10% Surcharge on Tax Return

Feelgood

Hi guys,

I finished up IT contracting in Dublin back in early October to leave for Oz, with my final return to be submitted on Oct 31st.

Prior to leaving I called accountant to confirm that everything was in order with my accounts and they confirmed the my return was ready to be filed and everything was perfect.

I headed off to Australia, left funds in my Irish account to be picked up by revenue. I get an email today from my accountant to say that they didn't have a form 11 signed from me and that my tax return hasn't been submitted and to top it all off I know owe revenue an additional 10%?. I definitely sent back all forms signed (Must have been misplaced by the accountant) and I got confirmation before I left that my return was ready to be filed.

What are my options here?. The surcharge is due to their slip up?. Do I call revenue and explain the situation?. My accountants refuse to entertain me, stating that it was my fault. I basically just want to get my original return in and paid without the surcharge included?.

Thanks

berettaman

Hi Feelgood,
You have a couple of options here. You can gently pressurise the accountant to contact the Revenue to plead for leniency on your behalf. Alternatively you can approach the Revenue yourself and plead your case. Explain how the problem arose and see how that goes. In my experience you will get a Revenue official that will remove the 10% surcharge(particularly if it is less than €1,000) and give you a do not do it again speech.
However, as an accountant, if the Revenue deadline was midnight and I had a correct IT return and I had everything bar the signature I would bang it in and get you to sign afterwards, if there were changes I could always amend the return subsequently.
Hope that helps,
Berettaman.

Feelgood

Berettaman, listen thanks very much for the response. Its exactly what I
wanted to hear, its around the 1100 mark

My accountant is being extremely snotty about it basically calling me an idiot, I pleaded with them to talk to revenue on my behalf and they wouldn't. I asked extremely nicely too and they wont do it. :mad:

Is there anywhere I can send a formal complaint?. In 2007 they submitted my tax return for 9 months instead of 12 too and it wasn't noticed till the following year. Bloody useless! :mad:

I'm crap at book keeping which is why I hired them in the first place..

smcgiff

I think we may be dealing with a new Revenue, and it may not be so easy to get interest and penalties written off.

barneystinson

smcgiff wrote: »

I think we may be dealing with a new Revenue, and it may not be so easy to get interest and penalties written off.

You may be right as regards interest and penalties, but surcharge is a different kettle of fish. I'd say the OP would be fairly unlucky not to be able to successfully plead his case directly with Revenue IF he has a good previous track record of compliance, and if he'd paid sufficient prelim tax etc...

Feelgood

barneystinson wrote: »

I'd say the OP would be fairly unlucky not to be able to successfully plead his case directly with Revenue IF he has a good previous track record of compliance, and if he'd paid sufficient prelim tax etc...

Cheers Barney, mt track record is 100% and I had paid 10k+++
in prelim tax for 2009. Basically the situation was is that the year previous
to 2009 my acct consultants only put through my tax from January to October, when I had worked from January to December.

So when it came to the 2009 return, it was a case of oh sorry we forgot about 2 months in 2008, you actually owe for 14 months this year instead of 12. Which was fair enough, I dealt with it. I just had to pay 2k last October seen my prelim tax covered everything.

So they misplaced my form 11, didn't submit my return in Oct as expected and decided to tell me about it in February with a 10% surcharge slapped on top?. So that 2k is now 3k. :mad:

I called them before I left for Oz, I asked if they had everything they needed and did they need anything from me, I got verbal an written confirmation that my return was ready.

This is a well known contractors accountants in Dublin and they are absolutely useless. They refuse to admit they might have made a mistake, they wouldn't help me whatsoever, they wouldn't call revenue for me even though I explained I am in Oz and that its difficult for me. I mean I was a paying customer for nearly 6 years?. Just because I'm not anymore its a f**k you?

hinault

Feelgood wrote: »

Cheers Barney, mt track record is 100% and I had paid 10k+++
in prelim tax for 2009. Basically the situation was is that the year previous
to 2009 my acct consultants only put through my tax from January to October, when I had worked from January to December.

So when it came to the 2009 return, it was a case of oh sorry we forgot about 2 months in 2008, you actually owe for 14 months this year instead of 12. Which was fair enough, I dealt with it. I just had to pay 2k last October seen my prelim tax covered everything.

So they misplaced my form 11, didn't submit my return in Oct as expected and decided to tell me about it in February with a 10% surcharge slapped on top?. So that 2k is now 3k. :mad:

I called them before I left for Oz, I asked if they had everything they needed and did they need anything from me, I got verbal an written confirmation that my return was ready.

This is a well known contractors accountants in Dublin and they are absolutely useless. They refuse to admit they might have made a mistake, they wouldn't help me whatsoever, they wouldn't call revenue for me even though I explained I am in Oz and that its difficult for me. I mean I was a paying customer for nearly 6 years?. Just because I'm not anymore its a f**k you?

If your accountant is a member of a professional body (they should be if they're providing auditing and taxation advice to clients) I would suggest making a formal approach to the professional body of that practice and make a formal complaint

Chances are if they've messed you about, they will have messed other clients about also.

Feelgood

hinault wrote: »

If your accountant is a member of a professional body (they should be if they're providing auditing and taxation advice to clients) I would suggest making a formal approach to the professional body of that practice and make a formal complaint

Chances are if they've messed you about, they will have messed other clients about also.

Solid advice hinault thank you, this had crossed my mind alright.
How do I know what accountancy body they are a member of though?

hinault

Feelgood wrote: »

Solid advice hinault thank you, this had crossed my mind alright.
How do I know what accountancy body they are a member of though?

I'd check any correspondence which you have received from the company.
Normally their correspondence will list the names of the partners/principal of the practice at the bottom of their letter with the relevant designation
(ACCA = chartered certified accountants, ACA = chartered accountant and CPA= Certified Public Accountants).

The first A in ACCA and ACA, means that the partner/principal is an associate member of the respective institute
If you see F (FCCA or FCA), this designates that the partner/principal is a fellow of the institute.

Hope this helps

nompere

The firm's letterhead will (should) indicate which body regulates them. That's who to complain to. In my own firm we have partners who are FCA, AITI and ACCA - but our paper says we are regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

Barneystinson is right - it's very rare for a properly contrite letter not to get a surcharge waived.