In this week’s miscellaneous updates, HMRC has shared with us the current version of the AM103 letter; the letter that is sent to agents who have access to HMRC’s services for tax agents and need to confirm who their anti-money laundering supervisory authority is. 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. AM103 letter HMRC has shared with us the current version of its AM103 letter; the letter that HMRC sends to agents who have access to HMRC’s services for tax agents and need to confirm who their anti-money laundering supervisory authority is in order to avoid losing access. To continue using HMRC’s agent services, the declaration form with the letter must be completed and sent to HMRC within 28 days together with evidence of the agent’s anti-money laundering supervision. By completing the declaration form an agent is confirming that it is: trading as a business, registered with a supervisory authority for anti-money laundering purposes or has registered (or applied to be registered) with HMRC for these purposes, and complying with the HMRC standard for agents. HMRC will suspend access to its agent services if the letter is not complied with or if the agent does not respond in the 28 day timeframe.

We have compiled the latest updates to various VAT legislation, publications, briefs and guidance. VAT Assessments and Error Correction, Insolvency (VAT Notice 700/56), Local authorities and similar bodies (VAT Notice 749), Caravans and houseboats (VAT Notice 701/20), Help with VAT compliance controls — Guidelines for Compliance GfC8, Extra Statutory Concessions (VAT Notice 48), VAT Refund Scheme for museums and galleries (VAT Notice 998), Claim a VAT refund as an organisation not registered for VAT, Local authorities and similar bodies (VAT Notice 749), VAT Civil Penalties, VAT Default Surcharge Officer's Guide, Goods and services you can claim for under the VAT DIY Scheme, VAT Export and Removal of Goods from the UK, and Insolvency practitioner bulletin 1 (2025): VAT7 form update.

This is your last chance to take our short six question survey on Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax. The survey will close later this week on Friday 25 April and will take less than 5 minutes to complete. Take the survey now.

On 14 April 2025, the Council of the European Union adopted a further amendment of Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC9). The amendment will streamline filing obligations and reduce compliance burdens for companies under the Pillar 2 Directive. Member States are required to implement the Directive into national legislation by 31 December 2025.

Last week the Institute’s NI Tax Committee, chaired by Janette Burns, wrote to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (XST) to express its concerns about the UK Government’s April 2026 proposals to restrict the availability of 100 percent agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) for inheritance tax (IHT) to a £1 million allowance. A copy of the letter has also been sent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Select Committee, the House of Commons Treasury Committee, and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland. The Committee has also responded to the related consultation ‘Reforms to Inheritance Tax agricultural property relief and business property relief: application in relation to trusts.’ The letter to the XST highlights the particularly damaging impact of these proposals which are already being felt across the UK but which will impact disproportionately for family owned businesses and farms in Northern Ireland. Also highlighted is the need to ensure these proposals do not impact retrospectively which would damage the principle of legitimate expectation. Although the £1 million allowance will refresh every seven years on a rolling basis which will be of benefit to lifetime gifts, the proposals are especially unfair to the many owners of APR and BPR property who are elderly and/or in poor health amongst whom a common strategy is to hold these assets until death before passing these on to the next generation. Unfortunately, this cohort of taxpayers will not realistically be able to make future lifetime gifts to their children every seven years over an extended period of time to take advantage of the renewal of the £1 million allowance. Whilst recognising that difficult decisions may be necessary in the current geopolitical and economic environment, the Government still needs to do whatever it can to protect genuine business and farming activity in the UK. The value of comprehensive, wide-ranging consultation also cannot be underestimated. The consequences of not consulting are already clear with reports of farmers and business owners in deep distress. A broader review of the UK’s IHT regime, building on prior work conducted by the Office of Tax Simplification, is warranted to address concerns that the effective IHT rate falls as estates get larger. This should also examine mechanisms to target the concern that ‘non-farmers’ are currently investing in land to avoid IHT by using APR to pass assets to the next generation IHT free. At the moment, the government is focusing solely on these two reliefs leaving those who run businesses and farms facing an unexpected tax burden with little choice but to consider selling. These reliefs are not loopholes but exist to allow farms/businesses to continue trading, without penalty, when the owner dies and the next generation takes over. The Committee is urging the government to postpone the changes in order to consult wider and reframe this policy change in a way that it is more effectively targeted. However, if this is not an option, a range of potential mitigations are suggested in both the letter and the consultation reply which would curtail the impact.

Revenue has updated its guidance on Securitisation Regulation: Notification of Investment to reflect the most recent EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes which was updated on 28 February 2025.

Revenue has updated its guidance on the taxation of payments made to home tutors by the Department of Education and on the tax treatment of remuneration of members of State & State sponsored committees, boards, commissions and other bodies to remove references to specific PRSI classes. The manuals also confirm that the Department of Social Protection is responsible for determining PRSI classes and the relevant contact details for any PRSI related queries are provided.

Statutory Instrument S.I. No. 69/2025 - European Union (Value-Added Tax) Regulations 2025 introduced a new basis for assessing eligibility for businesses to avail of VAT registration thresholds when determining the requirement to register for VAT in Ireland. As outlined in our newsletter of 24 March 2025, the Statutory Instrument transposed the special VAT scheme for small business into Irish law, the ‘Cross Border SME Scheme’. In addition, the Statutory Instrument also made a change to the conditions to be satisfied when determining if the turnover of a business exceeds the annual registration thresholds in Ireland. Prior to the change, VAT registration was required if turnover exceeded the relevant thresholds for goods and services in any continuous period of 12 months. Since the change, VAT registration is required where turnover exceeds the threshold limits in the current calendar year or did so in the previous calendar year. From 1 January 2025, the relevant VAT registration thresholds in Ireland for services is €42,500 and €85,000 for goods.

Revenue’s Online Service (ROS) will be down this evening from 6.00pm to 10.00pm due to scheduled maintenance.

The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke recently announced the development of a new whole-of-government Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, together with a range of measures aimed at enhancing business resilience and fostering competitiveness. The Programme for Government mandated the development of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity and by expediating this plan, the Government intends to align key decisions with the upcoming budgetary process.  The Government has also approved certain high-level short-term measures for implementation by May 2025, some of which are mentioned below: Enhancing International Trade Promotion: Actions will include a focus on implementing enhanced advisory supports for exporters facing disruption, developing a strategic approach to market diversification, and bringing forward a National Semiconductor Strategy. Addressing Business Costs:  Measures announced include adjusting the implementation timeline for the Living Wage to 2029 while outlining the Government’s continued commitment to the introduction of a Living Wage during its term. Amongst other measures announced, a new Cost of Business Advisory Forum will be established, and a Small Business Unit will be created. Improving Energy Infrastructure: Steps are to be taken to provide policy certainty regarding data centres, publish plans for connecting large energy users to the grid and to accelerate the deployment of critical electricity grid infrastructure. Commenting on the Action Plan, Minister Burke said: “We are living in a time of significant global change, marked by growing geopolitical tensions, trade uncertainties, and persistent cost pressures affecting businesses both large and small. To safeguard our economic future and support our enterprises, we must act decisively on the domestic factors we can influence. Therefore, the government has today agreed to fast-track the creation of a vital Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, aiming to produce a draft within 12 weeks for discussion at a Ministerial Summit in July. This plan will identify concrete, actionable reforms across government to enhance our competitive edge. As part of this plan, we are implementing a range of immediate, targeted measures by May 2025. These actions focus on key areas including enhancing international trade promotion supports for firms facing disruption, addressing business costs through regulatory adjustments and targeted initiatives, and improving energy security and infrastructure delivery.”

Revenue has issued new guidance on the General Anti-Avoidance Rule and Protective Notifications providing guidance on the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) and outlining the protective notification procedure. The manual provides guidance on the GAAR contained in section 811C TCA 1997 and it sets out the implications of entering into a ‘tax avoidance transaction’. The manual confirms that claiming a tax advantage from such a transaction can give rise to a tax avoidance surcharge, interest and additional tax arising on the withdrawal of the benefit by Revenue. Taxpayers have the option of filing a protective notice with Revenue to mitigate the consequences of Revenue assessing that the taxpayer has entered a tax avoidance transaction. Filing a protective notice affords the taxpayer a few benefits including protection from paying the tax avoidance surcharge in the event of the transaction being found to be a tax avoidance transaction under the GAAR. The new manual provides information on the protective notification procedures, including details on the forms to be completed to file a valid notification.

As exams begin to take focus for students, Dee France, Manager for the Thrive Wellbeing Hub, details how to balance your work, study and life commitments while prioritising your wellbeing and mental health  The life of a Chartered Accountant student can be tough!  Long work days, commuting, long evenings and weekends attending lectures, studying, practice papers, mocks – all while contending with the busy season.  This is without even mentioning all the other demands that impact our daily lives – family, kids, pets, sports and hobbies, downtime, and social obligations.  Juggling all of this can feel like you are being pulled in many different directions and life can feel hectic and chaotic. This demands a lot of physical and mental energy and space. Being up against the clock 24/7 with very competing tasks requires focus, determination and resilience.  So, how do you balance it all without becoming too overwhelmed or—even worse—burnt out?  Let me check my schedule  To balance your life, you need to be aware of everything you have on your plate, get organised and be a bit ruthless with your schedule.  At the start of each week, plan out the week ahead. Don’t overburden or over-pressure yourself, but get into the nitty gritty of your days and weeks, whether it's work-time, study-time, family commitments, social or other extracurricular activities – schedule it!  In the run-up to exams, employers may have a study leave policy in place. This can help you solely focus your efforts on preparing for your exams.  If this isn’t available to you, consider taking some annual leave so work commitments are softened and you have some extra time free.   We would even recommend scheduling daily downtime – switching off for at least 30 minutes at the end of each day will let you wind down before going to bed.  Pocketful of time  During exam season, time can either be your best friend or your worst enemy.  Now that your schedule is set, can you find extra time in your day to study? Look to capitalise on little pockets of extra time during the day or wasted downtime for quick burst study sessions.  Get creative with your time. Commuting? Why not use your journey to revise? Working from home? Use the time you would spend commuting to study. Finished your lunch? Crack out the study notes. Cooking dinner? Listen to a lecture as you prep.  Social caterpillar  At Thrive, we often hear how students cancel plans or feel guilty for socialising during studies. While you may have to cut back on your social plans, it is important to create space for enjoyment and rest.  It is paramount to have time away from your studies and have some fun. It allows you to recharge and relax, pulls you from your relentless routine and schedule and allows for a bit of calm and lightness in all the chaos.  Health hacks  While it may seem obvious, we at Thrive can’t stress enough just how important it is to look after your mental and physical health throughout your studies.   Pouring so much physical and mental energy into your efforts can make you feel fatigued, overwhelmed and stressed, leaving you vulnerable to physical and mental health concerns.  Sleeping eight hours a night, exercising daily, and eating well are extremely important for protecting yourself from burnout, reducing your stress levels, and increasing your energy.  Give yourself time to step away from your work and studies. Relaxing helps clear your head and keeps you motivated and productive.  So, whether that’s a chapter of your book, an episode of your favourite show, some yoga, or a podcast, always give yourself permission to relax guilt-free.  Lean on your support system If you are struggling and find it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, seek help from your support system.  Many of your managers, mentors, and lecturers have more than likely been through the same experience and can empathise with what you are going through. They may also be able to give you some valuable advice.  Your peers and colleagues will be sitting their exams at the same time, so setting up a weekly study group may prove beneficial in managing work and study.  Have your support system hold you accountable, too. If those close to you see that you are doing too much, have them make sure you are finishing work/study at a reasonable time. If you are falling behind, they can crack the whip.  Maybe your loved ones could take on a large proportion of the shared roles for the time being, whether that’s getting the children to bed, cooking dinner or housework.  Also, keep in mind the many student supports available to you through the education department or here at Thrive. The Thrive Wellbeing Hub provides a comprehensive mental health and wellness programme with a wide range of services tailored to our students’ needs. For more advice or information, check out Thrive’s Wellbeing Hub. Alternatively, you can contact the team by email at thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or phone at (+353) 86 0243294.