The taxpayer had her appeal upheld by the tribunal (Image: Getty)
A British taxpayer has been awarded £1,700 on appeal after a tribunal ruled that HMRC penalty emails could have been mistaken for a scam. Denise Howarth received a £100 penalty from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) after failing to click the submit button on her 2020/2021 self-assessment. However, emails about the penalty went to her junk folder and were deleted – meaning Ms Howarth only became aware of their existence in March 2023, after late fees and interest had hiked the amount she owed to £1,770.67.
She promptly filed the tax return and submitted an appeal, claiming that the emails had been wrongly sent to her junk folder because they were mistaken for a scam or phishing exercise. Despite HMRC’s argument that Ms Howarth had been informed of the penalty charge, a First Tier Tribunal sided with the taxpayer, ruling that her argument was a reasonable excuse for not paying the fine.
The HMRC emails were deleted from Ms Howarth’s junk folder (Image: Getty)
Ms Howarth reportedly had a spotless record of submitting her tax returns on time, dating back to 2004, with HMRC’s records suggesting that she had filed a day late in 2019/2020 – althrough the tribunal found that she had in fact filed on time.
She appeared to have signed up for HMRC email alerts on the same day she filed the 2019/2020 return, but claimed to have no recollection of doing so.
Ms Howarth also filled out her 2020/2021 tax return on the day of the deadline, but did not fully complete the process. She did, however, take a screenshot of what she believed to be the final page of the submission process.
Judge Keith Jordan said the email alerts from HMRC about the penalty were “bland” enough to be mistaken as “spam and/or phishing exercises” and ruled that it was reasonable for Ms Howarth to have deleted them from her junk folder.
“In some ways, the appellant was the author of her own misfortune in two key respects,” the judge added. “She had signed up to receive electronic communications from HMRC and, on at least three occasions, deleted genuine emails from HMRC which should have alerted her to check her personal tax account.
“On the other hand, [Ms Howarth] clearly strove to comply with her tax obligations over a number of years.
“There is nothing wrong with a taxpayer – particularly one with relatively simple affairs – routinely leaving the task of submitting a tax return to the evening of the deadline, or the previous day.”
The tribunal also upheld her appeal on the grounds that she remedied her failure to pay the return without delay as soon as she became aware it had not been submitted.
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The taxpayer had her appeal upheld by the tribunal (Image: Getty)
A British taxpayer has been awarded £1,700 on appeal after a tribunal ruled that HMRC penalty emails could have been mistaken for a scam. Denise Howarth received a £100 penalty from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) after failing to click the submit button on her 2020/2021 self-assessment. However, emails about the penalty went to her junk folder and were deleted – meaning Ms Howarth only became aware of their existence in March 2023, after late fees and interest had hiked the amount she owed to £1,770.67.
She promptly filed the tax return and submitted an appeal, claiming that the emails had been wrongly sent to her junk folder because they were mistaken for a scam or phishing exercise. Despite HMRC’s argument that Ms Howarth had been informed of the penalty charge, a First Tier Tribunal sided with the taxpayer, ruling that her argument was a reasonable excuse for not paying the fine.
The HMRC emails were deleted from Ms Howarth’s junk folder (Image: Getty)
Ms Howarth reportedly had a spotless record of submitting her tax returns on time, dating back to 2004, with HMRC’s records suggesting that she had filed a day late in 2019/2020 – althrough the tribunal found that she had in fact filed on time.
She appeared to have signed up for HMRC email alerts on the same day she filed the 2019/2020 return, but claimed to have no recollection of doing so.
Ms Howarth also filled out her 2020/2021 tax return on the day of the deadline, but did not fully complete the process. She did, however, take a screenshot of what she believed to be the final page of the submission process.
Judge Keith Jordan said the email alerts from HMRC about the penalty were “bland” enough to be mistaken as “spam and/or phishing exercises” and ruled that it was reasonable for Ms Howarth to have deleted them from her junk folder.
“In some ways, the appellant was the author of her own misfortune in two key respects,” the judge added. “She had signed up to receive electronic communications from HMRC and, on at least three occasions, deleted genuine emails from HMRC which should have alerted her to check her personal tax account.
“On the other hand, [Ms Howarth] clearly strove to comply with her tax obligations over a number of years.
“There is nothing wrong with a taxpayer – particularly one with relatively simple affairs – routinely leaving the task of submitting a tax return to the evening of the deadline, or the previous day.”
The tribunal also upheld her appeal on the grounds that she remedied her failure to pay the return without delay as soon as she became aware it had not been submitted.
