Tax Health Plan

HMRC is increasingly looking to tackle perceived high tax risk areas through the use of campaigns, possibly using the same methodology that they had successfully developed to support the recent tax 'amnesties'.

We now have the first public evidence of this new strategy. On 11 January 2010 HMRC launches the first stage of a 'Professionals Campaign', designed to provide an opportunity for professionals who have unpaid tax liabilities to sort things out quickly.

The first group of professionals that this opportunity is aimed at is medical consultants (doctors, hospital consultants, cosmetic surgeons etc). On 19 January 2010 HMRC extended the scope of the campaign to include dentists. Information HMRC has suggests that some medical professionals may be understating the amount of earnings upon which UK tax and duties is due. This opportunity is called the 'Tax Health Plan' and it began on 11 January 2010. 

So what are the details of the Tax Health Plan (THP):

• Medical professionals have until 31 March 2010 to register their intention to disclose.
• HMRC has provided a unique telephone number and mailbox for them to provide basic registration data.
• Disclosures must be completed and payment made to HMRC by 30 June 2010.
• Disclosures are on a prescribed set of forms.

The campaign is designed to make it easy for doctors, dentists, consultants and others to get their tax affairs back on the right track. It is made attractive by offering the certainty of a reduced penalty of 10%.

If you would like to know more about this or other HMRC campaigns please call our 24 hour helpline 0800 328 8215.

Read more about this campaign:

• Tax Health Plan flyer
• Tax Health Plan Q&A