HMRC says you're an employee; you say you're in business on your own account. Hall v Lorimer is the 1993 case that decides status by standing back and painting a picture from the detail—not by ticking a checklist.
You missed the deadline to appeal an HMRC decision—can the tribunal still let you in? Data Select v HMRC sets out the five questions a tribunal asks before extending time, the foundation of the test the First-tier Tribunal applies today.
HMRC says you owe tax on your bank interest or dividends—often for years you never had to think about. A plain-English guide to why this is happening, the date-sensitive allowances HMRC and taxpayers keep getting wrong, and how to challenge a P800, a Simple Assessment or an ISA ruling.
HMRC has reduced or refused your capital allowances claim—usually because it says the asset isn't 'plant'. A plain-English guide for sole traders and company directors: the plant test, the rates (the main rate was cut to 14% from April 2026), the fixtures trap, and how to appeal.
HMRC has refused, capped or clawed back the input VAT you reclaimed—or says your purchases were 'connected to fraud'. A plain-English guide for VAT-registered businesses: why reclaiming VAT is a conditional right, the invalid-invoice trap, blocked items, and how to appeal.
An unexpected HMRC pension tax charge has landed—an annual allowance charge, an unauthorised payments charge, an old lifetime allowance charge, or refused contribution relief. A plain-English guide: how each charge works, who is assessed, and the real grounds of challenge.
Hit with £10-a-day penalties up to £900 on top of the £100? You suspect HMRC botched the paperwork. Donaldson v HMRC tested exactly that hope—and the taxpayer lost. Here is where the real openings are.
Had an HMRC letter clawing back job expenses, taxing a company car or benefit, or taxing part of your redundancy payment? A plain-English guide for employees: why the deduction rules are so strict, what you can really claim, and how to challenge an assessment or penalty.
You filed your return, disclosed everything, and heard nothing—then years later a discovery assessment arrives. Langham v Veltema explains the 'hypothetical officer' test, why silence isn't protection, and how to disclose so HMRC can't reopen your year.
Had an HMRC letter about rental income—a Let Property Campaign nudge, a discovery assessment, or an enquiry into your expenses? A plain-English guide for accidental landlords: how rental tax really works, the mortgage-interest shock, and how to challenge an assessment or penalty.
HMRC already knew what you owed from PAYE, so surely the notice to file was pointless and the penalty invalid? Goldsmith v HMRC says no—but it leaves four other arguments wide open.
Border Force seized your alcohol, tobacco or car? There are two separate routes—and a one-month trap. Why the tax tribunal cannot order your goods back, when it can still help, and the deadline that closes first.
Guides
You've had an accelerated payment notice or follower notice and discovered there's no appeal to the tribunal. Here's what these notices are, why the law works this way, the 90-day clock, the penalties—and the limited ways you can still challenge them.
Issues
HMRC has questioned your company's corporation tax? Companies sit in their own code—Schedule 18 FA 1998—so deadlines, discovery gateways and penalties differ from the income-tax rules. A director's guide to enquiries, discovery, penalties, director's loans and how to appeal.
Guides
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax went live in April 2026. Find out if it applies to you, the four things it requires, how to claim an exemption if you genuinely can't go digital, and your appeal rights if you're already facing a penalty.
Cases
An unrepresented appellant backed her CGT penalty appeal with nine tribunal decisions—and not one of them existed. They were AI-generated. Harber v HMRC is the UK's leading warning on fabricated case law, and a guide to finding the real thing.
Issues
You left the UK, you're non-resident, your s.690 workday split cut UK income tax to your UK days—so why is there a National Insurance bill on 100% of your salary, both sides? Because NIC is a separate system with its own rules.
Issues
Swapping, spending or gifting crypto can trigger a tax bill even if you never withdrew cash. A plain-English guide to what HMRC taxes, how to disclose, and how to challenge its figures.
Cases
If HMRC says your trust loan was really your salary, Rangers is the case that explains why 'it was only a loan' usually fails. Here is what the Supreme Court actually decided about redirected earnings—and the narrow boundary the courts have since drawn around it.
Issues
Had a letter about your overseas accounts, or have undisclosed offshore income? The 200% penalty is a worst-case maximum, not your bill. How disclosure works, what the certificate of tax position really means, and how offshore penalties can be challenged.
Cases
A first-tier judge called HMRC's conduct unconscionable and cancelled the penalty. The Upper Tribunal restored every penny. Hok v HMRC explains why the tax tribunal cannot fix unfairness—and where your fairness argument actually belongs.
Guides
A V5 letter instead of a VAT number? HMRC's verification questionnaires decoded, the deadlines that bite, and why the tribunal can't fix delay.
Issues
Run a UK company from abroad and HMRC is querying where your business belongs? Why it's a company-level test, why being overseas can mean a nil VAT threshold, and what you can appeal.
Issues
HMRC sent you a letter about your online sales, and the headlines are alarming. Here's what the new platform-reporting rules actually mean—and why most people who get one of these letters owe nothing at all.