A homeless man who filed his tax return late had a reasonable excuse for the late filing and his appeal against late filing penalties was allowed. 

The appellant was a self-employed electrician. Until April 2014, he shared a house in London and was in work. In April 2014, the appellant travelled to Poland. Following his return to the UK, he lost his job and exhausted all his savings. He was evicted from his house and all his belongings were thrown onto the street, where they were lost or stolen. All his documents were also either lost or stolen.

The appellant eventually ended up sleeping on the street. At around Christmas 2016, he was told about a homeless shelter. From January 2017, he was living in hostel accommodation. Later in 2017, he found a job and moved to permanent accommodation in London. 

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued