By Michael Paulin, Tax Barrister, 1 Crown Office Row
An HMRC letter asking about your wealth, business interests or financial arrangements deserves careful attention. But receiving a request does not, by itself, mean that you must attend a meeting or provide everything requested.
The starting point is to establish whether HMRC is seeking voluntary cooperation or exercising a statutory power—and, if so, whether its demands fall within that power.
My successful challenge to information requirements in R D Utilities Ltd v HMRC [2014] UKFTT 303 (TC) illustrates why examining the wording of an HMRC demand can make a material difference.
Why is HMRC writing to wealthy taxpayers?
Robert Watts reported in The Sunday Times on 24 October 2026 that HMRC had written to hundreds of wealthy individuals seeking a fuller understanding of their assets and financial affairs, alongside invitations to meet.
The report describes requests concerning business interests, investments, trusts and wider financial arrangements. It identifies HMRC’s Wealthy Team as covering individuals with annual income of at least £200,000 or assets of at least £2 million in any of the previous three years.
Those reported criteria do not mean that everyone meeting them will receive a letter. Nor do they establish the legal scope of any particular request.
For recipients, the immediate question is practical: what is HMRC entitled to require, and how should you respond?
Is the letter an informal request or a Schedule 36 notice?
An invitation to discuss your affairs is different from a formal information notice under Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008.
HMRC may seek information voluntarily. Indeed, its own guidance recognises that officers may sometimes request information informally which they could not compel through a statutory notice. However, they must not suggest that their formal powers extend to compelling that information. (gov.uk)
Where HMRC uses Schedule 36 to check a taxpayer’s tax position, the information or documents must satisfy the applicable statutory conditions, including the requirement that they be reasonably required for that purpose.
Asset information can be relevant to a tax enquiry. But the breadth of a request, its connection to the tax position and the burden of answering it require consideration. HMRC’s guidance expressly recognises that balance. (gov.uk)
What does “reasonably required” mean?
Under paragraph 1 of Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008, HMRC can require information or documents where they are reasonably required for checking the taxpayer’s tax position. The test is objective: HMRC’s assertion that it wants the information does not settle whether it is entitled to require it. Equally, HMRC does not have to establish an underpayment before seeking information to investigate one. The questions are how the material could assist the tax check and whether the scope and burden of the demand are justified. HMRC’s own guidance recognises the need to balance that burden against the information’s importance in establishing the correct tax position. A broad request for details of assets therefore requires careful examination of its purpose, relevance and extent.
My successful challenge in R D Utilities
I represented the taxpayer in R D Utilities Ltd v HMRC [2014] UKFTT 303 (TC), an appeal concerning a Schedule 36 information notice issued during an enquiry into a company’s corporation tax return.
The enquiry involved a contribution of approximately £700,000 to a remuneration trust. By the hearing, the dispute concerned two information requirements; the requested documents had already been supplied.
The challenge addressed the way HMRC had framed its demands. The disputed requirements depended on assumptions which the taxpayer contested, creating fundamental difficulties in identifying what compliance required.
The Tribunal set aside the disputed information requirements. It emphasised that information notices should be clear enough for both sides to determine whether they have been complied with. Information which was impossible to supply could not be reasonably required.
The result concerned those requirements. It did not determine the underlying tax liability or prevent HMRC from issuing a properly framed replacement notice.
The practical lesson remains significant: a formal HMRC notice must still satisfy the statutory conditions governing its use.
What should you do before responding?
Before supplying a detailed account of your wealth or agreeing to a meeting, consider:
The letter’s status: is it a voluntary request, a formal notice or correspondence within an existing enquiry?
Its purpose and scope: what tax issues, transactions and periods are being examined?
The information requested: are the questions clear, relevant and capable of being answered as framed?
Privilege: would a response disclose legally privileged advice or communications?
Deadlines: are there response dates or statutory appeal deadlines requiring immediate action?
A request about matters on which you have obtained tax advice deserves particular care. Identifying a topic and disclosing privileged advice are different questions.
A considered response can explain what you will provide, identify difficulties and seek clarification of HMRC’s concerns. Simply ignoring the correspondence may allow the position to escalate.
Do I have to attend a meeting with HMRC’s Wealthy Team?
An invitation alone does not make attendance compulsory. Whether a meeting would assist depends on the issues, the proposed agenda and the alternatives available. Obtain advice before agreeing to a wide-ranging discussion of your affairs.
Can HMRC require details of all my assets?
There is no universal answer. Asset information may be reasonably required to check a tax position, but the particular request must be assessed against the relevant power and safeguards. Neither a blanket refusal nor unrestricted disclosure should replace that assessment.
Advice on HMRC wealth letters and information notices
I advise and represent individuals, companies and professional advisers facing HMRC enquiries and information demands, including challenges to Schedule 36 notices.
If you have received a Wealthy Team letter, an invitation to meet or a formal information notice, I can assess its legal basis and advise on a focused response.
Read more about challenging Schedule 36 information notices, or contact Michael.paulin@1cor.com to discuss obtaining advice.