Business Tax Letter Sample – Inaccuracy Penalty Appeal

(Your address) XXX

Company Name/Individual Name

Self-Assessment

XXX XXX

[Date]

[Enter year, e.g. 2024/2025]

[Subject] e.g. Tax Return – Inaccuracy Penalty Appeal

Dear Sir/Madam,

UTR: [Your ‘Unique Tax Reference’ or ‘UTR’ is your ten-digit Self-Assessment taxpayer reference – enter in the format followed in your region]

I am writing this letter to you in reference to the notice you sent me on (enter date) which states that I am being charged with “inaccuracy penalty” with respect to the mistake on my tax return on (enter year) on the grounds of “carelessness”.

As per my understanding, the penalties pertaining to carelessness take place or/and get charged if an individual failed to take reasonable care. Furthermore, I fully understand that before passing any judgment, whether or not I have complied with reasonable care or not, it is imperative to consider various factors, such as background, personal circumstance and previous experiences with tax-related matters; how I have paid and return the taxes throughout the years.

In the light of this matter, I believe that I have always taken reasonable care when it comes to the tax returns. To prove this, I am sharing with you the factors that support my claim:

[Mention here the reasons to why HRMC (or any other institute) is wrong in labeling you as careless – the following illustration is for the better understanding]

In the past I have always prepared my tax returns as I am unable to afford the advising of a tax officer. Therefore, I do not consider myself as a careless tax filer. I have always done my very best to accurately complete the process, which can be testified by the fact that I have never faced these claims and issues before. Additionally, throughout the years I have always kept my bank statements and official correspondences safe and this helps me in stating the correct figures while cross-checking the tax returns. All of these practices ensure that I file the tax returns in the proper, honest manner.

With respect to everything I have stated above, I would like to disclose that the mistake I made while entering the figures is of my yearly state pension figure. I apologise for this mistake as it has caused a lot of trouble as well. While I did double check, like all these years, I am afraid I mixed up the digits this one time and sent it to you. In my defence, I am a 73-year-old man who lives on his own and made this very mistake for the first time. I would request HMRC to accept my mistake and not penalise me under the CH81130 rule of the Compliance Handbook Manual.

This was a genuine, sincere mistake and I will be extremely grateful to you if you understand my situation. Additionally, kindly look into my previous records and notice how none of this has never been done throughout my time as a tax filer. I request you to reduce my penalty to none.

I look forward to your positive reply.

Kind regards,

XYZ

(Enter Unique Tax reference number)