If HMRC have written to you, here's exactly what to do. Claims are handled directly by ARAG, the underwriter. The whole thing takes about ten minutes, and the first step matters more than all the rest.
The one thing to get right
Your accountant must not start work until ARAG have approved their fees.
Your policy won't pay for costs run up before they've been agreed, and work begun beforehand can invalidate the claim altogether. So the order matters: get a quote, register the claim, wait for approval, then let them begin.
Asking your accountant what they'd charge is not the same as instructing them, and it's exactly where you should start.
Ask your accountant for a quote
Do this as soon as the letter arrives — ideally the same week. Send them a copy, tell them you hold tax investigation insurance, and ask for a written estimate of what they'd charge to deal with HMRC on your behalf.
Make clear that you need the estimate before any work begins, as the insurer has to approve it first. Accountants deal with this regularly and will know what you mean.
There's no point registering the claim before you have this — it's the first thing ARAG will ask for, and submitting without it only adds a round trip.
If you don't currently have an accountant, skip ahead and register anyway. ARAG will appoint a suitably qualified firm for you.
Register the claim with ARAG
Once the quote is in hand, register the claim. You'll upload digital copies of:
- The letter from HMRC. This answers most of the form's questions for you.
- Your FeeProtect policy schedule.
- Your accountant's estimate for acting on your behalf.
You'll also need the date printed on the HMRC letter, and the tax year or period they've said they're looking at. Choose whichever route suits you — they all reach the same place.
policyholders.arag.co.uk/claim
You'll create an account first. You don't need an existing ARAG login, and any email address works.
Download the tax claim form from arag.co.uk/claim and email it to newclaims@arag.co.uk.
Save a blank copy to your computer before you start typing, or your answers may not save.
0117 917 1698
9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
If you register online, use an email address you'll keep access to. Updates go there, and it's the address that can log in and follow the claim as it progresses. If you're likely to claim more than once, use the same address each time and everything stays in one place.
Work through the form
The online claim runs across five short sections: your details, policy details, claim details, attachments and a declaration. Most of it is straightforward. Four answers are worth a word of explanation.
Limited companies, partnerships and sole traders should choose Commercial. If you hold a Private Individual policy, choose Personal.
Choose Tax.
This is the date printed on your HMRC letter — not the date of whatever HMRC are asking about, and not the start of the tax year. Your policy responds to the arrival of the letter, so that is the date that matters. Please don't enter anything earlier.
The tax years HMRC have told you they're reviewing. It's completely normal for these to predate the start of your policy, and it makes no difference to your cover — what counts is that you were insured on the day the letter arrived.
When you reach the box asking for brief details of the circumstances, keep it short — there's a 500-character limit and the letter itself does the explaining. A sentence on what HMRC have asked for is plenty. Attach the letter at the next step.
What happens next
- You'll get a confirmation email with a reference number.
- ARAG aim to come back to you within five working days.
- They review your accountant's estimate alongside the HMRC letter, and approve it if it's reasonable for that type of enquiry.
- From there ARAG deal with your accountant directly — approving the fees and settling the invoices.
- Your accountant gets on with the work. There's no excess for you to pay and nothing for you to claim back.
Every estimate has to be approved before the work is done. It can feel like an extra step, but it's what keeps claims costs under control and premiums where they are.
Who represents you
You have the right to nominate your own accountant. They need to be regulated by a professionally recognised accountancy body, and their appointment has to be agreed with ARAG before any work begins.
If you don't have an accountant, or yours would rather not take it on, ARAG will appoint a suitably qualified firm for you. You won't be left to find someone yourself.
Your policy pays your accountant's fees up to the hourly rate shown on your schedule. If their rate is higher, you can still use them — you'd simply agree the difference with them directly.
Not sure about something?
If you're uncertain whether something is claimable, or you'd just like to talk it through before you start, email us at contact@feeprotect.com and we'll help you work out where you stand.
If a letter has already arrived, the useful thing you can do today is ask your accountant for a quote. That takes the longest and holds everything else up — you can always talk to us while you're waiting on it.