Can anybody report me to the Tax Office if They know my name and addres??

Question

I"ve been renting a room from a lady for a year for my very small buiness that I just started a year ago. I've been paying my rent in cash every time and was never given any receit for that.my income was very small, I could hardly live on that money, had to save on everything that's why I didn't register for any taxes.Now It's picked up very quickly and I'm doing really well and I want to register as self employed and do it properly. And I also decided to move to different premises so the lady I was paying my rent is very upset about it and she turned very nasty to me and she wants to report me to the Tax people saying that she knows that I'm not paying my income tax and I'll be tax investigated. How true is that? Could she really find out this information so easily just knowing my name and address or do you think she is bluffing?? Can she really report me to the Tax Office even if she never gave me receit for my rent?? What can Tax people do in my case?? Please help

Answer 1

She may be opening a can of worms for herself. It's unlikely that she claimed the rent as income, since she gave you no receipt.

If you made very little income, you weren't even required to file a return.

If she does as she threatens, you will just have to show your income and if any tax is due, you will have some interest and penalties . This may initiate an audit for your landlord.

Answer 2

If you didn't register as being self employed then yes you could be reported. You should state you are self employed even before you start whatever business it is (i'm self employd myself). That's not so important though so long as you've been paying taxes, you'll only be in trouble if you havent been filling in a tax return but you say you only started business a year ago so you won't have even had your first return yet. Bare in mind if your landlady has been taking cash payments she's probably not declaring her income either! (rent is an income and tax must be paid on it).
All you need to do is contact your local council office (or find them online) and register as being self employed. Fill in a tax return using your books (you're stuffed if you havent kept booked) and pay your tax. If you think you'll just get away and not be noticed then you're wrong, if you have money going into a bank account and aren't paying tax it'll show up automatically.
A lot of info there but to cut it short, register now as being self employed or you could be looking at thousands of pounds of fines.

Answer 3

Yes of course she could report you, but it's very unlikely that she will. Most people who threaten such action are bluffing, because they don't want to get involved with the authorities.
Firstly, contact HMRC and explain that you failed to register as self employed. You'll get a fixed fine of £100, but at least you'll then be on their records.
Get an accountant.
You've been trading for a year so your first years accounts are due, but these aren't required until you submit your 2008 tax return, and you haven't missed any due dates for tax payments.
However, be warned that you will have tax to pay if you've made reasonable profits, and this will be due in one hit in January 2009.

Answer 4

I'm sure you could be reported, but as your first answer stated - the lady is probably on a fiddle herself.
Even if you had have registered as self employed, chances are that your records would have been lost.
I think you will probably get a little slap on the wrist from HMC&E, but from experience I have found them to be very helpful.
I know that the paperwork side when starting up seems very daunting - for that reason I always use a professional and refer everything to them.
Corporation tax is generally paid in arrears anyway, but I'd suggest you seek the services of an accountant pretty quick.
I doubt very much that your case is unique, and by correcting it now, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Answer 5

In answer to your initial question. Yes they can.
You need to register as self employed from the date you started. You should have kept records of your self employed business no matter how small, (all income and expenditures). You should keep receipts for all your business purchases and all your business income. Your rent I presume is private not business in which case it will be money earnt by the business and paid to yourself as part of your wage. It sounds like your income for the past year is quite low and maybe you will have no or very little tax to pay for this first year??!!

Take care. Remember it pays to be honest with government bodies. They are not fools. They like honesty and contrary to popular belief THEY DO LIKE TO HELP.

As for your X-landlady she is without doubt a fool.

Answer 6

If the landlady has been taking rent off of you, she may not be declaring it either, as you have no reciepts, it would be hard for her to prove you have paid her, I would take the chance & ignore her, you are not the only person on this planet that has ignored the tax man, you will not be the last,

Answer 7

Anybody can report you if you are not paying your taxes. Maybe you should go to the IRS and explain all this to them and they should be ale to help you make things right, you don't want something like this hanging over your head and then someday it comes back and bits you in the butt.