This week’s miscellaneous updates – 24 November 2025

In this week’s detailed miscellaneous updates which you can read more about below, HMRC are holding a series of webinars for employers and direct recovery of debts has been restarted in a test and learn phase. A new online service is now available to pay the High Income Child Benefit charge via PAYE and HMRC has published a statement setting out the standards that it expects of intermediaries and the steps it will take to tackle the minority of them who cause harm to the UK tax system.

In other news this week:

• The UK has ranked 32nd overall (and 37th on property taxes) out of the 38 OECD member countries in the 2025 International Tax Competitiveness Index,
• HMRC has published Revenue and Customs Brief 6 (2025): VAT deduction on insurance intermediary services supplied outside the UK, which sets out HMRC’s policy following the First Tier Tribunal decision in Hastings Insurance Service LTD [2025] UKFTT 275 (TC),
• The Institute for Fiscal Studies has published How are frozen tax thresholds reshaping who pays personal taxes? and Changes to departmental spending at the upcoming Budget,
• HMRC advises that a successful fix for the Class 2 National Insurance Contributions issue was deployed at the end of September. This is confirmed in the latest Agent Update,
• HMRC is holding a webinar on 2 December on Transfer of Assets Abroad, HMRCs approach to The Motive Defence, 
• The latest schedule of HMRC Talking Points live and recorded webinars for tax agents are available for booking. Spaces are limited, so take a look now and save your place, and
• Check HMRC’s online services availability page for details of planned downtime and the online services affected.

Upcoming webinars for employers

Whether you’re reimbursing employees using their own vehicles at approved mileage rates, providing company cars for business travel, or paying statutory maternity or paternity pay, HMRC’s live webinars have you covered. Questions can be asked during the live webinar by using the text box.

The following live webinars are available to book:

• Company cars, vans and fuel,
• Statutory sick pay,
• Statutory maternity and paternity pay, and
• Travel.

HMRC restarts direct recovery of debts

If an individual or business has a tax debt which remains unpaid despite having the means to pay it, HMRC can recover the funds it is owed directly from the taxpayer’s bank or building society account. These powers, known as direct recovery of debt (DRD), first started in 2015 and were used sparingly before all DRD activity was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. HMRC has published an updated briefing on DRD.

After the announcement made in the 2025 Spring Statement 2025, HMRC recently confirmed that it has restarted DRD in a “test and learn phase”. According to HMRC, DRD was a strong deterrent and the decision to restart activity has been made against its backdrop of efforts to reduce tax debt.

Pay the High Income Child Benefit charge (HICBC) online via PAYE

HMRC recently launched its new online service for paying the HICBC through PAYE. This was previously announced at the Spring Statement 2025. In order to use the new service, taxpayers first need to de-register from income tax self-assessment which HMRC won’t do automatically. Once this is done, the taxpayer should be able to use the online HICBC PAYE service the next day.

HMRC’s approach to intermediary harm

HMRC has published a statement outlining the standards it expects of intermediaries (which includes accountants and financial advisers) and the steps it will take to address the minority of intermediaries who cause harm to the tax system. Intermediary is defined as an individual or business that sits between taxpayer and HMRC.

The statement says that while most intermediaries provide valuable services, a minority can behave in ways that are harmful, such as misleading the public or using HMRC's rules improperly. In cases of harm, HMRC may take action such as blocking access to its services or criminal action where fraud is involved. Advice for taxpayers on how to choose an intermediary also features.