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United Kingdom
FTT upholds HMRC’s CGT discovery assessments and negligence penalties; taxpayer remained UK-resident pre-SRT; officer’s reasonable-estimate standard confirmed — Kearney v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 125 (TC)
Published on: 03 February 2026
Published by a LexisNexis Tax expertLegal News
Article summary
Kearney v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 125 (TC)
The taxpayer operated a thriving property development and investment business in Northern Ireland. In 2004, he purchased a property in Gibraltar and believed he had thereafter become non-UK resident for tax purposes. HMRC took a different view, issuing discovery assessments for 2004–05 to 2006–07 on the footing that he remained UK resident, and also a closure notice for 2009–10 on the same premise. Penalty determinations followed for negligence (and, in 2009–10, carelessness) because, although he had obtained professional advice on becoming non-resident, he had not exercised reasonable care to implement it. Three issues were before the FTT. The first was whether he was UK resident in the disputed years. That question formed the core of the dispute. The FTT held that, on the evidence presented, he had not meaningfully loosened his UK ties and so continued to be UK resident overall. Despite acquiring homes in Gibraltar and Spain and developing leisure interests there, he retained significant family and business connections with the UK, which the FTT considered decisive for the years at issue...
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