Restructuring tax support for Insolvency Practitioners

Our Restructuring Tax Team have both the corporate tax and insolvency knowledge and specialism expertise to provide appropriate tax support and advice to corporates in distress or during a formal insolvency appointment and also ensure that all corporate tax compliance matters are handled in both a practical and efficient matter.

We recognise that the tax issues that may arise in respect of a company in financial distress are numerous, wide-ranging, and of varying levels of complexity.

Therefore, we understand the importance of having a detailed understanding of the interaction between insolvency legislation, tax legislation, and the commercial background of a particular case, as this can be critical in achieving an efficient and effective tax outcome, especially when decisions (and not just actions!) taken by an Insolvency Practitioner can have significant tax implications.

Why is insolvency tax important

As you will be aware, corporate tax is an expense in both administrations and liquidations. As such, having an awareness of the tax risks and opportunities on a case from the offset is key to ensuring that the affairs of a particular case are undertaken in a tax-efficient manner.

How we help

We have a specialist team, experienced in both insolvency and tax matters, able to provide support to Insolvency Practitioners to help ensure that they are able to manage the necessary compliance requirements, claim commercially, minimise tax expenses and ultimately help secure a greater return for creditors.

We can assist in a number of different areas

Tax Housekeeping	Provision of an initial review highlighting filing responsibilities and deadlines; Efficiently agreeing outstanding pre-appointment periods with due consideration to the wider tax implications on a case; Disclosure of trading periods within an Administration and other post-appointment returns; and Obtaining the relevant clearances from HMRC.
Tax losses	Disclosure of loss calculations to HMRC in an agreeable format; Preparation of efficient (and full supported) loss carry back claims; and Management of tax loss utilisation within a fractious group.
Sales structuring	Consideration of tax-efficient sale structuring to help minimise liabilities or increase realisations.
HMRC enquiries/investigations	Provision of technical support and advice with regards to HMRC correspondence and your obligations; and Provision of specialist input to allow for the agreement of acceptable HMRC claims.
Recovery from legal proceedings	Analysis of a claim/settlement agreement from a tax perspective; Consideration of the various reliefs and losses available in this complicated area; and
Chargeable gains support	Disclosure of disposal and supporting calculations to HMRC; Provision of tax support to ensure that the sale is structured tax efficiently utilising available losses and reliefs; and Assessment of the deductibility of expenses associated with the disposal