15/07/2026
According to the Daily Express this morning HMRC is really ramping up it's attempts to crack down on tax evasion. They have been using AI and data analytics through their Connect system to spot anomalies in the information submitted for some time now. HMRC's scope goes a lot further than you would think. Posts on social media are fed in, as are bank accounts, information from DWP, information from mortgage companies, information from overseas authorities etc - the list goes on ....
If you have been submitting a claim for costs and you have no evidence that those costs have actually been incurred, then do bear in mind that HMRC can go back 6 years and add penalties which would normally be in the region of 30% of the total tax due, however could technically be 100% in extreme circumstances plus interest on a daily basis.
If someone has been submitting false claims on your behalf then it is still you that takes responsibility for those claims and you that will be held liable for the penalties.
Apparently 540,000 investigations were initiated through it's Connect system in the last financial year, and the amount of tax secured or protected was around £10bn.
Please make sure that you are not one of these statistics
