12 months
Broadly, if you filed your tax return on time and made no changes to it, HMRC have 12 months from the date you filed the return in which to open an enquiry. Do not be afraid to challenge HMRC if you believe they are outside the time limit when an enquiry might be opened.
How long can an HMRC enquiry last?
4 years
Once an enquiry has been opened into your tax affairs, the HMRC have 4 years from the end of the tax year concerned to issue a discovery assessment.
What happens at the end of a HMRC enquiry?
At the end of an enquiry HMRC will write to tell you the enquiry is finished. They will tell you if they can accept the return you made. If HMRC considers that it has found something wrong with your tax return, but does not think that you have been negligent, they will write to tell you how they think your tax return needs to be corrected.
Is the HMRC right to investigate your tax return?
None of us is likely to thank HMRC for starting an enquiry into our tax return. The best way to view one is as a necessary check that only collects tax from those who avoid it unfairly. The aim is so that you and other law-abiding taxpayers don?t have to pay more than your dues.
When do I need to make a claim to HMRC?
HMRC has more time to enquire into returns if the conditions for a Discovery Assessment are met. When a claim is required to be made within a tax return, you are required to make the claim by 31 January following then end of the year of assessment. You are then allowed a further 12 months from the filing deadline to amend the return.
How long does HMRC SA have to give notice of refund?
But the HMRC SA manual says: Where a tax return for any tax year is delivered, or an amendment is made, on or before the filing date for that year, the period in which the notice can be given will be up to 12 months from the date the return is delivered.
