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Naturalisation - good character - HMRC penalty

Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2024 9:21 am
by LucyndaBlake
Hi,

I am an Italian national and have applied for British citizenship. My problem is I went over the threshold for backdate my VAT registration and have had to amend my tax returns for 2022/2023 and 2023/2024. This happened after I had already submitted my application. There has been no consequence so far other than interest. I have paid my taxess even though they are due in January. My account now says I will probable get a penalty for late VAT registration, which he can then appeal within hmrc and ask to be reduced. I have no problem paying the penalty, but now I am wondering if this will hurt my application because of the good character requirement. I went over the VAT treshold and did not know I had to register for VAT so it was not something I did on purpose. Once I receive the penalty, should I try to inform UKVI?

Re: Naturalisation - good character - HMRC penalty

Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2024 9:41 am
by alterhase58
As such having tax issues are not a problem - personally I have underpaid tax and I sorted it out and didn't disclose.
HMRC penalties are not criminal sanctions and as long as you comply with your obligations you'll be ok. If they take you to court that's a different matter, but unlikely for what you describe. If and when you receive the penalty then you can advise UKVI, for peace of mind but will not impact your application.

NB: Did you create another account on the forum - "lucyndasmithsson"? Members are not allowed to use multiple accounts!