Shelley Fullerton v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 26 October 2026
Neutral citation: [2026] UKFTT 1479 (TC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: high
This appeal concerned HMRC's discovery assessment and a Schedule 24 penalty arising from a directors' loan account write‑off following Equus Human Capital Ltd's liquidation and a 2018 Settlement Agreement. The Tribunal accepted HMRC's DLA balance of £838,609, found a written‑off amount of £741,958.36, held HMRC made a valid and timely discovery assessment, and concluded the understatement resulted from carelessness so the Schedule 24 penalty was upheld. The appeal was dismissed.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: high
The Tribunal's ratio includes that a civil settlement between liquidators and a director does not by itself determine or preclude statutory personal tax consequences of a company loan write‑off; and that, absent contemporaneous documented professional advice and any disclosure of a material write‑off, a taxpayer may be found to have failed to take reasonable care such that a penalty under Schedule 24 is justified.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The judgment contains obiter observations that company accounts and liquidators' records can rebut a taxpayer's asserted reliance on settlement figures when those figures serve a distinct accounting purpose, and that an officer may date a notice to allow administrative time while the substantive assessment decision was made earlier.