ILR Application Refusal for late payment of tax to HMRC

[Zaky28]

Hi All,

I came to the UK as a student in 2014 and then, after marrying my partner, switched over to the spouse visa in January 2022. I applied for my ILR application (10 year route) a couple of weeks ago.

However I had underpaid tax that needed to be resolved with HMRC (reason for this is that I was working 2 jobs and the employers had messed up the tax code):

2021-2022: Underpaid £690 tax that I ended up paying in full in mid 2023 (after the HMRC deadline, but no penalty or fee from HMRC for this late payment).

2022-2023: Underpaid £3980 tax. Deadline for paying this was 31 Jan 2024 but I had also received a letter from HMRC in December 2023 saying that I might have paid too much tax and was due for a refund.. all was a bit confusing and I had wanted to sort this out but wasn't able to (due to my own time management ) before my ILR application 2 weeks ago. I was wondering if there could be any implications on this (in grounds of 'good character') on my ILR application??

I contacted HMRC earlier today and paid the outstanding tax for 2022-2023 (again no penalties for paying it late), but I realise this is already AFTER my ILR application has been submitted. I am concerned whether this could affect my ILR application - very confused and slightly upset. Your help would be highly appreciated. Thank you

[CR001]

Your topic heading indicates it has been refused??

Has it or not??

[Zaky28]

It hasn’t - no outcome yet. Apologies for the misunderstanding - I was more asking if there would be a refusal..

[zimba]

It hasn’t - no outcome yet. Apologies for the misunderstanding - I was more asking if there would be a refusal..

What you described above has nothing to do with your ILR. It is really not about what you 'feel' or 'perceive' about this issue, so stop worrying

[Zaky28]

The reason for my concern was because there have been a lot of threads asking similar queries in the past:

uk-tier-1-general-visas/ilr-application ... 07902.html

indefinite-leave-to-remain/unpaid-tax-c ... 33966.html

indefinite-leave-to-remain/ilr-with-out ... 81873.html

general-uk-immigration-forum/hmrc-penal ... 86090.html

and many more if you google 'Tax late payment HMRC ILR application'

But, if I'm not mistaken, the context for most of these was due to discrepancies between incomes disclosed on ILR application vs HMRC for self assessment applicants? And also on Tier 1 route?

So - just to confirm, you're sure that late tax payments will not be seen in a similar vein?

[zimba]

Just a few days ago I had to explain the same exact thing to another applicant: viewtopic.php?t=348133#p2169037

Tax issue related to the old Tier 1G route has nothing to do with your concerns. There is nothing in the rules that suggests a late payment of tax leads to ILR refusal at all.

General grounds for refusal under false representation are clearly explained and defined by the rules, do not make assumptions.
See: https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... d-guidance