Henkes: the rapid resolution of domicile disputes

In Henkes v HMRC, the First-tier Tribunal held that: (a) it could (and would) determine the taxpayer’s domicile status when determining an application for the closure of a domicile enquiry; and (b) its determination of that issue would be binding in any substantive appeal against a subsequent tax assessment. Henkes is the latest of three recent (and conflicting) decisions of the FTT on whether an individual’s domicile status can be determined prior to that individual having to comply with a detailed information notice relating to their non-UK affairs. Until these decisions are considered by a higher court, the better approach to take by taxpayers seeking an early determination of their domicile status seems to be the one taken in Embiricos, where HMRC was forced to issue a partial closure notice (addressing the narrow point of the taxpayer’s domicile status) against which the taxpayer could appeal.