Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria HMRC applies when deciding whether to suspend penalties for failures to take reasonable care in complying with off-payroll working rules; and whether those criteria differ between government departments and private sector businesses.

Where a customer has filed an inaccurate return because of a careless error, including where this relates to the Off-Payroll Working rules, a penalty may be chargeable.

For careless penalties HMRC applies the same criteria to all customers, whether in the public or private sector.

HMRC will always consider whether a careless penalty can be suspended.

To suspend a penalty, HMRC must set at least one suspension condition. The condition(s) must meet the criteria set out in HMRC’s guidance at CH83153.

Further information on how HMRC decides whether to suspend a penalty can be found in its publicly available guidance at CH83120.