky chappy to get away with anything much. Fortunately, there are plenty of people about who are more deserving of the taxman's might. Just don't take the pee, they can only be in so many places for so much of the time. It's when the spotlight is focused on you that you have to have to worry or thank your lucky stars that you are legit!
 

[Bertie Boo]

I know of a Tax Inspector, well i know her brother anyway.

I got talking to her on this subject & yes they do. Was told if year on year your returns are showing a small profit & your always paying no tax or very little, they will do a chack. Like drive past & look at your home, car etc, follow now & again you while at work to see if it matches your tax return. They may do this over a couple of years i was told as they can ask for 7 years of books.

This happened to a mate of mine in London & he was ammased what they new. Because he could not prove or disprove what they said the end result was he owed in eccess of £50,000 in fines, interest & estimated tax he owed.

Macc

Hey Macc

Two questions: (1) what can they find out by following you whilst working (serious question)

(2) My accountant said that my business will always be one that shows little or no profit -at least in the early years- and the tax payable very low. He assured me that this will present no problems and that its his job to see that my accounts are correct - indeed he said that the fact that i am using an accountant shows to the Inland Revenue that i am running a legit service. But you got me worried now?  I dont really understand this side of my business which is why i pay an accountant to help -or, more to the point, do it for me.

Cheers

Stephen

[williamx]

About 30years ago I worked for a taxi firm that use to take the tax man on home visits, as you get talking they admitted that they know that every business, fiddles their returns, but its the ones who are taking the micky who they go after.

An important point to remember is that you are not the only self-employed person doing your trade, there are many many thousands, and most are nearly almost honest with their returns, by looking at what these people earn they can work out an acceptable level that everyone will be earning for the hours they say they work.

Also what are you going to do with the money you have fiddled, you can't put it into a bank because they will want to see records of where it came from, you can't have a nice new motor or holiday or designer clothes because they are too visable and you have to prove where you got the money from.

So all you are left with, is a new matress, stuffed with money, that you can't use.

[john tomkins]

Also what are you going to do with the money you have fiddled, you can't put it into a bank because they will want to see records of where it came from, you can't have a nice new motor or holiday or designer clothes because they are too visable and you have to prove where you got the money from.

So all you are left with, is a new matress, stuffed with money, that you can't use.

I assume you are talking about thousands of pounds  not the odd 100 here and there, you could always say you had a few good wins at the bookies.... no way of disproving that

[Helen]

Stephen (bertie boo) yes it is your accountants job to make sure your figures are correct, however it is your overall responsibilty. When you are next due for a return sit down and go through with your accountant, so that at least you can understand the basics.

[williamx]

Also what are you going to do with the money you have fiddled, you can't put it into a bank because they will want to see records of where it came from, you can't have a nice new motor or holiday or designer clothes because they are too visable and you have to prove where you got the money from.

So all you are left with, is a new matress, stuffed with money, that you can't use.

I assume you are talking about thousands of pounds  not the odd 100 here and there, you could always say you had a few good wins at the bookies.... no way of disproving that

If you are going to do it, its better to go for the thousands rather than the hundreds, because the tax man won't believe you anyway if you get caught and say It was only a few quid.

I would use a casino, just go in there cash a few grand, wait a while then cash your chips in but ask for a cheque instead of cash, your money is then perfectly legal and non taxable.  Don't do this too often otherwise the tax man will class you as a professional gambler and tax you.

Maybe if the tax man are watching they could come up with other sugesstions

[bluesteve]

can you really be taxed if you re a professional gambler?
what about a semi professional gambler ?
 it would be interesting to know at what level someone would become a professional gambler
espcially with the internet making it so easy, and its so easy to study the stats, and what happens if you say for arguments sake you earn £10,000 gambling and £20,000 window cleaning , where do you stand with the taxman?
 For the record this is not my situation just a few simple random figures, am to good at picking donkeys and every football match i bet on goes against form!

[Russell Macdonald]

I know of a Tax Inspector, well i know her brother anyway.

I got talking to her on this subject & yes they do. Was told if year on year your returns are showing a small profit & your always paying no tax or very little, they will do a chack. Like drive past & look at your home, car etc, follow now & again you while at work to see if it matches your tax return. They may do this over a couple of years i was told as they can ask for 7 years of books.

This happened to a mate of mine in London & he was ammased what they new. Because he could not prove or disprove what they said the end result was he owed in eccess of £50,000 in fines, interest & estimated tax he owed.

Macc

Hey Macc

Two questions: (1) what can they find out by following you whilst working (serious question)

(2) My accountant said that my business will always be one that shows little or no profit -at least in the early years- and the tax payable very low. He assured me that this will present no problems and that its his job to see that my accounts are correct - indeed he said that the fact that i am using an accountant shows to the Inland Revenue that i am running a legit service. But you got me worried now?  I dont really understand this side of my business which is why i pay an accountant to help -or, more to the point, do it for me.

Cheers

Stephen

Only just read this sorry mate.

1. Say in your accounts it shows a turnover but the hours & jobs dont add up it gives them something to query.

2. Early days in buisness often show no profit or very little & they know this. As time goes by protit & turnover will always increase, if 10 years after being in buisness i cant see a buisness still making a loss.

They can spot the difference between cooked books & the genuine trader. The fact your using an accountant does hold some weight will them so dont worry mate.

Macc

[Bertie Boo]

Cheers Macc.

As for the hours and jobs etc, well thats another thing i dont fully understand - my accountant asks only for a list of all money i've take per week, he says no one wants to know how many jobs or hours i've done. 

I was also surprised when he said there was no point me keeping a log of how many miles i was driving as apparently it's so low he said there was no need. He just makes an allowance at the end of the period for personal useage. I was quite surprised by it all but when i talk to other self-employed folk they say that what my accountant is asking for and doing is the same as what theirs does. Its a whole new world to me 

Stephen

[Russell Macdonald]

Spot on Stephen. I only keep weekly accounts too, i don't want to keep too much info for them. 

As for the % for private that is correct, IR gave me 80% buisness use before i got my van.

Let your accountant sort it for you, he knows where the limits are & things to
claim for. That's why your paying him, to save you money. 

Macc

[Paul Coleman]

Spot on Stephen. I only keep weekly accounts too, i don't want to keep too much info for them. 

As for the % for private that is correct, IR gave me 80% buisness use before i got my van.

Let your accountant sort it for you, he knows where the limits are & things to
claim for. That's why your paying him, to save you money. 

Macc

80% ?
I did calculate my business/private use on my van over a fixed period and it came out at 85% so it seems I'm pretty close.  My van is my only vehicle.  In reality, there are weeks when my private use creeps up and there are weeks when I use it entirely for 100% business.  I reckon if I took it over the whole year, 85% would be just about right.

[windowwashers]

can you really be taxed if you re a professional gambler?
what about a semi professional gambler ?
 it would be interesting to know at what level someone would become a professional gambler
espcially with the internet making it so easy, and its so easy to study the stats, and what happens if you say for arguments sake you earn £10,000 gambling and £20,000 window cleaning , where do you stand with the taxman?
 For the record this is not my situation just a few simple random figures, am to good at picking donkeys and every football match i bet on goes against form!

As far as I am aware you do not get taxed on Gambling.