Tax Investigations

Tax Investigations

Tax investigations can be very onerous, stressful and time consuming. With the increased number of HMRC's information requests and discovery assessments, it pays to have the best advice. 

Are you worried about a tax investigation?



We can help you deal with any tax investigation through expert advice and specialist representation. Our team deals with matters ranging from individual tax disputes to large and complex multiple client cases. 

  • Formal and Informal Notices
  • Compliance Checks
  • Penalty Notices
  • Discovery Assessments
  • Voluntary Disclosures to HMRC
  • Accelerated Payment Notices (APNs)
  • Code of Practice 8 – CoP 8 Investigations
  • Code of Practice 9 – CoP 9 Investigations
  • Contractor Loan Schemes and the Loan Charge
  • DOTAS/POTAS Inquiries
  • PAYE Tax Investigations 


  • Consultancy Advice to Tax Professionals
  • IR35 Disputes
  • VAT Investigations and Inspections
  • HMRC Unannounced Inspections and Visits
  • Settlements with HMRC
  • Time to Pay Arrangements
  • Statutory Reviews
  • Forensic Tax Advice
  • Tax Litigation Advice
  • Corporate Advisory
  • Private Client Advisory


Tax Investigations - How Could They Affect You?

Tax investigations can be very stressful and time-consuming, and it is highly suggested that you work with an expert team to guide you through them. The expert team at Templeton Brook Witt, a barrister-led advisory company in London, can take care of your tax investigation troubles for you. A tax investigation by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is a closer look at you or your business’s financials to ensure that you pay the right amount of tax and have done so in the past, but it doesn’t imply any wrongdoing on your part. HMRC may request to clarify any part of your tax return or conduct a full investigation. Tax investigations are not only done on income tax but also include VAT investigations, investigations into corporation tax and capital gains tax, inheritance tax investigations, and criminal tax investigations. It takes an expert to make sense of this minefield and avoid unnecessary penalties. The team at Templeton Brook Witt provides advisory services from individual tax disputes to complicated multiple client cases and everything in-between. A tax investigation can be triggered by something as innocent as submitting inaccurate data on a tax return or simply operating in a high-risk industry.

Tax Investigations - How To Deal With A Tax Investigation

Tax investigations can require a lot of time and resources and it’s best to try and avoid being investigated. Of course, HMRC may still choose you for a tax investigation at random, but do try and avoid their attention if you can. There are factors beyond your control, for example, if you operate within a sector that is deemed to be prone to tax irregularities like cash trades or if you have multiple income streams. Innocent behaviour may seem suspicious of fraud and criminality and tax investigations are used to clarify it as such. There are factors that you can control to avoid suspicion, such as submitting your returns on time and being meticulous in completing your returns. Inconsistencies may trigger a tax investigation, so be sure to tick all the right boxes, pay the right amounts due, and include all the relevant supplementary information on your returns. HMRC may go back up to 20 years in investigations into possible deliberate behaviour such as suspicions of fraud with capital gains, corporation tax, income tax, PAYE, and VAT. The best way to deal with tax investigations is to keep your documentation in order and consult with experts like Templeton Brook Witt if you do get selected for an investigation. 


Tax Investigation Services By Templeton Brook Witt

If you do get selected for an HMRC tax investigation into tax compliance, it’s best to work with specialists such as Templeton Brook Witt to ease your mind and free up your own time. Tax investigations can take the form of a full enquiry, aspect enquiry, or a random check. HMRC will inform you what they want to investigate, and this may include any taxes you pay, accounts and tax calculations, your Self Assessment tax return, your Company tax return, and PAYE records and returns of your employees. You are liable for a penalty if you refuse an inspection or investigation, bar a ‘reasonable excuse’ such as serious illness or death of a family member. Templeton Brook Witt is a barrister-led tax investigation company based in London and the first choice if you have been selected for an HMRC tax investigation. Tax investigations are complicated matters and best handled by experts in the field to avoid unnecessary penalties and waste of time. Templeton Brook Witt are seasoned professionals in all aspects of tax investigations, including CoP 8, CoP 9, APN, discovery assessments, DOTAS, VAT fraud, HMRC penalty, time to pay arrangement, loan charge, and contractor loan schemes.

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