HMRC has published updated guidance on full expensing to clarify that corporate partnerships are able to claim, subject to the expenditure qualifying, and the National Audit Office has published its annual reports on the administration of Scottish and Welsh income tax. Various guidance documents on the creative sector reliefs have been updated (see below) and we update you on the removal of the functionality to copy existing VAT clients across to the Agent Services Account (“ASA”) which was previously covered in September and December 2023. The latest HMRC organisation structure is available on GOV.UK and the process for applying for probate in England and Wales has changed. HMRC has also sent its latest News and Information Bulletin.
Updated guidance on creative sector reliefs
HMRC has published updated guidance as follows:-
Removal of functionality to copy existing VAT clients across to the Agent Services Account – update
HMRC has provided an update on this issue which confirms that the functionality will be removed from 16 February 2024. A series of questions and answers which we received from HMRC which provides more information is set out below. HMRC has also provided additional information in an email.
HMRC is removing ‘VAT for Agents’ from the Online Agent Authorisation Service (OAA).
From 16 February 2024, agents who wish to be authorised to represent their clients for VAT must do so in the Agent Services Account (ASA). This process is known as a ‘digital handshake’.
On the same day, HMRC will remove the ability to copy across ‘VAT for agents’ authorisation codes from OAA to ASA.
How does this affect agents?
If agents already use the Agent Services Account for all VAT authorisations, they will see no change.
If agents use ‘VAT for Agents’ in OAA they must stop doing so as soon as possible. From 16 February, the service will be removed from OAA.
This means that agents will no longer be able to use the ‘VAT for Agents’ service in OAA to seek authorisation to represent clients or copy across relationships to their Agent Service Account.
Any ‘VAT for Agents’ authorisation codes generated in the Online Agent Authorisation service before 16 February must be used before 18 March 2024.
How will this affect an agent’s clients?
If an agent has already used OAA to get authorisation to represent a client for VAT, they will see no change.
For new VAT authorisations completed on the Agent Services Account, an agent’s clients must use the web link agents send to them to complete a digital handshake. Clients must have a Government Gateway ID to do this.
Agent’s clients must complete their part of the digital handshake within 21 days of the agent receiving the link. After 21 days, the link will expire, and you will need to begin the process again to generate a new link.
HMRC will not send any links or codes directly to an agent’s clients when an agent seeks authorisation to represent them.
Guidance to support agent’s clients through the digital handshake is available on GOV.UK.
HMRC has a number of online services available to agents, many of which are now nearing the end of their lifespan.
To provide a better service to agents, HMRC is starting to move all the functions from these legacy services into a single point of access: the Agent Services Account. By doing so, HMRC aims to make using online services simpler and more consistent across all areas of work.
The Agent Services Account offers agents the ability to transact for VAT clients and to get authorised to represent them. This also removes the need to map across details to ASA using authorisation codes generated in OAA.”
Change to probate in England and Wales
Both HMRC and the HM Courts and Tribunal Service (“HMCTS”) have updated the process for applying for probate in England and Wales. As a result, form IHT400 has been updated.
The change means that personal representatives applying for probate in England and Wales no longer need to complete form IHT421 (probate summary). Instead, when HMRC receives and processes the IHT400, a letter will issue with a unique code and estate value details which should then be used when applying for probate through the HMCTS online portal.
The process for applying for probate remains the same in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
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