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A4.568 Reasonable excuse—overview

No penalty is payable if the taxpayer satisfies HMRC, or the First-tier Tribunal on appeal, that they have a reasonable excuse for the failure¹. See A4.541 (penalties for failure to notify liability), A4.552, A4.558 (late filing penalties), A4.563, A4.566A, A4.566A (late payment penalties) and A4.572 (penalties for not complying with information notices).

Under these circumstances, the taxpayer will have a complete defence to the proposed penalty and none of the other statutory questions (potential lost revenue, disclosure, special reduction, suspension etc) will arise.

This article discusses some general principles of what may and may not be considered a reasonable excuse. Although there is no set list in statute of what does constitute a reasonable excuse, subsequent articles look in more detail at particular themes or sets of circumstances which might give rise to a reasonable excuse, informed by case law.

Note that reasonable excuse should not be confused with taking 'reasonable care' (see A4.532A). The exception to this is when the taxpayer has placed reliance on a third party, in which respect taxpayers may be considered