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 latest Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs team. Miscellaneous guidance updates and publications Report a problem using the Customs Declaration Service, Transit newsletters — HMRC updates, Data Element 2/3: Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) of the Customs Declaration Service, Manage your Trader Goods Profile, UK Trade Tariff: duty suspensions and autonomous tariff quotas, Trade with the UK as a business based in the EU, Check how to move goods through ports that use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service, Create a goods movement reference, 9. Transport Internationaux Routiers, 6. Simplifications, 11. Specimen Management System, 8. Contraventions and Civil Penalties , 1. Introduction, 2. Status of goods - Transit Manual Part II refers, 3. Guarantees (Transit Manual Part III refers), Transit Manual Supplement, Data Element 2/3 Documents and Other Reference Codes (National) of the Customs Declaration Service, Use the New Computerised Transit System, Customs Declaration Completion Requirements for The Northern Ireland Protocol, Notices made under the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018, and Notices under The Customs Transit Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.

The OECD is to publish a consolidated report on Amount B later this week. As part of the two pillar solution agreed by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS, Amount B provides for a simplified and streamlined approach to the application of the arm’s length principle to in-country baseline marketing and distribution activities, with a particular focus on the needs of low-capacity countries. This consolidated report will include all publications on Amount B by the Inclusive Framework in 2024.

In Irish news, the first Fiscal Monitor for 2025 has been published and we bring you details of an information campaign launched by Revenue for PAYE taxpayers. In UK news, senior HMRC representatives from the Making Tax Digital (MTD) team attended last week’s Practice News and HMRC is advising that ongoing industrial action by some of its staff has now been extended to 14 March 2025. In International news, the European Commission outlines its priorities on tax matters. Ireland 1. The Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have published the Fiscal Monitor for January 2025 which confirms an Exchequer surplus of €3.6 billion in January. 2. As part of a PAYE information campaign, Revenue has published statistics relating to 2024 tax return filings and are encouraging all PAYE taxpayers to finalise their tax position.    UK 3. The first Practice News webinar of 2025 was attended by senior HMRC representatives from the MTD team who spoke about how to get ready for MTD for income tax. 4.  HMRC is advising that industrial action by some of its staff which may impact specific helplines has now been extended to 14 March 2025. International 5. Read about the European Commission’s priorities on tax matters. 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.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual Company Charge to Income Tax on Loans to Participators. The updated manual includes a new introductory paragraph, further details on the operation of the provisions, and some additional examples.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual VAT and Employer Income Tax/PRSI/USC/LPT – Direct Debit guidelines to reflect the ongoing direct debit modernisation project. Under phase one of this project, from January 2025, employers can no longer avail of a fixed direct debit option to pay their taxes. Liabilities can be settled instead by variable direct debit.

Revenue has published a new Tax and Duty Manual Split Year Residence which provides guidance on split year residence. The guidance reflects amendments to the claim rules introduced in Finance Act 2024. The new guide outlines split year treatment, its benefits and the relevant qualifying conditions. The changes introduced by Finance Act 2024 allow individuals to self-assess their eligibility for split year residence and claim the relief in their income tax Return for the relevant year.  These changes are referred to as the ‘Finance Act 2024 scheme (out of year claims)’. The manual provides guidance on claiming relief under this scheme and under ‘The Finance Act 1994 scheme (in-year claims)’. Illustrative examples of both schemes are included in the manual.

The first Practice News webinar of 2025, brought to you by Practice Consulting, took place on Friday 7 February 2025. In attendance were senior representatives from HMRC’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) team, including the MTD Programme Director Craig Ogilvie and Gemma Hope, from the Agent External Readiness team. Attendees heard how agents and taxpayers can prepare for MTD for income tax, including the benefits of joining its testing programme and key readiness tips. A recording of the webinar is available for viewing here. HMRC’s slides are also available on our website. The webinar also contained the usual regular features including updates on both Irish and UK tax, in addition to the latest compliance and technical news from the February 2025 edition of Practice Matters.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual which provides guidance on the provisions relating to the residence of individuals. New paragraphs are included which provide additional guidance on: The meaning of ordinary residence and its implications in relation to the charge to tax (paragraph 2), Details on the charge to tax of income from a public office or employment (paragraph 5) and, Double tax agreements (paragraph 7). Certain paragraphs have been removed as the relevant matters are dealt with in separate Tax and Duty Manuals; these include split year residence and PAYE exclusion orders. The appendices in the manual have also been updated to reflect refreshed examples and now include a summary table on the tax implications of an individual’s residence, ordinary residence, and domicile status. A new appendix has also been included to provide historical guidance relating to a concession applying to Covid-19 cases in 2020.

In a story on 13 January 2025, we highlighted planned industrial action by HMRC staff which at that point was expected to end later this week on Friday 14 February 2025. HMRC has recently contacted us to advise that this action, which affects the Employer Helpline and Construction Industry Scheme helplines, has been extended to 14 March 2025. The full email from HMRC reads as follows: “In December we notified you about industrial action affecting the Employer Helpline and Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) helplines. This has been extended to 14 March. We have robust plans in place to ensure we continue delivering critical services.  HMRC Employer Services phonelines and webchat will be open 8am-6pm as usual but customers may experience longer wait times. We recognise that this is inconvenient for customers and agents who need direct support.   The lines affected are:  Employer Helpline (EHL)   Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Helpline   There are no expected impacts on other services. We will keep the opening hours and service levels under review, and we will update you in advance of any changes.   We are updating GOV.UK and the recorded message that customers hear when calling the helpline. This tells them about the industrial action, the increased wait times and encourages customers to use our digital services. We strongly encourage customers to use our digital services rather than waiting to speak to us on the phone. Some of the main topics customers call these helplines about, which they can do online are: Get a quick answer to queries using the digital assistant  Check the status of your CIS refund in the ‘Where’s My Reply’ tool – only call us if the date has passed   Check your balance in the Business Tax Account   For technical support with online services use the For technical support with online services use the Online Services Helpdesk.”

HMRC has recently updated the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax taxpayer and agent sign up guidance pages to reflect changes to the eligibility criteria for participating in the MTD for income tax trial in 2025/26. Following these changes, taxpayers reporting the high income child benefit charge and/or income from a jointly owned property will be able to sign up voluntarily to join the MTD for Income Tax 2025/26 trial phase ahead of mandation for the first phase of taxpayers with turnover exceeding £50,000 from April 2026. Further updates on the 2025/26 testing phase are expected ahead of its launch which is currently targeted for April 2025.

In this week’s miscellaneous updates, HMRC has confirmed that its interest rates will be reduced after the recent Bank of England base rate reduction and a consultation is taking place on HMRC statistics. From April 2025, the legislation which gives effect to the UK-Russia and UK-Belarus Double Taxation Treaties in UK law will be revoked and HMRC’s Guidelines for Compliance (GfC) have published the latest GfC on labour supply chain assurance. 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 finally, check HMRC’s online services availability page for details of planned downtime and the online services affected. HMRC late payment interest rates to be reduced HMRC has confirmed that its interest rates for late payments will be revised and reduced by 0.25 percent following the Bank of England interest rate cut to 4.5 percent. These changes will come into effect on: 17 February 2025 for quarterly instalment payments, and 25 February 2025 for non-quarterly instalments payments. HMRC’s information on the interest rates for payments will be updated shortly. Consultation on changes to HMRC statistics publications On 16 January 2025, HMRC published a consultation seeking views on how the statistics they publish are used. HMRC recognises that it is important to engage with statistical publication users regularly and to consider whether publications remain of high value to them. The aim of the proposals is to ensure that HMRC: continues to produce useful and relevant statistics for use by its stakeholders, adding to its existing statistics where appropriate, and adapts statistics publications to reduce what is produced for those which are no longer widely used, are duplicated elsewhere, or could be produced less frequently. The consultation closes on 10 April 2025. Revocation of UK-Russia/Belarus tax treaties Following Russia’s unlawful action to suspend material provisions of the 1994 UK-Russia Double Taxation Convention and the 2017 UK-Belarus Double Taxation Convention, the UK continued to honour its treaty obligations. The UK requested that Russia come back into compliance with its international legal obligations. However, as it did not do so, the UK has now notified Russia of its intention to suspend the Convention. The UK will therefore revoke the legislation which gives effect to these conventions in UK law. These will both cease to have effect from: 6 April 2025 for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, and 1 April 2025 for Corporation Tax. The UK will continue to honour its obligations under the treaties until these dates. However, thereafter, there will be an increased risk of double taxation, with a need to rely on the relief (if any) available under domestic law noting the potential for this to be restricted by ongoing sanctions. The following publications have therefore been updated: Belarus: tax treaties, and Russia: tax treaties. New GfC on labour supply chain assurance HMRC’s GfC team has published Help with labour supply chain assurance — GfC12. The guidelines are designed for larger organisations in the top tiers of a labour supply chain; however, the principles can be applied to most businesses. HMRC continues to tackle tax defaulters in labour supply chains directly. Many risks arise where there are opportunities to exploit larger, higher value, and more complex chains. HMRC is concerned about how these risks can affect a business’s own tax affairs. These guidelines explain how taxpayers can self-assess their own assurance practices and aim to help taxpayers identify and limit the impact of risks. The guidelines: explain what labour supply chains are and the associated risks, promote the importance of effective labour supply chain assurance, and provide practical advice to consider when carrying out labour supply chain assurance. These have been produced using a different format than previous guidelines hence HMRC is keen to hear feedback on the new format. If you have any queries or feedback, please contact the GfC Mailbox. Alternatively, there is an anonymous survey in the Next steps, further questions and feedback section.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual Guidance on the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) to reflect Finance Act 2024. The main changes to the manual reflect amendments to the sections dealing with land subject to the RZLT, administration, exemptions, deferrals and abatements and other issues.