HMRC New Offshore Disclosure Facility (ODF)

Following the first ODF announcement in 2007 and with rumours of HMRC’s continued interest of offshore bank accounts belonging to UK bank customers, HMRC have announced details of the new disclosure opportunity (NDO) due to take place this Autumn.

Taxpayers are encouraged to disclose any undeclared offshore accounts with the penalty at 10% in order to avoid being fined up to 100% of the tax evasion and risking criminal prosecution. HMRC are currently liaising with UK banks to obtain the details of offshore account holders.

The key points of the NDO are:

• The NDO is for people with unpaid tax connected to an offshore account and will run from 1 September 2009 until 12 March 2010
• Penalty limited to 10% for full disclosure if no previous opportunity to disclose, higher if you have had the chance under a previous opportunity
• HMRC are working closely with financial institutions to obtain the information as quickly as possible
• During the disclosure period HMRC will have all account holders details.