Self assessment return problem.

Firstly I apologise if this forum isn't meant to be for this sort of thing, but I'm not sure who else to ask about this...

My accountant has submitted my Self Assessment returns for years without a problem. Last year my wife started a small ebay business and we asked him to submit her return also. We paid him for this and received a statement from him saying that no tax was due.

We then received a letter from HMRC fining my wife £100 for late submission of her tax return. We contacted the accountant who re-assured us that he had submitted the return and that HMRC had made a mistake. We left it for a few months and then received another reminder from HMRC. Again we phoned the accountant and again were reassured that he had submitted the return and it was HMRC's mistake.

This has gone on now for 9 months, and we are still no further on. Our accountant is getting increasingly annoyed when we phone him, but HMRC are still adamant that there has been no return submitted.

According to our accountant, he says that the original return was submitted with my wife's NI number as the reference and that HMRC have got two files for her - one with the tax return and one without. He says that they closed the first file in July and had the info transferred to the new file. HMRC said it is impossible to file a return with just a NI number and no UTR number but he is adamant that this is the case.

Two weeks ago he promised to email us the confirmation email from HMRC proving that he has submitted the return. We phoned HMRC again yesterday and they still haven't recieved it. I phoned the accountant and went mad at him - mainly for not doing as he had promised. He gave me a big long filing reference number to pass to the HMRC to 'prove' that he has submitted it, but he has given me one of these before and HMRC said it led to nothing and that we'd be better asking for a copy of the confirmation email.

He started shouting down the phone at me blaming it all on HMRC and said that he is sending back our files. I don't know what to think now. I can't imagine why he wouldn't have submitted the return in the first place but also can't understand why he hasn't given us the confirmation email or just re-submit our return.

Today I had the sudden thought that he can now say that the files are lost in the post? Would this change anything?

What can I do about this? I've found a few no win no fee solicitors on the web. My accountant doesn't seem to be chartered or a member of any professional groups. Can someone please tell me what my next course of action should be.

Thanks, Damian.

I would get you wife to sign up online with HMRC using the 10 digit UTR in your possession and file the Return for 2009/10 yourself.

If there is no tax to pay, HMRC will cancel the £100 fine!!!

Not for this year they won't. If the return relates to 2009/10 or further back they will.

Also, if the accountant has registered the client under his agency, he will need to de-register her before she can re-register herself.

Whereabouts are you based, Frustrated? Perhaps we can recommend someone in your area to help.

If the Return was 2010/11 then she would not have received a fine yet!