Rebecca Benneyworth happened to be in the right place at the right time when she posted on X (formerly Twitter) on 20 December last year. Her tweet was a response to a post by tax lawyer Dan Neidle, who had described how subpostmasters caught up in the Horizon scandal were getting very large surprise tax bills as a result of their compensation payments from the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS).

Chartered accountant Benneyworth offered her services pro bono, despite it being her busiest period. She then registered the website subpostmasterstax.org.uk. 

She’d been aware of the Horizon scandal for four years by that point, having listened to a series about the case on BBC Radio Four. It resonated with her more than most, having been brought up in a Post Office. 

“My mum was a subpostmistress from the 1950s to the mid-1980s. We went through the introduction of VAT, decimalisation and all that sort of thing. It’s that upbringing that led to my training as an accountant; I used to help her do the balancing up each week.”

If not retired, it could easily have been her mum caught up in the Horizon saga, Benneyworth says. “In fact, where I live in Gloucestershire there are a number of subpostmasters who either had to put in shortfalls or were taken to court.”

With a little help from Neidle, she got the website up and running in January, just as the TV drama series Mr Bates vs The Post Office went on air. Suddenly, this story that had been bubbling away for nearly 25 years came into the public consciousness in a bigger way than it ever had before. 

“I ended up with 35 accountants and tax advisers signing up to offer pro bono services to subpostmasters,” she explains. “We’ve helped five so far and we’re looking to get the word out so that more can get the help they need.”

She has created a fact sheet and an explanation of how the payment is taxed. The Post Office has also offered a tax-free top-up payment to bring the tax burden on the HSS payment down to the basic rate. Benneyworth has included information on how that works as well. “I've also talked in some detail with the HMRC team that is supporting people with this, just to see if any sharing of ideas would be helpful.”

Some subpostmasters have not received their top-up payment. Others received notification that they would be receiving the top-up payment, but thought that it was notification of their tax obligations, which caused some confusion and panic. “I’ve shared that with HMRC, which is working with the Post Office to improve the wording,” Benneyworth explains.

HMRC has said that it will not be chasing penalties for late payments from subpostmasters still waiting on their tax top-up payment, which is welcome news. But the entire process has been very confusing and stressful for subpostmasters, says Benneyworth.

“A lot of these people were in their second career when they took on these Post Offices – in their 50s and 60s. Of course, now they’re quite elderly. There is also, understandably, a reluctance to let it rear its head again.”

If the Post Office’s tax top-up offer letter is mistaken for a tax bill, subpostmasters might ignore it, or at least won't accept the offer, Benneyworth says. If they do that, they will miss out on the top-up payment. “That’s one of the bits of publicity that I’ve been trying to get out. It’s why HMRC is advising the Post Office to word it more clearly.”

Benneyworth is now looking to get the word out to more subpostmasters that she and her fellow volunteers are willing to work for them for free to help them manage their tax obligations. She also encourages ICAEW members to share her fact sheet with any affected subpostmasters they may know or might be advising, and to offer their services pro bono if they’re able to. 

“I just hope there aren’t loads of people out there who, in about three or four months’ time, start getting really worried because they should have done a tax return and haven’t done one because they didn’t realise they needed to. If we can help get the word out and offer our expertise, then perhaps we can avoid a lot of additional stress for people who have been through enough already.”

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