Collection

Tax avoidance schemes currently in the spotlight (numbers 1 to 19)

Information about tax avoidance schemes that HMRC believes are being used to avoid paying tax due, published from August 2010 to June 2013.

Published 27 January 2014
Last updated 30 July 2018 — see all updates

• From: HM Revenue & Customs

This guidance includes some of the schemes that HMRC has:

• identified as having the features of tax avoidance
• started investigating

Find tax avoidance schemes currently in the spotlight (numbers 20 onwards)

If you use an avoidance scheme, HMRC will:

• open an enquiry into your tax affairs
• seek full payment of any tax due, plus interest
• charge penalties where appropriate

Together with HMRC’s guidance on what tax avoidance is, these spotlights aim to warn you against using tax avoidance schemes.

Spotlights 10 to 19

1. Stamp Duty Land Tax avoidance: update (Spotlight 19)
   • 12 June 2013
   • Guidance
2. Stripped bond tax avoidance schemes (Spotlight 18)
   • 12 June 2013
   • Guidance
3. Employment Benefit Schemes using fettered payments (Spotlight 17)
   • 17 April 2013
   • Guidance
4. Plan Green - car benefit scheme (Spotlight 16)
   • 14 February 2013
   • Guidance
5. Share Loss Relief schemes (Spotlight 15)
   • 11 January 2013
   • Guidance
6. Stamp Duty Land Tax avoidance (Spotlight 14)
   • 11 January 2013
   • Guidance
7. Property business loss relief schemes (Spotlight 13)
   • 26 November 2012
   • Guidance
8. Taxing the rewards for work done for a UK based employer (Spotlight 12)
   • 6 November 2012
   • Guidance
9. Avoiding Income Tax on pay (Spotlight 11)
   • 23 August 2011
   • Guidance
10. Stamp Duty Land Tax avoidance (Spotlight 10)
    • 5 August 2010
    • Guidance

Spotlights 1 to 9

1. Gift Aid with no real gift (Spotlight 9)
   • 5 August 2010
   • Guidance
2. Investments to obtain trade loss reliefs - 'sideways loss relief' (Spotlight 8)
   • 5 August 2010
   • Guidance
3. Avoidance using Gift Aid (Spotlight 7)
   • 5 August 2010
   • Guidance
4. Employer-Financed Retirement Benefits Scheme (Spotlight 6)
   • 5 August 2010
   • Guidance
5. PAYE and National Insurance contributions, Corporation Tax and Inheritance Tax: using trusts and similar entities to reward employees (Spotlight 5)
   • 5 August 2010
   • Guidance
6. Contrived employment liabilities and losses (Spotlight 4)
   • 5 August 2010
   • Guidance
7. Pensions schemes: artificial surplus (Spotlight 3)
   • 5 August 2010
   • Guidance
8. VAT: artificial leasing (Spotlight 2)
   • 5 August 2010
   • Guidance
9. Goodwill: companies acquiring other businesses, carried on prior to 1 April 2002 by a related party (Spotlight 1)
   • 5 August 2010
   • Guidance

Published 27 January 2014
Last updated 30 July 2018 + show all updates

1. 30 July 2018 Disguised remuneration: schemes affected by the loan charge (Spotlight 44) has been added to the collection.
2. 26 June 2017 Spotlight 38 has been added to show HMRC's stance on VAT supply splitting.
3. 14 February 2017 New Spotlights 35 and 36 added.
4. 30 August 2016 Added link to new guidance on contractor loans schemes.
5. 14 September 2015 Spotlight 26: Contractor loan schemes - too good to be true added.
6. 27 January 2014 First published.