Director information hub: HMRC joint and several liability notices
These notices make directors and others responsible for paying the tax debts of companies they've been involved in.
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Joint and several liability
After a company becomes insolvent, HMRC can issue ‘joint and several liability’ notices to directors and others associated with the company to make sure tax is paid.
They can also be issued before an insolvency, if insolvency is likely to happen.
A joint and several liability notice tells you that you’re personally responsible, along with the company and anyone else issued with a notice, to pay the penalty amount raised against the company.
These notices are a way of making sure tax is paid even after a company enters insolvency.
The legislation for this is contained in Schedule 13 of the Finance Act 2020.
When the legislation applies
You could receive a joint and several liability notice in cases of:
- tax avoidance and tax evasion
- repeated insolvency and non-payment cases
- facilitating avoidance or evasion, for example: helping others to avoid or evade paying tax due
Full guidance on joint and several liability notices is available from HMRC.