Ask for a review or appeal against a trust penalty charge
Ask for a review of a penalty charge for not registering or maintaining a trust, or appeal against a penalty decision.
If HMRC decide that you have deliberately failed to register a trust, or failed to keep the details of a trust up to date, we may charge you a fixed penalty of £5,000.
If you do not agree with a penalty charge, you can:
- ask us to review our decision
- make an appeal to a tribunal against a decision.
Requesting a review of a penalty
If you disagree with the penalty charge, you can ask for a review by writing to us at:
Solicitor’s Office and Legal Services
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1ZT
You can also email us at reviews@hmrc.gov.uk.
Your request must reach us within 30 days of the date we issue the penalty letter.
You must include:
- your name, as shown at the top of the penalty letter
- all references used at the top of the penalty letter, for example the 14-digit reference number
- the name of the HMRC officer or team named at the end of the penalty letter
What happens next
HMRC will review your case and send you a reply. This will normally be within 45 days of when we receive your request for a review.
If we agree with the original penalty decision, we’ll explain why we’ve decided to uphold it.
If we disagree with the original decision, we’ll cancel the penalty. If you have already paid the penalty, we will send you a refund.
Appealing against a penalty
If you do not want to ask HMRC for a review, or you do not agree with the outcome of our review, you can appeal to a tribunal.
Your request must reach HM Courts and Tribunals Service within 30 days of the date we send you the penalty decision letter.
If we have reviewed your case and you still want to appeal, your request must reach HM Courts and Tribunals Service within 30 days of the date we send you the letter that tells you the outcome of the review.
If you appeal to HM Courts and Tribunals Service, you must include a copy of the penalty letter or review decision that you want to appeal against. If you do not, they may reject your appeal.
Find out how to appeal to the tax tribunal.
Paying a penalty during a review or appeal
HMRC will not take action to collect any penalty from you while we are reviewing the penalty decision. We can still take action to collect payments while you are appealing against a decision.