CISR81120 | Compliance: Overview & ‘Reasonable excuse’: Reasonable care

‘Reasonable care’ is a new provision introduced in FA08/SCH24 in relation to penalties for inaccuracies for returns of all types.

Every person must take reasonable care, but ‘reasonable care’ cannot be identified without consideration of the particular person’s abilities and circumstances. HMRC recognises the wide range of abilities and circumstances of those persons completing returns or claims. So, whilst each person has a responsibility to take reasonable care, what is necessary for each person to discharge that responsibility has to be viewed in the light of that person’s abilities and circumstances.

The Compliance Handbook at CH81120 goes into ‘Reasonable care’ in more depth and you will need to refer to this where you are considering penalties for inaccuracies.