Uncertainty about whether a redress payment for a mis-sold interest rate hedging product was a taxable receipt, which resulted in the receipt being omitted from the appellants’ tax returns, constituted ‘special circumstances’ and a penalty for the omission was reduced to zero.  
 
The appellants (a married couple) ran a nursing home business in partnership. Some years ago, they took out an interest rate hedging product (IRHP) with Barclays Bank in respect of a loan used to purchase a nursing home. Over the following years, the IRHP premiums were deducted in the appellants' tax returns as revenue expenses of their business. 
 
In December 2013, the appellant received a redress payment from Barclays concerning the mis-selling of the IRHP. The redress payment was not shown in the appellants’ self-assessment returns for the tax year 2013/14.  
 
Following