So my accounts were so terribly mismanaged by my (former) accountant for a company that stopped trading about a year ago, that I owe about double the tax I could if PAYE had been filed correctly (from about £3000 to about £6,000) and a whole host of late fees (since the first time I knew there was a problem was when an ominious must be signed for leter turned up from companies house, at an address I no longer lived at, as it never occured to them in the 3 months previous to the accountants to contact me at all).
Fired them and hired a new account with what little money I have left. I have have no source of income (not even benifits given I wasn't eligiable as still technically a company owner). And now have a company tax bill I have no hope of paying (given it is twice what I expected) due immediately.
Any suggestions to get the ammount reduced (since I can argue it was their fault my tax is so much), avoid it, delay it, or conjour up several thousand pounds out of my arse are welcome.
reddit.com/r/ukpersonalfinance might be able to help.
In my experience, ringing them and speaking to them usually helps, they're strangely helpful with these things, usually because I guess it's better to have you contact them to work something out than you not be able to pay at all.
If it's definitely company tax for a registered limited company (Ltd. or plc), and not your personal income tax, then it's the company's money that needs to pay it, and usually you're not under any obligation to top it up yourself. If the strike-off completes successfully (i.e. HMRC haven't lodged an objection and got it suspended) then the company will cease to exist, and good luck to the them. If they do suspend the strike-off, then they may be able to get the company liquidated, in which case they'll have to settle for whatever's left if it doesn't settle the bill.
I know someone that ended up in pretty much the same problem, albeit with a much smaller demand. He received a letter from HMRC, addressed to John Smith as the director of John Smith Ltd., which he'd used as a contractor and wound up when he went permanent. After much to and fro, it was established that liability for the bill lay with the company, and as it no longer existed they could go do one.
Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on television.
It's not your debt, it's the company's debt. HMRC can't collect anything from you personally. If you don't pay it, HMRC will apply to the court to have your company liquidated. The debt will die with the company. As long as you haven't personally guaranteed any debts belonging to the company, then you will not be liable for any of them.
If the Insolvency Service finds that you seriously mismanaged the company, you could be fined or disqualified from being a company director. This is most likely if you took dividends from the company in the knowledge that the company was not making a profit. This outcome is probably preferable to your current situation. If you're disqualified from being a director, there's nothing stopping you from operating as a sole trader.
I can't give you any specific advice without knowing the details of your situation, but you may find it easiest to contact HMRC and tell them that the company is no longer trading and is insolvent. There's no point in hiding the fact that the company has run out of money; trying to hide the fact will only make your situation worse.
If you haven't traded in the last three months, you could apply to have the company struck off the register. If the company is struck off it becomes property of the crown, so its debts are no longer your problem. Applying to have a company struck off costs £10 and takes about 20 minutes. Creditors can prevent a company from being struck off, but they might not bother if the company obviously has no assets. If you do apply for striking off, read form DS01 and the guidance notes carefully.
My accountant only worked out what I owe today, so I haven't had the chance yet. That is something they suggested, they also made what I could only presume were veild recomendations of how to avoid it.
Once, I was so bad at jobseeking, let alone actually being employed, that they moved me from jobseekers allowance (JSA) to employment and support allowance (ESA). The rates were the same - I was under 25, so it was £127 or thereabouts, every fortnight. Then, one morning after a house party, with some solid friends and a bit of wishful thinking, I checked my bank balance. There was 1200 motherbloody pounds in there. Turns out on ESA, they actually give you more money for being crap at life, and the amount was £247 every fortnight, so they gave me a rebate without ever telling me anything about it.
Needless to say, I just lol'd at the free money and spent it all experience collecting, which is a trendy and vague way of admitting that I am a filthy drug addict.
Fuck off you wet wipe, I was signed off for 18 months due to illness, I just left that out because it wouldn't have been funny with that detail included. I'd worked from 16-22 without any period of unemployment, worked two jobs on numerous occasions for 6 months + at a time, and more than paid my way in tax to take the necessary time off without feeling guilty about it.
Had this been America, or had our system been different, I might have ended up on the streets and become a legitimate strain on society and caused far more cost, due to the higher rates of hospitalisation and perpetration/victim hood of crime that comes with that lifestyle.
