Latest Tax news

On 27 September 2025 taxpayers and agents will be unable to create or renew a ROS certificate due to essential maintenance by Revenue. Taxpayers and agents will still be able to access ROS services with existing ROS certificates during this period.

As part of a broader project to modernise its payment and banking processes, Revenue is updating its direct debit system in preparation for wider changes to take placed on a phased basis over the coming years. Revenue has confirmed that Phase 1 is complete and the new functionality is now accessible via the ‘Payments and Refunds’ panel on the ROS home page. Revenue recently provided the Institute with an information leaflet on the proposed changes, which you can read here. Phase 1 of the project included the cessation of the fixed direct debit (FDD) payment option, the expansion of the variable direct debit (VDD) for current VAT liabilities, and the introduction of a new Payment Hub on ROS. As a consequence of the cessation of the FDD option for VAT payments, VAT returns can no longer be filed on an annual basis. Revenue is contacting affected taxpayers, and their agents, as they approach the end of their annual VAT period to ensure a smooth transition to the VDD and revised filing requirements. Further, all income taxpayers paying preliminary income tax by direct debit have been migrated by Revenue to the new direct debit facility on ROS. Revenue will shortly write to the relevant taxpayers, and their agents, to notify them of the new direct debit mandate number. Revenue has confirmed that no action is required by the taxpayer or their agent at this time.

In Irish news this week, the Budget 2026 Tax Strategy Group papers have been published, and the Department of Finance has published the Summer Economic Statement together with the revised National Development Plan. In UK news today, the Institute takes a closer look at last week’s ‘L-day’ announcements, and HMRC publishes its Transformation Roadmap. In International news, the European Commission has announced a public consultation on VAT rules for the travel and tourism sectors. Irish 1. Read about the annual papers published by the Tax Strategy Group in advance of Budget 2026. 2. The Government has recently published its Summer Economic Statement 2025 and the revised National Development Plan.   UK 3. Read about the key ‘L-day’ announcements by the UK Government including the launch of three technical consultations on related draft legislation. 4. HMRC has launched its Transformation Roadmap outlining the development of new services, including a new online service for all PAYE taxpayers. International 5. The European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather information aimed at modernising the VAT rules for the travel and tourism sectors. Keep up to date with all the latest Irish, UK, and international tax developments through Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Tax Newsletter. Subscribe to the Tax News by updating your preferences in MyAccount. You can also read this week’s post EU exit corner here.

In a Press Release launching their Transformation Roadmap, HMRC singled out for special mention a new online service for all PAYE taxpayers, which will make it simpler and easier to check and update their income, allowances, reliefs and expenses in future. This will be available via the Personal Tax Account or through the HMRC app. For a number of years, Chartered Accountants Ireland has been calling for a system like this, similar to the one already available for employees in Ireland via myAccount on ROS. The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury laid a Written Ministerial Statement on the roadmap. The roadmap sets out a wide range of new services which will be developed, including new services for agents, something which the Institute has been consistently lobbying for, for several years. Ultimately, HMRC’s ambition is to develop a tax administration where 90 percent of taxpayer interactions will be digital by 2030. As set out at the Spending Review last month, HMRC also has the objective of reducing the number of letters it sends by 75 percent by the same date. The roadmap therefore sets out in detail how HMRC plans to achieve these ambitious targets. The Institute has previously met with HMRC to discuss these targets, and met again last week to discuss the Transformation Roadmap[LD1] , with particular focus on the level of agent services which will be developed. Once again it would appear that a gap will start to widen between these and taxpayer services, which will be vastly improved, if the plan is implemented as intended. At the meeting, the group acknowledged the roadmap for its ambition and noted that the sound drafting. One important aspect that needs to be clarified over time will be timelines for implementation of the targets. HMRC noted that they plan on update the roadmap annually as the measures develop. An executive summary of the roadmap is also available.

In this week’s detailed miscellaneous updates, which you can read more about below, HMRC’s VAT Registration Sub-Group Forum has sent a list of questions with answers, and HMRC is calling for research participants to particate on a project looking at the impact of new technology on the tax advice market. We also report on how payment on account schedules are now accessible in VAT online accounts. In other news this week: The Adjudicator’s Office has published ‘How the Adjudicator's Office is performing against our customer service standard’, The latest HMRC performance data for the first quarter of the year is available: HMRC quarterly performance update: January to March 2025, HMRC monthly performance reports, and HMRC monthly performance report March 2025, 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. VAT Registration Sub-Group Forum: questions and answers HMRC’s VAT Registration Sub-Group forum has sent the below list of questions with answers which we have reproduced verbatim. The Institute is represented on this HMRC forum by a VAT specialist. “Question and answers Can the G-form have an upload facility added to – this will allow evidence to be uploaded at the time of declaration.   The online Error Correction Notification form has been optimised; it will now contain functionality to allow customers and Agents to upload additional documentation to support the error being reported.    Can the G-form be expanded to increase the text box size – this will allow more space to provide sufficient explanation   This suggestion has been accepted and implemented in the optimised form - The text box has been increased to 2,000 characters; this will allow additional information to be provided which is especially useful for complex corrections, in addition to the attachments.   Can we establish if repayment and payment ECNs are prioritised equally, are online ECNs prioritised above paper.   Repayment and payment error corrections are prioritised in date order, however if we are notified of an urgent case or financial hardship, we can expedite these cases.  If there are delays to the processing of error corrections due to system outages, performance issues etc we can, and have, prioritised repayment returns in the past.  Our performance has met our targets over a sustained period being supported by stable IT infrastructure   We wanted to establish if automation will speed up processing   We have carried out a review of our Error Correction process and we are looking to go into a period of discovery to improve the Digital offering in the back end, this should increase the average turnaround times even further.   When a customer makes an error correction payment at the time of submitting the declaration, can the payment be held and not [automatically] returned   We are in conversation with our IT partners to discuss the feasibility of this request. If it is feasible we will need to consider the change as part of wider changes we need to make to our systems. We will update in due course.   Can The Declaration Thresholds be reviewed as they have not been updated since 2008   We appreciate this point being raised again and will consider it as part of HMRC’s broader review of potential reform and modernisation of the tax system.” Research on the impact of new technology on the tax advice market: call for participants HMRC is pleased to invite you to contribute to a new research initiative led by Dr Sara Godfrey from HMRC’s Intermediaries Directorate. This project, part of a government-backed Innovation Fellowship in collaboration with Lancaster University, will explore how emerging technologies, particularly AI, automation, and digital accountancy platforms, are transforming the tax advice market. HMRC is seeking approximately 30 volunteers to take part in a confidential 45-minute interview, which can be conducted virtually or in person. Interviews will be scheduled flexibly during August, September and October 2025, and all responses will remain fully anonymous as part of Social Research standards. Your insights will play a valuable role in shaping future policy and strategy in this rapidly evolving area. If you're interested or would like to learn more, please contact customerengagementforums@hmrc.gov.uk. Please express your interest by Friday, 30 August 2025. Payment on account schedules accessible in VAT online account HMRC has made some improvements to VAT online accounts for payment on account taxpayers who can now view the details of their payments on account payment schedules. Paper notifications will still be sent. The new functions aim to reduce reliance on paper copies and allow taxpayers to check their upcoming instalment schedules and payments, and any balancing payment due dates, in one place. This also gives real time access to instalment changes following any increases in taxable turnover for payments on account purposes.

In this week’s post EU exit corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant in the post EU exit environment. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available as is the most recently published Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs team. The latest joint statement from the UK and EU Domestic Advisory Groups (DAG) has been published. The Institute is a member of the UK DAG. HMRC has also sent an email on moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and another email on entry summary declarations. And finally, the minutes of the latest Joint Customs Consultative Committee HMRC Forum, which the Institute is a member of, have been published together with summary slides of presentations covered in the meeting. Miscellaneous guidance updates and publications This week’s miscellaneous guidance updates and publications are as follows: External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service, Short shipments at temporary storage locations, Additional Information (AI) Statement Codes for Data Element 2/2 of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), Submitting an electronic administrative document or an electronic simplified administrative document for excise goods, The Customs (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025, Report a problem using the Customs Declaration Service, Make an entry summary declaration using the Import Control System 2, Apply for authorisation for the UK Internal Market Scheme if you bring goods into Northern Ireland, Categorising goods for Internal Market Movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and Declare your goods to authorised use and completing authorised use.

We highlighted in Tax News on 14 July that the HMRC webinar on Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax which will take place on Tuesday 16 September from 1-2pm is open for booking. This webinar will be led by Sam Wood BSc ACA. Sam works with agents within HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme and has a background in accounting and digital transformation. He is responsible for Cross Cutting Stakeholder Engagement, Policy and Strategy at HMRC and is a Chartered Accountant and a member of ICAEW with wide experience of Making Tax Digital from its inception. The Institute is also running a more detailed two-hour webinar, delivered by Tim Palmer, on Thursday 11 September which is also open for booking.

As covered in Tax News on 14 July, the second, and final, 2024/25 self-assessment payment on account for income tax and Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) is due for payment on or before midnight on Thursday 31 July 2025. Each payment on account is half of the previous year’s tax bill. Anyone who is self-employed is required to make two payments on account for 2024/25 unless: Their 2023/24 Self-Assessment tax bill was less than £1,000, or More than 80 percent of all the tax owed in 2023/24 was deducted at source, for example via PAYE. If a taxpayer knows that their tax bill for 2024/25 is going to be lower than that in 2023/24, a claim can be made to HMRC to reduce payments on account. Each payment on account made should be 50 percent of the person’s total income tax and Class 4 NICs liability for 2023/24. If the final tax liability in 2024/25 is greater than the total payments on account made, a balancing payment will be due on or before 31 January 2026.

Last week the Government also announced three technical consultations on draft legislation. More details are set out below. Raising standards project Following the package of measures announced at the Autumn 2024 Budget, on L-day HMRC also published two separate technical consultations, together with draft legislation. Overall, the measures are designed “to deter harmful practices, hold advisers accountable, and promote a more transparent and trusted tax advice market” and have the objective of supporting the Government’s three main priorities: to close the tax gap, enhance services, and modernise the tax system.   Both these consultations will run for eight weeks and will close on Monday 15 September. More details of the key proposals are set out below. Modernising and mandating tax adviser registration This consultation seeks views on the introduction of mandatory registration for tax advisers engaging with HMRC on behalf of clients, to ensure they meet minimum standards. Registration will be required from April 2026 and is supported by a £36 million investment in modernising HMRC’s adviser registration services. Enhancing HMRC’s powers and sanctions against tax adviser facilitated non-compliance This consultation seeks views on further measures to ‘support compliance and transparency in the tax advice market’. Proposals include strengthening HMRC’s powers to: Access information from advisers suspected of facilitating non-compliance, Apply proportionate penalties where there is evidence of such behaviour, and Publish details of advisers subject to HMRC sanctions.   HMRC also published a summary of responses on this measure, in response to the recent consultation in this space. Views on the draft legislative clauses and the practical implications of the proposed measures are sought by email to raisingstandardsconsultation@hmrc.gov.uk. Making Tax Digital (MTD) and Penalty Reform – draft legislation for technical consultation Last week, the Government also published draft legislation for Making Tax Digital for income tax and penalty reform. This aims to refine and simplify the existing framework and legislates for the changes announced in March at the Spring Statement. This includes: A deferral from MTD until at least 2029 for some groups, such as Ministers of Religion, Lloyds Underwriters, and recipients of the blind person’s allowance, Exemptions from MTD for others, including individuals with power of attorney, and non-UK resident entertainers with no other qualifying income, Technical and policy amendments, including the authority for HMRC to cancel or reset late submission penalty points and cancel associated financial penalties, A requirement for MTD users to submit their end of year tax return using MTD-compatible software, and A new qualifying income threshold for MTD for Income Tax of £20,000 to apply from 2028/29. As also mentioned at the Spring Statement, individuals will not be required to use MTD until April 2027 if they have information that they would need to submit using the SA109 supplementary pages. HMRC will work with stakeholders to finalise this deferral, which will be included in legislation later this year. In line with the existing tax policy framework, the aim of this technical consultation is to seek views on whether the draft legislation works as intended. To provide comments, please email: makingtaxdigitalconsultations@hmrc.gov.uk by 16 September 2025.

It was a busy day last Monday when the Government’s now traditional L-day kicked off with the publication of HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap (more on this later), the publication of several new technical consultations in three areas (see separate story), in addition to draft clauses for the next Finance Bill, covering a range of previously announced policy changes, including the controversial changes to inheritance tax. The key areas of draft legislation covered in the Bill are as follows: Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) tax implications, Income Tax: changes to Employee Car Ownership Schemes, Multinational Top-up Tax and Domestic Top-up Tax further amendments, Umbrella Companies: tackling non-compliance in the umbrella company market, Reform of the tax treatment of carried interest, Tax implications for companies and employees in relation to employees trading their shares on PISCES, Offshore Anti-Avoidance legislation, Changes to charity compliance measures, Better use of new and improved third-party data, and Reforming Inheritance Tax — unused pension funds and death benefits.

We have compiled the latest updates to various VAT legislation, publications, briefs and guidance. VAT Export and Removal of Goods from the UK, Fuel and power (VAT Notice 701/19), VAT Export and Removal of Goods from the UK, Check if you must register for VAT if you receive private school fees, Investment gold coins (VAT Notice 701/21A), Updates on VAT appeals, Apply to use Simplified Import VAT Accounting, Check if you must register for VAT if you receive private school fees, Check if you can register for the VAT Import One Stop Shop Scheme, Register for the VAT Import One Stop Shop Scheme, Insolvency (VAT Notice 700/56), Flat Rate Scheme for small businesses (VAT Notice 733), Authorise an agent to register or amend a VAT group, Amend a VAT group, Apply for VAT group registration, Apply to change the representative member of a VAT group, Flat Rate Scheme for small businesses (VAT Notice 733), Authorise an agent to register or amend a VAT group, HMRC email updates, videos and webinars for VAT, VAT: detailed information, HMRC email updates, videos and webinars for VAT, VAT grouping structure arrangements used by care providers (Spotlight 70), and Apply for VAT group registration.

As we predicted last Monday, following HM Treasury’s response to the Institute’s letter on this issue, on L-day the Government published draft finance bill clauses which confirm that the changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief will be proceeding as planned from April 2026. In the draft legislation as it currently stands, none of the recommended mitigations proposed by the Institute have been included. Read the Institute’s Press Release reacting to this in which we are seeking a special derogation from these changes for Northern Ireland, given the disproportionate impact of this in the region on the agricultural sector and family-owned businesses. The relevant Policy Papers on these reforms are also available here and here. The Institute is currently considering what further action is needed on this important issue and is also aiming to discuss this with local government. A full report on the other key announcements from L-day is covered later in this edition of Chartered Accountants Tax News. In the meantime, it is noteworthy that buried amongst the L-day publications is welcome confirmation that the Government has shelved Making Tax Digital for corporation tax.