Directors and Unpaid Corporation Tax: HMRC and You

About this episode

This episode discusses the implications of unpaid corporation tax for directors and the limitations of the corporate veil in the UK.

One of the biggest advantages of running a business through a limited company is the protection it offers your personal assets. But that protection is not absolute. In this episode of I Hate Numbers, we look at the corporate veil, when it holds, when it does not, and what HMRC can do when directors cross the line on unpaid corporation tax. What Is the Corporate Veil? When you set up a limited company in the UK, you are effectively building a wall between your business and your personal life. On one side sits the company, its debts, its bills, and its taxes. On the other side is you, your home, your car, and your personal savings. This is limited liability, a legal shield designed to encourage people to take risks and start businesses without fearing that one bad month will cost them the family home. The problem is that wall is not indestructible. HMRC has ways of climbing over it, and they are using them more and more. The law protects honest directors who run into genuine bad luck, but where there is evidence of misconduct, negligence, or what HMRC calls deliberate behaviour, that shield can vanish entirely. Preference Payments: Paying the Wrong People First The most common way…

People in this episode

Host: I Hate Numbers

Topics covered

• corporate veil
• limited company
• unpaid corporation tax
• HMRC
• directors
• liability

Keywords

• corporate veil
• limited company
• HMRC
• unpaid tax
• directors
• liability
• preference payments

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HMRC

Places: UK

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