CH81120 - Types of inaccuracy: What is reasonable care

This guidance applies to returns and documents with a filing date on or after 1 April 2009 where the return covers a tax period beginning on or after 1 April 2008 seeCH81011for full details.

An inaccuracy that is careless incurs a penalty. The law defines ‘careless’ as a failure to take reasonable care, see CH81140.

Every person must take reasonable care, but ‘reasonable care’ cannot be identified without consideration of the particular person’s abilities and circumstances. HMRC recognises the wide range of capabilities and circumstances of those persons completing returns or claims.

So whilst each person has a responsibility to take reasonable care, what is necessary for each person to discharge that responsibility has to be viewed in the light of that person’s abilities and circumstances.

For example, we would not expect the same level of knowledge or expertise from a self- employed un-represented individual as we would from a large multinational company. We would expect a higher degree of care to be taken over large and complex matters than simple straightforward ones.

HMRC expects each person to make and keep sufficient records for them to make a complete and accurate return.

A person with simple, straightforward tax affairs needs only a simple regime provided they follow it carefully. But a person with larger and more complex tax affairs will need to put in place more sophisticated systems and follow them equally carefully.

In HMRC’s view it is reasonable to expect a person who encounters a transaction or other event with which they are not familiar to take care to find out about the correct tax treatment or to seek appropriate advice.

If after that the person is still unsure they should draw attention to the entry and the uncertainty when they send the return or document to us. In these circumstances the person will have taken reasonable care to draw our attention to the point and if they are wrong they will not have been carelessly so.