When you sell a property you’ve “lived in” the whole time, you don’t normally expect to pay tax when you sell it, do you? Typically nowadays you can make a gain and most people know that it’s not taxable. But what if you don’t actually move in straight away? This may happen if you are living somewhere else in a home you can’t yet sell or you’re carrying out major work on the new home so you can’t live there, or your new home is yet to be finished on the build. At the moment with these three examples you are probably covered for up to one year from date of purchase, possibly even longer in special cases. Unfortunately however a taxpayer recently wasn’t granted this concession when they exceeded a period of two years. But, bizarrely, another taxpayer was granted this concession – when they also exceeded two years. A concession isn’t law and we are at the mercy of HMRC discretion unless the courts can step in and say otherwise.

But there is clarity now on its way…

For properties sold after 5 April 2020, the law will allow for a delay of up to 24 months before moving into the property, but if that 24-month period is breached none of the initial ownership period will qualify for PPR. So, typically, when a concession becomes law, it becomes all or nothing. This is another good reason why you should take advice before selling a home, if you didn’t move in straight away. We’ve already blogged that from 6 April 2020 if you make a taxable gain on residential property, you will only have 30 days after completion, to make a return and pay the tax. If you owed tax on selling your home, because of this new law, it looks as though you’ll have only 30 days to pay.

Back in April 2019 we mentioned some further tax traps if you are resident in the UK and you exchange contracts to sell a residential property from 6 April 2020…..?

Bombshell Number One

If you lived somewhere either before or after you let it out to someone else there was a very useful tax break called “lettings relief” but from 6 April 2020 you will only be able to claim “lettings relief” if you lived in the house at the same time as your tenant. However, if you live in your house as your main home, that period is covered anyway by the existing Principal Private Residence tax relief ! This new arrangement only therefore helps when you do not live there as your main residence. Homeowners who move and then let out their former home could be significantly affected by this change in capital gains tax relief. You will also be affected if you let out and then move in to use it as your main residence. If you are contemplating selling in this situation, it would be wise to take advice NOW and we have the expertise to provide this.

Bombshell Number Two

If you owe tax on selling or giving away residential property from 6 April 2020 you must –

• Make a special return within 30 days of completion, and
• Pay the estimated tax due within 30 days of completion

The rules are pretty complex. When you calculate the gain on selling, you still take the date of exchange as being the tax date of disposal. But the special return is due within 30 days from completion. You still need to make a “normal” tax return by 31 January after the tax year of disposal (decided by the exchange date) . To explain further, here are three different examples….

1. If you exchange on say 31 March 2020 but complete on 8 April 2020, you should just inform HMRC about this before 6 October 2020 and make your tax return to show the gain by 31 January 2021 and pay the tax by 31 January 2021.
2. If you exchange on say 7 April 2020 but complete on 12 June 2020, you must make your special return and pay the estimated gains tax by 12 July 2020. When you make your “normal” tax return you take in to account the tax you paid earlier under the 30 day rule. You make your “normal” return by 31 January 2021.
3. If you exchange on say 5 April 2021 but complete on 12 June 2021, you must make your gains return and pay the estimated gains tax by 12 July 2021. When you make your “normal” tax return for 2020/2021 you take in to account the tax you paid earlier under the 30 day rule. This means the estimated tax you paid during 2021/22 is referred back to your tax due for 2020/21.

And there’s more…..

• The 30 day rule payment is only an estimate because when you complete you may not know about other possible gains or losses to be made in that tax year that have not yet occurred.
• When you calculate the estimated tax you can take account of all tax reliefs available before the return is made such as losses in earlier years and your capital gains tax annual exemption.
• You can’t get back any estimated tax overpaid until your “normal” tax return is submitted. So, if you over-estimate tax payable for say June 2020, you can’t recover it until late April or May 2021 at the very earliest.
• There will be penalties for not making returns and for sending returns in late.
• HMRC will know about transactions by receiving data from HM Land Registry.
• It will pay you to estimate your 30 day gains tax as accurately as you can.
• You only have to make these special returns if you owe gains tax on the disposal.
• A gift to a spouse or civil partner is tax free if you are not separated in the year of giving.
• Gifts to family (as well as friends) are usually subject to capital gains tax.
• If you make a gift of property you will have to pay the tax due within 30 days, with no cash proceeds available to fund the tax bill.

We do believe that many conveyancers (including solicitors) will not know about these complex and important changes, let alone knowing how to deal with returns on your behalf. This is why it pays to get specialist tax advice before you transact. We are well placed to help you with your tax obligations so please give us a call to discuss the way forward.

Got a No Deal Brexit? Get a Package of Problems!

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, some important changes are being put forward by HMRC about the tax paid for parcels from abroad. These changes would affect most of us, whether we run a business or buy goods as individuals.

If There’s a Parcel, There’s a Charge!

At the moment, there’s a £15 rule. This says that if the value of your parcel is not more than £15 then neither seller nor buyer pays any UK VAT Import Duty. This rule covers many small items bought from non-EU countries via websites like eBay and Amazon, for instance.

This £15 rule will disappear, so if you receive an item from say China worth £10, the seller will have to pay UK VAT Import Duty. The same goes for anything coming from the rest of the world, excluding the Republic of Ireland, where specific rules will apply. The chances are the sellers will pass this cost on to UK buyers otherwise their profit is reduced.

There will also be separate rules for alcohol, tobacco and perfume under Excise Duty arrangements.

When Does the Buyer Start Paying?

The VAT Import Duty is paid by the seller if the value is £135 or less. If more than £135 it is payable by YOU, the buyer, but the seller can collect this on your behalf. If not, you have to register for this with HMRC, even if you are not a business. If you don’t register the only guidance so far is that your parcel may well be delayed. Hopefully, this will not occur often, as couriers will also be able to collect the Duty on behalf of Buyers.

If the VAT Import Duty is introduced, it may discourage some worldwide offshore sellers from selling low-value goods to the UK, and discourage some UK buyers from buying items exceeding £135 in value.

Does this mean they will buy instead from UK retailers? Not necessarily, although the UK Government, according to HMRC, is doing this to prevent UK retailers from being undercut by VAT-free goods from entering the market.

This also raises further questions about the integrity of some offshore sellers. For example, if goods are advertised by an offshore seller for whatever value, how do we know that the seller has registered legitimately with HMRC? If parcels arrive at the UK without a valid registration number, they may be delayed, and who will pay the VAT duty?

The HMRC “Key Messages” document is short on detail for UK buyers of parcels exceeding £135 in value. Presumably, HMRC is hoping that most sellers will pay the VAT Import Duty regardless of the value of the parcel.

The HMRC Line is…

“There will be two ways for sellers outside the UK to pay the UK import VAT on parcels to the UK HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Sellers can register for the UK HMRC new online service and are encouraged to do so now so they are ready to use it if the changes are introduced. Alternatively, they can pay a parcel operator that offers a service to pay the UK import VAT to HMRC on the sellers’ behalf.”

And:

“If sellers do not follow the new UK import VAT rules, parcels may be delayed or stopped from entering the UK. In addition, the UK buyer may have to pay extra tax and fees, and the seller may have to pay a penalty of £1,000.”

All Around the Houses, Once Again!

In our last blog on this topic, we looked at what can happen when you think that the house you’ve sold at a gain is tax-free and you get it wrong.

Normally when you live in a house that you own, selling it with a gain will usually be tax-free and this tax relief is called Principal Private Residence relief. However, there are further tax traps now on the way.

We are telling you about these now because there’s a consultation period about this until June this year.

So, What are These New Traps Being Set?

Firstly, at present, the last 18 months of ownership is always disregarded for tax as long as you’ve lived in the house at some time as your Principal Private Residence. Under the new proposed rules, this period will be reduced to 9 months.

Put simply, if you owned your house for 7 years and 9 months and lived in it for the first 4 years only, the tax-exempt period will become 4 years and 9 months instead of currently 5 years and 3 months. Therefore nearly 39% of the gain (36 months out of 93 months) would be taxable.

On a house selling at a large capital gain, the extra tax at 28% could be significant. For example, using the situation above, if the gain on sale is £200,000 the tax bill could increase by say £3,612 just by exchanging contracts on 6 April 2020 instead of 5 April 2020.

There Are a Few Exceptions Planned

We should add though that the present 36-month exemption period will be retained for disabled owners or those who live in residential care.

Secondly, if you presently have let the house out as well as living in it, you can reduce your gain further by claiming “lettings relief”. This relief is worth up to £40,000 off the capital gain amount. At 28% this was a tax saving of up to £11,200!

Under proposed changes, you will only be able to claim this extra “lettings relief” if you lived in the house at the same time as your tenant. However, if you live in your house as your main home, that period is covered anyway by the existing Principal Private Residence tax relief. We can only assume that this new arrangement only applies when you do not live there as your main residence.

Homeowners who move and then let out their former home could be significantly hit by this change in capital gains tax relief. It seems to us this is another attempt to discourage private landlords wishing to let out residential property, coinciding also with reduced tax reliefs on mortgage interest.

These Are “Coming Soon”

These two significant changes to capital gains tax are due to come into effect from 6 April 2020.

If you are contemplating selling your house next year, it may be wise to exchange contracts before the new changes are introduced. The tax reliefs surrounding residential property ownership are complex and if you would like to have more detailed information and advice, please do call us.

“If You Don’t Ask, You Don’t Get…”

Is an adage that HMRC probably knows all too well at the moment. Due to a failure of the HMRC self-assessment system, some taxpayers haven’t been informed of the amount of tax to pay on account by 31 January 2019. This problem won’t be fixed before 31 July 2019.

It’s not a new problem, though. The same thing happened when in July 2018, payments due for 31 July 2018 were not being notified. Anyone in self-assessment with less than 80% of their tax collected at source, for example through PAYE, paying more than £1,000 through their tax return per year needs to make a payment on account.

This will apply to most self-employed individuals but also possibly landlords and increasingly company directors who take out a lot of income from their company as dividends.

Let’s Consider a Typical Self-Assessment Case

For example, Barbie, a self-employed marriage guidance counsellor, paid income tax of £9,000 for 2017/18, of which £7,500 had been paid on account in two equal instalments on 31 January 2018 (£3750) and 31 July 2018 (£3750).

She had to pay the balancing payment of £1500 by 31 January 2019. However, she should also make a payment on account for 2018/19 of £4,500 by 31 January 2019, equal to half of her 2017/18 total tax liability (£9000).

Still With Us? Hang On: It’s Worth It

The professional tax and accountancy bodies have complained to HMRC and apologies have been received but there is apparently no way HMRC can identify those affected and remind them!

HMRC has said it cannot resolve the problem of missing tax demands in time for the 31 July 2019 payment date. If you did not receive a tax demand for 2018-19 due by 31 January 2019 you may have only paid the balance of tax due for 2017-18.

Going back to Barbie, she would have therefore incorrectly paid just the £1500 instead of £6000 (£1,500 plus the first £4,500). If Barbie fills out her own tax return now for 2018-19 it will not show she has paid the £4500 in January 2019 and also another £4500 due for July 2019.

But it Only Delays the Inevitable

The result of this is that Barbie will have a much larger tax bill to pay in January 2020 when the balance of tax due is payable. You are probably saying … “why not just pay the amounts without a demand”. It is possible that the payment will be accepted but also likely that it will be returned by the HMRC computer as “not due”.

HMRC has confirmed that if the demands for payments on account have not been made the taxpayer will not be charged interest as long as full payment of all the tax due for 2018/19 is made by 31 January 2020.

In these circumstances, it may be wise to park the money in a savings account until HMRC can sort themselves out. If you do get charged interest, your tax agent can take this up with HMRC to get the situation reversed.

This is the latest of a long list of errors with HMRC’s computer systems. Earlier this year we learned that penalty notices for not submitting the 2017-18 tax returns on time were going to be delayed until April 2019. Normally they are issued in February.

Because of this, some taxpayers will be unaware they’ve clocked up additional penalties for continuing failure to submit returns. So, HMRC will probably have to wait longer for those tax returns.

Now, we don’t condone not sending in your tax return on time, but the lesson again to HMRC is “If you don’t ask, you don’t get”!

If you were hoping to get Entrepreneurs’ Tax Relief when you make a Capital Gain on business assets there are new rules coming in if you make a disposal after 5 April 2019. These could make a substantial difference to what you take home after a successful share sale.

The Ownership Period Lengthens

The ownership period to qualify, will rise from one to two years. So at present, a disposal of shares in a company trading from say 1 January 2018 could qualify if sold. From 6 April 2019 to 31 December 2019, they will not.

One key trigger here is when the business actually started to trade. This can be before any income is received, but it can’t start until mere preparations to trade have ended. If you are in a dilemma about this, contact us but it is essential to keep records of everything you do leading up to getting that first payment at your bank.

Not only that, the October 29th, 2018 Budget adds two new conditions immediately to change the definition of a “personal company”. This restricts relief to shareholders to those who have a genuine material stake (at least 5%) in the company.

To get back to basics, a claim to the relief on shares or business asset gains needs the company to be the taxpayer’s “personal company”. They must be an employee or officer of that company, or of another company in the same trading group.

So, what is a “Personal Company”, Then?

Under the old rules you must hold at least 5% of the ordinary share capital and you must hold at least 5% of the voting rights which are exercisable by virtue of that shareholding.

These rules will stay but now you must also have a right to at least 5% interest in the distributable profits and you must have a right to at least 5% of the net assets due to the equity holders on a winding-up of the company.

Unfortunately the people responsible for writing this in to law have caused confusion that will be very difficult to match with what the Chancellor said in his statement. This is important because what the Chancellor intended needs also to be what the law actually says. The law trumps the Chancellor!

A New Government Amendment on Entrepreneur’s Relief

The Government has now made an amendment and this adds a much clearer alternative test for a “personal company” based on the shareholder’s entitlement to proceeds. In the event of a hypothetical sale of the whole company by asking if the shareholder is entitled to at least 5% of the proceeds in the event of the disposal of the whole company.

It assumes that the entire company is sold for its market value on the date of disposal of the shares/ assets which are the subject of the claim. This is important because in reality this is not what happens, quite often. This new test can be used instead of asking if you have a right to at least 5% interest in the distributable profits and a right to at least 5% of the net assets due to the equity holders on a winding-up of the company.

This Already Applies to Disposals

Unfortunately if you made a disposal between 29 October 2018 and 20 December 2018 you must still apply the criteria: “Do I have a right to at least 5% interest in the distributable profits and a right to at least 5% of the net assets due to the equity holders on a winding-up of the company?”

Those who have built up their own company by way of ordinary shares with full voting rights and full rights on a winding-up should not be affected.

Employees who have acquired shares through employee share schemes, particularly EMI shares, may find they have suddenly lost their right to entrepreneurs’ relief, as employee shares tend to be issued with restricted rights, though not always.

Restricted rights often apply to directors and managers taking shares from a management buyout because often the financiers of the deal will have a different class of shares.

If uncertainty remains, then let’s talk about it. Simply pick up the phone and speak to the Maven Team on 023 8061 4404 or contact us via the website and we can help you navigate any uncertainty.

Check Your PAYE Code, Now!

Now is the time to check your PAYE code if you are an employee or a private pensioner because there’s only a short time to get any mistakes corrected.

There is some confusion. A lot of people don’t actually know what PAYE, is even though they know what the letters mean. How many times do you hear people say: “I’ve paid my tax under PAYE.” But, it isn’t is a tax.

At best, PAYE is a relatively crude method of collecting “some tax”. Mainly the tax that people pay under PAYE is what they should pay. But also, fairly often, it isn’t. The minute that you add complications to the mix, problems can occur and you either pay too little or too much tax. Which is why HMRC are increasingly reviewing PAYE tax deducted and sending out tax bills or tax refunds.

Sometimes both of these can be wrong because people do not check their tax calculation sent to them. It wrong to think “HMRC have sent this to me so it must be right”, but thousands of people do just that.

Here’s a list of common situations that can make your “PAYE”go wrong:

• Employment benefits in kind not being reported or reported too late
• Not telling your employer if you have a Student Loan
• Not following up a P45 when you change jobs
• Getting a bonus – HMRC may then restrict your tax allowance if they think it’s a pay rise
• Not claiming fixed rate expenses like uniform allowances or professional subscriptions
• Changing a company car, especially when you “upgrade”
• HMRC including other income in your tax code, like bank interest and rental profits.
•  Having more than one job-some tax allowances can go unused or are duplicated!

Act on PAYE Now to Avoid Disappointment

For 2018-19, there is still time to get the tax code adjusted in time for the next payday but as we move closer to March, the opportunity may recede especially if your employer runs their payroll in the middle of March.

For 2019-2020 HMRC will soon be issuing tax codes starting from the new tax year 6 April 2019 and the best option is to get it right from the outset.
If you get a private pension, check the PAYE Code for that too. If you have a job but are already getting State Pension, check that the restriction in your PAYE code is as per your State Pension for 2019-2020.

Read the Notes on the Coding Notice, called a “P2”.

So, There’s a Problem, What Next?

Once you’ve discovered an error it is advisable to phone the tax office. Have your National Insurance number and Employer PAYE reference ready because you will be asked for this.

The number is 0300 200 3300. Be prepared to wait, because one wait is far better than writing in, as it will take far too long to get a reply assuming you even receive one. If you do speak to HMRC, make sure you take a detailed note of what is said, and make sure the code is changed as promised.

What if HMRC or the Employer didn’t handle PAYE properly? If this has happened, the tax year may have already ended. You might get a tax demand or an unexpected bit of tax to pay when you do your “Self-Assessment” tax return.

In those circumstances, by concession, it may be possible to get out of paying, but the rules are pretty complex and it may be prudent to get advice from your accountant or give us a call if you don’t have an adviser yet.

With Less Than 4 Months To Go, Making Tax Digital for VAT is Looking Like a Car Crash Waiting to Happen….

These aren’t our works. Making Tax Digital (‘MTD’) for VAT is in a mess! The ‘car crash’ reference was uttered recently after the House of Lords economic affairs finance bill sub-committee had heard from tax experts and business representatives. Surely the people in the know are businesses and tax experts rather than civil servants?

The former expressed concerns about the way that the programme has been implemented and communication between HMRC and small businesses. Committee member Lord Lee was heard to say:

‘The evidence we have had is absolutely overwhelming in that there is huge under-preparedness. The firm impression we have at the moment is that we are heading for a giant car crash.’

The Committee said it should be delayed by at least one year and the government should wait until April 2022 before extending it to other taxes so that lessons can be learned.

The Lords Assert Themselves

The Lords may enjoy that “Marmite” status with the public but there’s no denying that many of them are seasoned business owners, lawyers and experienced politicians. They say that many businesses will not be ready for the introduction of MTD for VAT in April 2019. They believe that HMRC has inadequately considered the needs and concerns of smaller businesses.

They conclude that neither the government nor HMRC have listened to the warnings in the committee’s report on MTD for business in March 2017, now over 20 months ago.

The Chairman Lord Forsyth of Drumlean said:

“HMRC has neglected its responsibility to support small businesses with MTD for VAT. It is not listening to small businesses, while offering a six-month deferral for many in the public sector.

“Small businesses will not be ready for this significant change to their practices if it is introduced on 1 April, particularly with Brexit taking place three days earlier. The government must delay its introduction.”

And There’s More

Other report findings include:

• Only HMRC is confident that all one million businesses will be ready for MTD for VAT in April.
• The costs to businesses of MTD for VAT will be far more than HMRC’s impact assessment.
• HMRC must publish how its communication and support systems will meet the needs of taxpayers and agents across different levels of digital capability and skills.
• So far, no free software products have been offered.
• The penalties regime could be fairer and encourage taxpayers to remedy defaults promptly. For example offering a longer grace period before fines for late payment are applied.

According to one survey by a large firm of Accountants, only 36% of businesses are prepared for the new regime and 48% have no plan in place. The rest do not even know about it.

Small Businesses are Completely Unprepared

Small businesses are the most unprepared, having used spreadsheets for many years. They often use a self-employed or part time employed book keeper who may hand back the figures to the business owner. They often file VAT returns themselves using HMRC software.

As mentioned previously, this HMRC software will start to disappear from next April. Does your book keeper know about MTD and have they put plans in place for you?

Bridging software provides “Digital Links” between the spreadsheet and the HMRC computer that receives your return over the internet. The digital link will read your spreadsheet electronically and you do nothing more.  Digital link software is now in development, but when will it be ready?

The more robust long term way forward may be cloud accounting because this produces business accounts “as you go”, not just a VAT return.

To discuss being ready for MTD VAT do give us a call for a chat without obligation.

The Most Hated Tax of All: Part 2

People often say: “I can’t understand why the solicitor is taking so long to deal with Grandma’s Will” There is another side to this

No matter how good you or your solicitor or accountant are at doing the forms, the Inheritance Tax process is frustrating. Your competence doesn’t matter a row of beans if the Tax Office drag their heels. You can be subject to an all too familiar round of delays caused by human error, computer failure or staff shortages. HMRC currently “believe” that the time line should be along the following lines.

Weeks 1 and 2 – IHT Claim Kick Off

Once an IHT400 inheritance tax account has been received by HMRC, the inheritance tax probate summary (IHT421) will be issued within 10 working days. This will allow personal representatives to apply for the grant of representation, preventing additional delays in this procedure. HMRC cannot do this until all inheritance tax on non-instalment property and any tax on instalment property that is due when the return is submitted is paid. We say that if payment of Inheritance Tax is made more than six months following the month end of death, HMRC will charge interest but in many cases, making payment this soon simply isn’t practical.

Weeks 3 and 4 – With HRMC

After payment HMRC will complete a number of administrative tasks in preparation for the initial review of the return by the risk team.

Weeks 5 to 11 – The Inheritance Estate Review

During these weeks the return will be reviewed. The complexity of the estate can impact the length of time that it takes for the return to be reviewed.

Weeks 12 to 20 – Compliance, or Not?

HMRC will now aim to inform the personal representative or his adviser whether the inheritance tax account has been selected for a compliance check. They will name the office carrying out the checks, and possibly the name of the compliance caseworker to contact with questions. We say the quality of the caseworker will have a big impact on how smoothly things go from that point on.  The caseworker is expected to make contact with the personal representative within 8 weeks of the initial letter. HMRC will confirm the accuracy of any property or other valuations that have been provided in the return and may also involve other agencies like the Valuation Office Agency or Shares and Assets Valuation or the Actuary. A letter together with a calculation of any additional inheritance tax due will be sent within 20 weeks of receipt of the tax return once the valuations have been agreed with the VOA or SAV. If the valuations cannot be agreed the issue of this letter may take longer. In all other circumstances the case will be sent to the service case working teams who will aim to finalise the tax position and prepare the case for closure within 20 weeks of the receipt of the return. We ask, “will this happen?” This is anyone’s guess and we have encountered, as with all things HMRC, a mixed bag. Provided the Executors or their representatives respond efficiently, it may be possible to achieve. But this presupposes that everything down at HMRC goes just as planned, and the caseworker is efficient. If things aren’t going according to plan, don’t assume the problem is with your solicitor or accountant. It could well be down to the tax man.

It’s the tax we don’t talk about – and the most hated tax of all!

A lot of people have heard of inheritance tax but it’s one of those things that you’ll not think about if you don’t have much wealth. Even if you do, we don’t like to talk about it “seriously”, in the main. The tax free amount is currently £325,000 and in many cases no tax will be due. But increasingly, families are finding they will have to pay inheritance tax when a loved one passes away. Often this is due to the rising value of property. This especially happens if the deceased person was single or widowed and the property is mortgage free. If the property was the only thing left it may be necessary to sell the property to pay the tax. There are ways to mitigate or even eliminate inheritance tax, depending upon the net value of what you own and what you want to do with your wealth. Some of the options are radical and not for the faint hearted.

Where to Start? Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

A good starting point is having a Will that really reflects what you want. Without sounding morbid, we actually think it’s important to have a Will as soon as you have your own immediate family, so that if the worse should happen, they will not have the added uncertainty on top of losing a father or mother. We come across people even in their sixties seventies and even eighties who have not made a Will. The other dimension to this is that often, people don’t realise how flexible a Will can be, especially where “family politics” are involved. Arguably the second most important aspect that affects Inheritance Tax is a thing called “Joint Tenancy”. This is where, in layman’s terms, more than one person has a complete interest in an asset. A good example is a joint bank account. What people don’t often understand is that a joint tenancy is only disregarded if the other person is your spouse. If you apply this principle to say two single people that jointly own a property, the implications for tax can be serious. The person who has died is often treated as holding half of the value for tax purposes but sometimes the proportion can be higher. Once a family have realised that there is a tax bill, the next question usually is “when will it all be over?” Families want to remember their loved one but equally they want to move on and dealing with HM Revenue and Customs on this can be stressful even if a solicitor or accountant is engaged to help.

The Time-Consuming Wind Up Process

In our experience, Executors and Beneficiaries have an optimistic expectation of how long it will take to wind up an Estate. The key to that process is getting Probate, this can’t occur until the tax bill has been agreed with the Tax Man. The latest “timetable” for this was published this year by HMRC, setting out what people might expect and in “Part Two” we will set this out in detail.