In Barry Gilbert v HMRC [2018] TC6627 a non resident failed to report the disposal of his UK property within the 30 day deadline. His appeal against his late filing penalties failed: the FTT found that a non-resident failed to keep himself abrest of UK law.

  • Mr Gilbert had lived in Israel for 15 years
  • He had limited computer access
  • He sold a UK residential property.
  • Unaware of the new 30 day reporting obligation for Non-Resident Capital Gains Tax he filed his return 7 months late and received £400 of Late Filing penalties.
  • He appealed against the assessment claiming that he had a Reasonable Excuse for his failure: HMRC had not informed him of the changes, the new law was not widely publicised and it was difficult for him to obtain information

Judge Hellier found that

Mr Gilbert had not made any attempt to discover whether there had been any changes in the law, whilst not expected to make daily enquiries, holding property in a  foregin jurisdiction exposes the owner to the rules of that jurisdiction, and he considered that the hypothetical reasonable taxpayer would have attempted some enquiries. 

The appeal was rejected.

Comment

The tribunal is divided as to whether ignorance of this particular new filing deadline can amount to a reasonable excuse. If you are non UK resident and not a tax expert it seems reasonable that you should take appropriate advice. The twist in the tale and what has caught people most out is that normally CGT is reported via the Self Assessment return, in this case NRCGT is reported on a new online return, within 30 days.

Links to our practical guides

How to Appeal a Tax Penalty

Penalties: Late filing

Grounds for Appeal: Reasonable Excuse

Non-Resident CGT: UK residential property

The Non-Residents' Tax Toolkit

Non-Resident Landlords Scheme

External links

Barry Gilbert v HMRC [2018] TC6627