Taxes Management Act 1970 section 88A

Determinations under section 88

Section 88A deals with the process and effect of determinations made by HMRC when a taxpayer has failed to submit a required tax return, and how such determinations interact with subsequently submitted returns.

• Where a taxpayer fails to deliver a tax return, HMRC may make a determination of the tax due to the best of their information and belief, which then has effect as if it were a self-assessment by the taxpayer.
• A determination under section 88 is superseded once the taxpayer delivers the outstanding return containing a self-assessment, provided this is done within the time limits allowed.
• If a taxpayer delivers the return after a determination has been made, the self-assessment in that return replaces the determination, but only to the extent that it covers the same tax liability.
• The provisions introduced by the Finance Act 1996 refined the rules around these determinations to ensure consistency with the self-assessment regime and to clarify the interaction between officer determinations and taxpayer self-assessments.

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