Taxes Management Act 1970 section 28C

Determination of tax where no return delivered

Section 28C allows HMRC to estimate a taxpayer's income tax and capital gains tax liability when the taxpayer has failed to file a self-assessment return by the filing date.

• Where a taxpayer fails to submit a required self-assessment return by the filing date, an HMRC officer may make a determination of the income tax and capital gains tax owed, based on the best information available to them.
• The determination is treated as if it were a self-assessment for the purposes of collection and recovery, and remains in effect until the taxpayer (or HMRC) supersedes it by filing a proper self-assessment return.
• The determination must be made within three years of the filing date, and a self-assessment superseding the determination must be made within either that same three-year window or twelve months from the date of the determination, whichever is later.
• If recovery proceedings or enforcement action (including direct recovery from bank accounts) are already underway when the determination is superseded by a self-assessment, those proceedings can continue for any tax that remains due under the self-assessment.