Would you shop a very good friend to HMRC?

[Readingonthetrain]

I almost certainly never will, but just wondered what other MNers thought.

It’s one of my best friends. She owns 2 properties. One has been rented out for 15 years, the other for 5. She had never filed a tax return and paid tax on her letting income. She has always found tennants through gumtree or by word of mouth, so never likely to be caught if HMRC went through a letting agents files. She’s a higher rate tax payer. I have a vague idea how much she gets in rent, but no idea how much any mortgage payments are. But that isn’t really the point. It’s tax evasion. I told her years ago she should be paying tax on the income, so she definitely knows.....and besides which ignorance doesn’t wash with HMRC.
As I said I don’t think I’ll ever actually do anything about this........but in the same position WWYD?

Generally the large corporations are using the law to avoid tax - which is not illegal.

Non declarers of income are evading tax, which is illegal, so I don't view the one group as a bigger version of the other.

No I wouldn't.

All those who will not report somebody for illegal tax evasion .....
do you wish there was more money for schools and hospitals ?
join the dots

If she is a higher rate tax payer she probably already paying way more in tax than she takes out of the state

Yes - that's how society works. Those who are able pay in more than they take out, so the other half can take out more than they pay in.

No

I thought if you had a property that was rented out, you were obliged to do a tax return, even if you don’t earn enough profit to pay any tax.

Lonicera Japonica,
How are they allowed to do that?

They'll catch up with her soon enough. I'd stay out of it.

Tbh I doubt they’ll catch up with her. Loads of people do this.

Of course, she's essentially taking food from the mouths of those who need it, from our schools and hospitals. This isn't an extra few quid, it's probably more than a lot of people who work.

You've already made up your mind that's obvious.

A close family member of mine was done for unpaid taxes and it ruined his life, someone reported him, I don't agree with what he did at all don't get me wrong but I couldn't report someone and sleep at night knowing the devastation it can cause

I also wouldn't be friends with someone like this though.

Perhaps he should have thought about that when he broke the law mummy?!

Me neither mummy. Life’s not as black and white and it takes a special kind of ignorance not to understand that

I doubt they’ll catch up with her. Loads of people do this.

Don't be too sure about that. I'm an accountant. We get people contacting us almost weekly who have just had the dreaded "enquiry" letter from HMRC and need an accountant to help defend them. The vast majority of these are from people renting out a house without declaring the profit. HMRC know this is a ripe area for huge amounts of tax and penalties and are rightly targeting it. They have access to multiple databases - the voters register, council tax records, land registry, stamp duty returns, credit references, mortgage applications,
tax credits, universal credit, etc. Simplicity itself to check the name of the occupier against the name on the land registry/purchase stamp duty return and if they don't match - bingo! And if they don't get you whilst you're renting it out, they may get you when you come to sell it - again, land registry entries, stamp duty returns, etc.

They don’t manage it often then. I know of at least 7 undeclared properties in my friendship group

*A close family member of mine was done for unpaid taxes and it ruined his life"

You mean "his life" that he could only achieve, his possessions/lifestyle etc, by crime? Would you think the same if he'd gone around breaking into houses or robbing old ladies? It's still a lifestyle based upon crime. He only has himself to blame. Perhaps he should have paid his taxes and lived within his means.

A close family member of mine was done for unpaid taxes and it ruined his life
No sympathy from me.
If he owed enough to have a lifestyle he could not afford, its entirely his own fault.

No, I wouldn't.

I'm not privy to all my friends' financial information as I would never be so crass as to ask. If someone was interested in my personal life & financial business, the friendship would be history. I dislike nosiness that crosses boundaries, and it's normally rooted in envy/schadenfreude..

You may think you know her financial situation but I suspect you don't. If you've had the audacity to ask her about tax affairs she could've said 'I never fill in tax returns' as a pisstake of you asking.

If you are reporting make sure you've got correct info, not a case of reporting just so as to hope HMRC find out something that will bring her down

I worked in housing and homelessness years ago and for some reason there were three who seemed to think we were linked to HB, HMRC etc.

The amount of people calling anonymously to report a friend, neighbour or relative was astonishing. Mostly based on vague info when you got down to it. Nothing they'd clearly seen for themselves, but were speculating

I remember one person going on that her sister had bought heavy velvet lounge curtains but was on HB so 'where did she get the money for that...?

The reporters were ALWAYS

• Women
• Elderly people

Never deviated in the 14 years I was there

I have reported several people to HMRC (nature of my work)

The form is easy to do.
HMRC check your report against their records and decide whether to act.
They tell the reported nothing
and the reported just knows that HMRC caught up with them

its about expecting honesty from people

I wouldnt. Nothing to do with me. I could and would never be dishonest its just not me but I also feel its not my business.

@Badbadbunny No, I don't. Maybe I should but there are worse things to worry about.

I thought if you had a property that was rented out, you were obliged to do a tax return, even if you don’t earn enough profit to pay any tax

Correct. All income has to be declared. Whether or not Taxes are due is determined by HMRC.

Yes i would, and I would also stop being their friend. I don’t want people with such a lack of moral compass in my life

No. Willingly betraying a friend is worse than (suspected, but unproven) tax evasion.