Asking HMRC for more time to answer enquiry questions

If you cannot meet a deadline in an HMRC enquiry letter, contact the officer before it passes, explain why and propose a realistic new date. HMRC’s guidance tells officers to be flexible where there is a good reason, but an informal deadline that passes without agreement usually leads to a formal information notice. A formal notice has to be complied with by its own date unless the officer extends it or you appeal within 30 days.

Tax investigation insurance from £108.75 a year (£9.06 a month).Pays up to £100,000 of your accountant's fees if HMRC opens an enquiry. No excess. Buy online in a few minutes.

See my price in 2 questions How the cover works Accountant? Offer cover to your clients or call 01795 841 310

Is the deadline in an enquiry letter legally binding?

Not at first. HMRC’s Enquiry Manual at EM1580 says officers should normally ask informally for information at every stage before using formal powers, and that the opening letter should contain an informal request stating the date by which the information should be provided. There is no penalty simply for missing an informal date. The consequence is the next step: EM1590 says that if the information is not produced within the time shown, and a revised timescale has not been agreed, the officer should issue a notice under paragraph 1 of Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008. That notice is legally enforceable.

The Compliance Handbook at CH21150 confirms that HMRC’s normal approach is to ask first and use legal powers only where a person does not cooperate, although HMRC is not obliged to make an informal request and may go straight to a notice in some cases, for example where there is a history of non cooperation.

How much time does HMRC normally give?

EM1580 says officers are encouraged to agree a time limit for the first response, normally 30 days as a minimum, and to show a flexible approach where warranted. It gives examples of when longer is appropriate, such as when the taxpayer is abroad or incapacitated, or a final figure is needed to replace a provisional one and cannot be produced in 30 days. HMRC has also agreed extra time for requests made to agents in their busy period before the 31 January deadline: an extra week if the enquiry is opened between 1 and 20 December, and two extra weeks if opened between 21 December and 31 January.

Later in the enquiry, EM1814 says officers, taxpayers and agents should aim to work within a 15 working day turnaround, while recognising this may not always be possible, and should agree a realistic timetable at the beginning.

Worried about an HMRC check? Tax investigation insurance pays your accountant’s fees if HMRC opens an enquiry or compliance check. Solar Protect cover pays up to £100,000 with no excess. It never pays tax, interest or penalties.

From £108.75 a year (£9.06 a month) for individuals, £117.57 for sole traders and £207.50 for companies and partnerships, including IPT and the £20 admin fee.

See my price in 2 questions or call 01795 841 310.

★★★★★ Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from over 160 reviews

How do you ask for more time?

HMRC’s factsheet CC/FS1a says: tell HMRC if you have been asked to do something and need more time, and it may agree to allow extra time if there is a good reason, giving serious illness or the death of someone close as examples. HMRC’s compliance check guidance repeats this and adds that people needing extra support, for example because of a health condition, should tell the officer what help they need.

A good request:

goes to the officer named on the letter, before the deadline;
explains the reason specifically, for example records held by a former bookkeeper, a bank taking weeks to supply old statements, or illness;
sends whatever is ready now, so that only the genuinely difficult items are outstanding;
proposes a specific new date rather than asking for “more time”;
is confirmed in writing if agreed by phone.

If a request looks too wide, CC/FS1a also invites you to speak to the officer if you think something asked for is unreasonable or not relevant. Narrowing a request is often a better answer than an extension.

What if the officer refuses?

There is no statutory appeal against an officer refusing to extend an informal deadline; the appeal rights in Schedule 36 attach to formal notices. Your options are practical: supply what you can by the original date with a clear list of what is outstanding and when it will follow; ask to speak to the officer’s manager; or, where the dispute is about what HMRC is asking for, apply for alternative dispute resolution, which HMRC says can be used when you want it to explain why it needs more information. If the way you have been treated is the issue, you can complain (see HMRC complaints and the Adjudicator). An adviser may also help (see representing a client in a compliance check).

Keep in mind that cooperation affects penalties. CC/FS1a explains that HMRC looks at how much help you give, and that not giving everything asked for will affect its view of the quality of your disclosure if something turns out to be wrong.

What changes once a formal notice is issued?

Paragraph 7 of Schedule 36 requires the person to comply within the period reasonably specified in the notice. CH23420 says there is no minimum period but it must be reasonable, taking account of the nature of what is asked for, and that most information could reasonably be provided within 30 days, though longer may be needed around a business’s seasonal peaks. Importantly, it says officers should consider carefully any reasonable request for more time to comply with a notice and, where appropriate, extend the period. So asking for more time is still possible after a notice, and should be done in writing well before the date.

If you think the notice itself is wrong, paragraph 32 requires an appeal in writing, to the officer who gave the notice, within 30 days beginning with the date it was given, stating the grounds. There is no right of appeal against a requirement to produce statutory records, or against a notice approved by the tribunal (paragraph 29). If the tribunal confirms or varies the notice, paragraph 32(4) gives a new period to comply, set by the tribunal or reasonably specified by HMRC afterwards. See appealing an information notice and Schedule 36 information notices.

What penalties apply if you miss a formal deadline?

Paragraph 39 of Schedule 36 sets a penalty of £300 for failing to comply with an information notice, and paragraph 40 allows further daily penalties of up to £60 for each day the failure continues. Under paragraph 45 there is no penalty if you have a reasonable excuse, but an insufficiency of funds is not normally an excuse, and relying on someone else is only an excuse if you took reasonable care. CH23420 cross refers to reasonable excuse guidance when considering requests for more time. The wider penalty position is covered in penalties for ignoring an information notice and reasonable excuse.

What might a request look like in practice?

Illustration only. On 3 March an officer opens an enquiry and asks for bank statements, sales invoices and a cash book by 2 April. The business changed bank the previous year and the old bank says copy statements will take four weeks. On 20 March the adviser sends the invoices and cash book, explains the bank delay with a copy of the bank’s email, and asks for the statements deadline to move to 30 April. The officer agrees by phone and the adviser confirms the call in a short letter. Because the gap was explained and part of the request was met, no formal notice is issued.

What mistakes do people make?

Letting the date pass and asking for time afterwards.
Asking for a blanket extension without a reason or a proposed date.
Holding back everything until the last item is ready.
Treating a phone agreement as enough without confirming it in writing.
Ignoring the 30 day appeal window on a formal notice while negotiating informally.

If HMRC opens a check into your return, tax investigation insurance pays your accountant’s fees. Solar Protect cover pays up to £100,000 with no excess; it never pays tax, interest or penalties. Read how our cover works or get a quote.

Related Accountapedia entries

Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.