HMRC

I’m still doing it now I live with my parents , all I have is nice stuff at home debts all over and no savings and worries 

Hello Rich88 and Welcome to the forum.

You are among people who have been there and fully understand.

There is no shame in talking it through with people close to you. There is no shame in reaching out for help.

You can see that its all wrong and you must break the cycle to heal your mind. A gambling problem is a drug addiction and will explain your actions to people who want to help you. 

Hiding your emotions and the problem is nothing to do with being a real man. You need to express your emotions and talk to people you trust.

You can get financial advice and they will help you deal with the tax people. People can do the talking for you and it may help to mention you've had a gambling problem

Your mental health is most important and that is your main concern to start a healthy recovery. Things will fall into place when you have a healing mind so please dont worry too much about debts or your business at this stage

You can only pay what you can afford and cant run a business effectively until you start healing from a gambling addiction. Im sure you can make a good go of your business when you have some peace of mind and full concentration

You can look at life in a whole new way, The gambling must stop with full abstention and monitoring. Are you truly ready to stop with a born again moment?

You have a lot to learn and it can start now with a proper recovery

Best wishes from everyone on the forum

Get your mental health right and self exclude from the sites. The rest will take care of itself.

 Hello Rich88

Welcome to the Forum.  As I can see you have already received some support which I do hope will encourage you to return.  You need not be alone with the devastation and hopelessness which problem gambling causes.  There is a way forward Rich88 and support along the way.

We have Advisers available 24/7 to help you through this.  You can contact an Adviser by calling our Helpline on 0800 8020 133 or using our LiveChat option.  I encourage you to contact us so we can discuss the best way to overcome the gambling issues you are currently dealing with.

Problem gambling is cunning, powerful and baffling and without help it is too much.  However, you can move forward in your life - One Day At A Time.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best

Amanda

Forum Admin

Hi @rich88

You've already received some great advice. The most important thing to do is look after yourself and seek help for your addiction and for your mental health. Every small step in the right direction is something to be proud of. Remember that you can't fix everything at once.

With regards to HMRC, there are a few things to consider. If your tax returns are wrong and they find this out, they can estimate your tax based on the information they have and potentially add some penalties. They should apply leniency for your mental health issues with regards to the penalty. They will then make an arrangement with you to pay over time. The chances of them knocking down your door or dragging you off the prison are almost zero.

HMRC will have two options. Force you into bankruptcy and get nothing, or accept a payment plan to get the money over many years. They'd much prefer the second option.

You can't fix everything at once. Try not to worry about things that haven't happened yet. Deal with the present and have the motto "I'll deal with that if it becomes a problem" with regards to HMRC.

I understand this buddy as I'm self employed my bank statements are all over the place. Numerous £200 transactions to every bookmaker going and a business account holding £0.79. everything emptied. I'm guessing your like me mate where you are waking up on a morning think 'what is the point' of even getting up and going to work. Then once I'm at work I'm having to interact and pretend everything is fine and dandy when inside I'm crying.  I'm misplacing receipts, because come on, not really top of our list are they. Everything is a complete mess

Hello,

I fell foul of HRMC due to my gambling, I found I couldn't pay the tax bill and had to go on a payment plan, this effectively was my rock bottom and call to arms although there was a knock on effect to the next tax year due to what I'd been taking out. Each year I would wait until the last minute to do my personal and company tax returns and spent many a sleepless night making up figures as to what I thought I'd owe once I submitted my return(s). Even after submitting the returns and finding out things weren't as bad as I'd wound myself into a tizz about I still struggled to shake of the anxiety for a few weeks afterwards. Eventually I took control of things and submitted my personal returns after the end of the financial year, that way I now know where I need to position myself in 9 months time (rather than 2 days as was usually the case). On top of that I took control of my company finances and submitted my accounts soon after year end, for the same reason - it has helped my anxiety ten fold and I would urge you to take control at the earliest possible time.

I've not gambled for a number of years now, have also been debt free for almost a year however this year was the first year I took control of tax submissions. I wish I had done it earlier as it would have saved a lot of worry even though I was back on the straight and narrow.

It may seem like a long road ahead  but every journey starts with that first step!

I wish you all the very best.

Thank you everyone for reaching out , yes Pretty much the last 5 years all I have done is sell stuff gamble if I win buy some stock and gamble more and treat myself this has been ongoing for years I have never had a clue what I’ve earned and made my tax up each year as it’s impossible to keep track off , I made sure u paid 2000 last year to feel better , I’m not a bad person but gambling every day all day makes it impossible to keep track of money for tax purposes there more make it up , I lose 1000 I sell something for 500 I gamble again it’s continuous bloody horrible