Loan written off: are you in HMRC’s crosshairs?
HMRC is writing to directors that took a loan from their company that was later written off or released. What should you do if you receive a letter?
The letters are being sent to taxpayers who:
- had a director’s loan that was written off or released between April 2019 and April 2023; and
- did not declare the amount as income on their self-assessment tax return.
The amount released or written off is treated as an income distribution and is taxable at the appropriate dividend rates. If you do need to pay extra tax you can tell HMRC by using the digital disclosure service. This service can be used even if the loan was written off or released before April 2019, but for loans released or written off since 6 April 2023, you can simply amend your tax return to reflect the additional income.
Related Topics
-
Special payroll deadline for Christmas
If you pay staff early in December because of Christmas it’s important that you enter the information on your payroll submission correctly. What do you need to know to get this right?
-
Paying VAT when cash is tight
Your business has suffered a major cash-flow problem caused by an unexpected bad debt. Your VAT return is due for payment and you do not have enough funds to pay on time. What can you do?
-
How to improve your state pension
If you ask the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) it will tell you that once you’ve paid 35 full years of NI contributions you can’t increase your state pension by paying more. That’s wrong. When can paying NI beyond the 35-year limit benefit you?
This website uses both its own and third-party cookies to analyze our services and navigation on our website in order to improve its contents (analytical purposes: measure visits and sources of web traffic). The legal basis is the consent of the user, except in the case of basic cookies, which are essential to navigate this website.