revenue audit

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scati

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Hi all got letter 2day to say i will be audited in a few weeks for 2008. It said they will call to place of business. Does that mean your home, as i dont have a business. I have one property i started to rent in mid 2008, and my accountants have all receipts. Should i be worried! help
 
Best to hand it all over to your accountants and keep it away from the home.
 
scati said:
Hi all got letter 2day to say i will be audited in a few weeks for 2008. It said they will call to place of business. Does that mean your home, as i dont have a business. I have one property i started to rent in mid 2008, and my accountants have all receipts. Should i be worried! help
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Speak with your accountant. They should be able to arrange for the Audit to be moved to their office. Given that you have all of your receipts and you have an accountant, it's unlikely that you'll have any issues. However, if there is a problem you should speak with your accountant about making a (prompted) qualifying disclosure. This should mitigate "the three P's" (penalties, publication and prosecution) if there's an issue.
 
Your accountants will liaise with Revenue on this for you. If you do not have a fixed place of business then Revenue can agree to hold the audit at, say, your accountants offices. Your accountants should review the return before hand with you to ensure that you are familiar again with the contents of what was filed. You will need to be in attendance for the start of the audit at least as the Revenue Auditor will have basic questions that they need to go through with you personally. Your accountants will be familiar with these and should run through the basic process with you.

If everything was properly filed and no errors or omissions are expected, then you should not spend too much time worrying.
 
mercman said:
Best to hand it all over to your accountants and keep it away from the home.
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Yes thats correct BUT BEWARE, as i had a VAT audit in Nov 07 and it was done in my accountants office for handiness of files etc and also as i was a sole trader so my home was my business address. In Jan 08 we got a one paragraph letter saying we had no further liability and everything was ok.
Accountants bill, and i might add they also did all of my VAT returns anyway, was €1800 for their services and use of staff and office.
be very careful what you say. as i told them, truthfully, that i sometimes kept money in my house, but not in a safe,even my wife had to give them copies of all her bank accounts and Credit Union statements.
Needless to say that was one Christmas we wont forget in a hurry!
 
donee said:
Yes thats correct BUT BEWARE, as i had a VAT audit in Nov 07 and it was done in my accountants office for handiness of files etc and also as i was a sole trader so my home was my business address. In Jan 08 we got a one paragraph letter saying we had no further liability and everything was ok.
Accountants bill, and i might add they also did all of my VAT returns anyway, was €1800 for their services and use of staff and office.
be very careful what you say. as i told them, truthfully, that i sometimes kept money in my house, but not in a safe,even my wife had to give them copies of all her bank accounts and Credit Union statements.
Needless to say that was one Christmas we wont forget in a hurry!
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€1,800 (even if it's not €1,500 plus VAT) for what you've outlined sounds reasonable.

You say that your accountant looks after your VAT returns and Revenue found no issues...in other words your accountant did their job.

And it's not a crime to keep cash in your home (and I very much doubt that Revenue auditors are using information obtained during Audits to rob people).

I'm also surprised that your wife's stuff was looked at in the context of a VAT audit (although admittedly I'm not familiar with your circumstances).

The OP should remember that one of the elements of a Qualifying Disclosure is that it must be in relation to all taxes and years.
 
Pat Bateman said:
The OP should remember that one of the elements of a Qualifying Disclosure is that it must be in relation to all taxes and years.
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Only if there is a deliberate default. For penalties arising from carelessness, the disclosure only has to deal with the period of the audit.
 
Nige said:
Only if there is a deliberate default. For penalties arising from carelessness, the disclosure only has to deal with the period of the audit.
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The time frame of the Audit can be extended and altered depending on the circumstances and the report of the Inspector.
 
Nige said:
Only if there is a deliberate default. For penalties arising from carelessness, the disclosure only has to deal with the period of the audit.
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This would be a "Prompted Qualifying Disclosure" so liabilities arising for reasons other than "deliberate default" must also be disclosed.
 
Nige said:
not for all tax heads and all tax years though.
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The 2002 Code of Practice uses the phrase "including related liabilities for tax heads or periods not within the initial scope of the audit or audit enquiry" in relation to the conditions which must be satisfied.
 
Pat Bateman said:
The 2002 Code of Practice uses the phrase "including related liabilities for tax heads or periods not within the initial scope of the audit or audit enquiry" in relation to the conditions which must be satisfied.
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and the legislation, which was introduced by the finance act (no 2) 2008 distinguishes between the levels of disclosure required where the penalty category would be deliberate default or carelessness.
 
I had an audit and they came to my home, as I & the accountant were happy with the figures we got an letter a few weeks later saying we had no further liability. The audotor told me we could have met in one of their rooms if I wished. However I was happy to do it from home as I had all the records, and would have forgot one particular file she was after.

Out of interest now that I have been audited when I am likely to be looked at again?
Last years audit was the first in 8 years
 
Personally I would not like Revenue to attend my home for an audit, they have the power to carry on an audit at your home though if thats were your place of business is carried on. I would agree with the sugestion to have it carried on at your accountants, and if you have any doubts I would also suggest that your accountant be present and answer any queries.
 
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