Guidance

Issue 114 of agent update

Published 15 November 2023

Technical updates and reminders

Developments and changes to legislation and allowances relating to UK tax including:

Tax

EU Exit

HMRC Agent Services

Details of live consultations and links to responses, changes to HMRC service and guidance, including:

Agent Forum and engagement

Latest updates from the partnership between HMRC and the main agent representative bodies, including:

Tax

Electric charging of company cars and vans at residential properties

HMRC has published amended guidance in the Employment Income Manual (EIM23900) and introduced new guidance in the National Insurance Manual (NIM06440) about a change in home charging of electric vehicles.

Section 239 of the Income Tax (Earning and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2) provides an exemption on payments and benefits provided in connection with company cars and vans. This legislative provision therefore exempts aspects such as vehicle repairs, insurance, and vehicle excise duty.

We previously maintained that the reimbursement of costs in relation to charging a company car or van at a residential property was not caught by this exemption.

Following a review of our position, we now accept reimbursing part of a domestic energy bill, which is used to charge a company car or van, will fall within the exemption provided by section 239 of the ITEPA 2003. 

This means that no separate charge to tax under the benefits code will arise where an employer reimburses the employee for the cost of electricity to charge their company car or van at home. 

The exemption will only apply if it can be demonstrated that the electricity was used to charge the company car or van. Employers will need to make sure that any reimbursement made towards the cost of electricity relates solely to the charging of the employees company car or van.

Update on Agent Registration

Changes to the P87 form and Married Allowance Transfer Claim Form (MATCF)  

On or after 26‌‌‌ ‌‌February 2024, all agents submitting a P87 or MATCF repayment claim on behalf of their clients will need to use the new standard HMRC form. 

Failure to submit claims in the agreed format will result in the claim being rejected and returned to you. In these circumstances, you would need to resubmit the claim using the correct format.

When and where the new forms will be available 

The new P87 and MATCF forms will be made available for download on GOV‌‌‌.UK in early February 2024. We will update you further on this in due course. 

What the new claim forms look like

We’ve shared water-marked versions of the forms with stakeholders, so you should be able to see what changes have been made — these are for reference only. If you have not received these forms, and think they may be relevant to you, check your junk or spam folder before contacting us. If you still do not see the forms contact repaymentsconsultation@hmrc.gov.uk.

Forms agents should use before 26‌‌‌ ‌‌February 

Before 26 ‌‌February 2024, continue to submit claims for Income Tax relief for job expenses using a P87 form and Marriage Allowance using a MATCF form in the usual way on behalf of your clients. Forms which are received by us, and date stamped as received before 26 ‌‌February 2024 will still be processed as normal. Consider that if you’re sending forms to us, we recommend allowing around 10 days for delivery and processing.

Any new format P87 or MATCF forms, to be released in early February 2024, should not be submitted to HMRC prior to 26‌‌‌ ‌‌February 2024. Forms submitted in advance of this date may be rejected. We’ll provide a further update on this early in the new year.

Changes to Income Tax or PAYE repayments process

On or after 26‌‌‌ ‌‌February 2024, if you’re a paid tax agent submitting P87 and MATCF claims on behalf of others and you want to receive repayment on behalf of your client, you will need to provide your agent reference number when submitting the forms — there is a required field to complete your agent reference number.

Failure to add your agent reference number to the designated nomination section on or after this date will result in repayments for valid claims being paid directly to the taxpayer, not the nominated third party.

You’ll also need to ensure your client has completed the section which tells us whether they’re nominating a professional to act on their behalf for the purposes of the repayment claim. Failure to select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the appropriate section could result in repayments for valid claims being paid directly to the taxpayer, not the nominated third party.

Upcoming changes to R40

Similar changes to the R40 form will be introduced in due course. We will provide a further update in advance of this change.

What you need to do now

Agents submitting Income Tax or PAYE repayment claims on behalf of their clients will need to register for an agent services account immediately, if they have not already done so. You can check what you need to do to receive Income Tax or PAYE repayments on behalf of others, or alternatively ask HMRC’s digital assistant if you have any questions.

Update on UK implementation of global tax reform — Pillar 2 

Previous editions of Agent update (Agent update 111, Agent update 110, Agent update 107, and Agent update 105) explained that work is ongoing at UK level to implement changes to the international corporate tax framework.

We know that agents have an important role to play in helping businesses meet their obligations. Therefore, we wanted to make you aware that we have recently issued a direct communication to groups with a UK presence, that we believe are in scope of Pillar 2. 

This latest update builds on the information given in the previous message, including further information on:

The new online service — from Spring 2024

We’re developing a Pillar 2 online service to enable groups to meet their Multinational Top-up Tax and Domestic Top-up Tax obligations.

This digital service is being released in stages. The first stage will include the ability to register for the new taxes — and make a payment on account if they want to.

We’re aiming to complete this by Spring 2024, well in advance of the registration deadline, which is six months from the end of the accounting period in which the group became a qualifying group.

Legislation

The Spring Finance Bill 2023 (Finance (No.2) Act 2023), enacted earlier this year, includes the UK legislation implementing Multinational Top-up Tax and Domestic Top-up Tax.

We also published additional draft legislation on 18 July 2023 and 27 September 2023 with amendments. This reflects stakeholder observations on the existing legislation, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) administrative guidance published earlier this year.

We’ll continue to make amendments to our legislation where necessary, in order to remain consistent with the international agreement.

More information on the latest position and access to the draft legislation can be found using multinational top-up tax amendments.

Update on guidance

HMRC published draft guidance for consultation in July 2023. The guidance provides an overview of the Multinational Top-up Tax and Domestic Top-up Tax, as well as covering the scope and administration of the taxes. The consultation ended in September 2023, and we are now reviewing the responses we received. This can be found on the Guidance: multinational top-up tax and domestic top-up tax page.

The OECD has also published a further set of administrative guidance, and some new guidance on the Global anti-Base Erosion information return. This can be found on the OECD website by searching for:

• ‘Agreed administrative guidance’ — published July 2023
• ‘GloBE information return’ — published July 2023

Questions and contact information

The latest update also contains a section on frequently asked questions that have been sent to the Pillar 2 Compliance mailbox. We have summarised the most frequent questions along with our response.

As mentioned previously, the Pillar 2 Compliance team are working with the adviser community to help us understand any problems groups may have and what action we can take to overcome them.

If you have a query, or if you represent a group that is in scope of Pillar 2 and they have not received a letter, or if you’d like to subscribe to our Pillar 2 updates, email pillar2mailbox@hmrc.gov.uk.

Help to check if work qualifies for Research and Development (R&D) tax relief

HMRC has published Guidelines for Compliance (GfC) to help companies see if work qualifies as Research and Development (R&D) for tax purposes.

 Only companies can claim R&D reliefs.

The guidelines are designed to help avoid common errors while identifying and submitting claims to R&D relief by aiding businesses to:

• find out if work may qualify as R&D for tax purposes
• understand HMRC expectations of those making claims
• understand HMRC’s view of who is a competent professional, able to judge if a project is seeking an advance in science or technology
• understand the meaning of ‘scientific or technological advance’ for tax purposes
• decide where the project begins and ends for the purposes of an R&D claim
• understand the evidence of a qualifying project HMRC may want to see

Relevant motoring expenditure — impact of recent Upper Tribunal decision on National Insurance contributions

When employees use their own car for work, relief from income tax and an equivalent disregard from Class 1 National Insurance contributions can be due based on business miles driven.

For National Insurance, payments made in respect of the use of the vehicle must be classed as relevant motoring expenditure for the disregard to be available. The rate used for the disregard is based on the highest approved mileage allowance payment rate for tax.

The rates can be found in the Employment Income Manual EIM31240. The disregard is not available on amounts over and above relevant motoring expenditure amounts.

HMRC’s loss in the recent Upper Tribunal in the case of Wilmott Dixon and Laing O’Rourke has determined that the types of payments that can fall within the definition of relevant motoring expenditure is wider than HMRCs previous application.

The tribunal ruled that it is not just payments relating to actual use, but also potential and anticipated use of the vehicle. This will affect those who receive fixed sum car allowance payments where those payments are made in anticipation or potential use of a qualifying vehicle. Where car allowance payments have been or will be made for use of a qualifying vehicle, they may now benefit from a higher amount of disregard because the amounts classed as relevant motoring expenditure could be higher.

Guidance on qualifying vehicles can be found at Employment Income Manual EIM31255 on GOV.UK.

Where car allowance payments have been made and National Insurance contributions have been paid on these amounts for previous periods which are no longer due, a refund of overpaid contributions may be claimed. For a claim to be successful all the existing rules still apply. The disregard is based on quantified and evidenced business miles driven — claims will not be successful if evidence cannot be provided. No disregard is available on payments made that are within the definition of relevant motoring expenditure if salary is sacrificed from an individual’s pay.

HMRC guidance is being updated to reflect this outcome and further communications will be made to signal when these changes have been made.

How to claim a refund — employers

Businesses with a similar fact pattern to the Upper Tribunal cases will be able to correct any overpayment. Where Real Time Information (RTI) is used to correct, these claims will need to be substantiated on a pay period-by-period basis with the following evidence:

• a list of the employees, with their National Insurance numbers, included in the claim
• evidence of the number of business miles undertaken by each employee
• the amount of car allowance payments that these employees received
• details of any other relevant motoring expenditure payments that the employees have received (for example if they have received mileage payments at less than the HMRC approved rate)
• the Primary and Secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions that is being reclaimed

RTI returns are subject to potential enquiry so businesses must ensure the relevant evidence is held and retained.

For employers within HMRC’s Large Business population, claims should be made through your customer compliance managers.

Where employers are unable to amend their RTI returns they can make written claims. If making a written claim, in addition to the evidence, they will need to provide:

• the reference of the relevant motoring expenditure
• the reason the amendment cannot be made through RTI

For more information read about payroll errors and correcting pay or deductions.

How to claim a refund — employees

Where employees believe they are due a refund they must contact their employer first. If an employer has made a refund claim, they should repay any overpaid National Insurance contributions due to their employees.

If the employer has not applied for a refund, employees will have to provide on a pay period-by-period basis:

• evidence of the number of business miles
• the amount of car allowance payments that they have received
• details of any other relevant motoring expenditure payments that they have received (for example if you have received mileage payments at less than the HMRC approved rate)
• the Primary Class 1 National Insurance contributions that is being reclaimed
• the reason their employer is not applying for this refund on their behalf

HMRCs usual process for claiming National Insurance refunds will apply. You can read the guidance on claiming a National Insurance refund for more information.

Property business arrangements involving hybrid partnerships — Spotlight 63

HMRC is aware of a tax avoidance scheme being marketed as a tax planning option available to individual property landlords. This scheme is sometimes referred to as a hybrid business model and claims to bypass mortgage interest relief restrictions, reduce the tax payable on profits and reduce Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax.

The arrangements seek to avoid tax by allowing individual or joint property landlords to transfer their properties to a limited liability partnership (LLP) with a corporate member. The LLP then allocates profits on a discretionary basis to members such that the individual members remain basic rate taxpayers and the remaining profits are allocated to the corporate member. The corporate member claims a deduction for finance costs (such as mortgage interest) relating to the properties.

HMRC’s view of these arrangements is that they do not work as the claimed advantages are caught by several different pieces of legislation, as laid out in Spotlight 63.

If any of your clients are using the tax avoidance scheme outlined in the Spotlight, you should encourage them to leave and settle their tax affairs as outlined in the Spotlight.

If you are selling such schemes, be aware that HMRC will pursue those who promote or enable tax avoidance. This includes using the enablers penalty regime for anyone who designs, sells or enables the use of abusive tax avoidance arrangements which are later defeated by HMRC.

HMRC will also use its powers under the Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes regime against those who continue to promote tax avoidance schemes.

Returns for deceased persons and estates in the administration period

Deceased person Self Assessment repayment claims

Before sending a Self Assessment return making a request for a repayment to an agent for a deceased customer, ensure there is both a notification of any personal representative (executor) or capacitor in place, and also a valid Authorisation of a tax agent form — (64-8) in place on HMRC systems. This will ensure the repayment request can be automated, otherwise it must be processed manually and will take longer.

On notification of a customer’s death, HMRC ceases the acting authority of any current agent held on our systems. If that same agent intends to continue acting on behalf of the deceased customer’s records, they must submit a new 64-8. 

Deceased person’s closed Self Assessment record

Where a deceased person’s Self Assessment record had been closed for some time but larger income or gains before death need to be reported on a Self Assessment return, there are currently delays in reactivating the Self Assessment record.

We recommend you send a paper return using the existing Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR).

If you must send an electronic return, contact the bereavement helpline.

Also note the timing issues advice in Agent Update 103 — returns for the tax year in which someone died and earlier.

Deceased cases and informal administration period: contacting HMRC

If you wish to contact HMRC because you have not received a response, refund or payment reference from HMRC after more than 2 months on general deceased cases or informal administration period returns, make contact with the bereavement helpline.

The specialist bereavement team will usually be better placed to deal with such issues than the agent dedicated helpline.

Returns for complex estates in the administration period

Where an estate becomes complex some time into the period of administration, the personal representatives are required only to complete a Self Assessment return for the tax year in which the estate becomes complex (and later, as appropriate).

If you send a formal return for an earlier year, you should make it clear in the covering letter that the estate was not complex at that time. That earlier year return should not be subject to a late delivery penalty.

Alternatively, you can use the informal process for the earlier years.

HMRC will accept a paper in-year return on completion of a complex administration period. Print the 2022 to 2023 Trust and Estate Tax Return and ensure you clearly mark-up the top to show the current 2023 to 2024 tax year.

Overlap Relief — preparing for the new tax year basis

On 11 September 2023 the online form for submitting requests for details about Overlap Relief was launched on GOV.UK.

Taxpayers with an accounting date other than 31 March or 5 April who are affected by the move to the new tax year basis may need to find out the details of their Overlap Relief. They’ll need to do this ahead of submitting returns for the 2023 to 2024 transitional year.

For partnerships, each partner must submit a separate request individually, as they each have a separate overlap relief figure based on their own circumstances as a partner.

Overlap Relief information can only be provided if these figures are recorded in HMRC systems and taken from information submitted by taxpayers as part of previous tax returns. If this information has not been submitted in tax returns, HMRC will not be able to provide Overlap Relief. However, in these circumstances, it may be possible to provide historic profit figures, to allow Overlap Relief to be recalculated.

Refer to changes to reporting income from self- employment and partnerships for additional guidance.

HMRC is also offering help and support for tax agents and advisers by running a series of webinars for tax agents about the new tax year basis.

EU Exit

Second-hand motor vehicle VAT-related payment scheme — update to deadline

In September 2023 we issued a reminder about the upcoming changes to VAT on sales of second-hand cars in Northern Ireland.

We advised that if businesses have second-hand motor vehicles in stock that they bought in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), and moved to Northern Ireland before 1 May 2023, they can continue to use the VAT margin scheme if those vehicles are sold by 31 October 2023. If they were to be sold after 31 October 2023, the business would have to account for VAT on the full selling price of the vehicles.

HMRC has listened to feedback from businesses about the 31 October deadline and have now extended the period that businesses can continue to use the VAT margin scheme for vehicles they had in stock on 1 May 2023.

Businesses can now use the VAT margin scheme for eligible motor vehicles that they purchased in Great Britain and moved to Northern Ireland before 1 May 2023 if they still had these vehicles in stock on 1 May 2023 and resell them on or before 30 April 2024.

For more information you can refer to motor vehicles you had in stock on 1 May 2023.

HMRC Agent Services

Tips for when you must use post

Going online can often provide instant access to information and is much quicker than calling or writing to us.

Our digital services mean you do not always have to send us your paperwork. Online forms are less likely to be rejected due to errors or missing information and some of our digital services have help functions built in.

If you do need to post us something, to make sure your mail gets to the right place and can be dealt with as quickly as possible:

• use the right postcode and put the full postcode on the envelope — you can use the Contact HMRC page to find this information

• use letter headings so they get to the right department — here’s a helpful list of letter headings specifically for agents, and links to find the correct postal address

• put any identifiers such as your client’s National Insurance number and Unique Taxpayer Reference (if they have one) on the first page and make sure they’re clear and prominent

• add the key topic to the front page, so that HMRC can direct post to the right team — all post received is scanned to provide a digital image of the envelope contents

• only include supporting documents if they’ve been asked for or are needed — we understand that agents like to include a covering letter as this provides evidence they have sent something to HMRC, but covering letters should not be added unless there is key information that needs to be provided over and above the forms being returned which will help resolve the query

• try to avoid adding multiple bits of post, if possible, put client information in separate envelopes and staple documents together so pages do not come apart and merge with other client information — although we appreciate there may be instances where we do receive multiple items of post received in one envelope — these are split and worked by different parts of HMRC — this may mean that you receive responses at different times

• do not use the word ‘complaint’ unless it’s a genuine complaint as this means it will be diverted to the complaints team and not the relevant service area and cause delays

• do not send multimedia such as USB sticks or hard drives, unless requested to do so

• where valuable items are enclosed such as birth certificates or passports, ensure there is a clear return address for the documents within the envelope contents

• make sure any print and post forms are complete, correct and signed but remember if you can do it online it will be quicker

Changes to the Apprenticeship Levy Manual

In July 2023 we updated the content of page ALM07000 of the Apprenticeship Levy Manual.

The update was made to correct a previous error and now sets out the correct legislative provision that pay bill is based on, the total amount of earnings on which an employer is liable to pay Class 1 secondary National Insurance contributions.

This includes earnings below the lower earnings limit and the secondary threshold and in particular that earnings below the lower earnings limit and the secondary threshold are included in the pay bill even when the total earnings for the employee in that pay period do not exceed the secondary threshold.

Electronic sales suppression a year on: HMRC continues clamping down on major till fraud

HMRC launched a compliance campaign asking customers to come forward who have misused till software to hide or reduce the value of sales.

Use of these systems and software reduces the recorded turnover of the business, whilst providing what appears to be a credible and compliant audit trail. This is known as Electronic sales suppression. 

We’ve had a high level of response, but HMRC has already identified incomplete and inaccurate disclosures. HMRC use third party information including bank account and transactional data from online food ordering platforms, and merchant acquirers to check against what has been returned.

We want customers and or their agents to voluntarily come forward and use the online process to disclose their undeclared sales, and stop using Electronic sales suppression software immediately. HMRC are continuing to contact customers into 2024.

If customers do not come forward, HMRC may issue an assessment and open an investigation, and harsher penalties will apply. 

As part of investigations into Electronic sales suppression, HMRC will recover tax evaded and may launch investigations that could result in criminal convictions.

FS68 gives full details of the whole range of measures available to HMRC to tackle Electronic sales suppression.

Making sure you stay on top of your workplace pensions duties

The Pensions Regulator monitors all employers, big and small, to make sure staff receive the pensions they are due. Your clients should ensure they stay on top of their workplace pension duties. If they do not, The Pensions Regulator can find out and may take enforcement action.

Automatic enrolment is a continuous responsibility. As well as monitoring the ages and earnings of staff and paying contributions, employers must also carry out re-enrolment duties every three years.

Your clients should read ongoing duties guidance on The Pensions Regulators website.

Those supporting employers with their duties should look at The Pensions Regulators information for advisers.

Read information for advisers on re-enrolment and re-declaration on the pensions regulators website.

Getting ready for Self Assessment

We are approaching our busiest time of year for Self Assessment and we are reminding agents to use the Income Record Viewer to get client’s information for their tax return. The Income Record Viewer provides information on:

• PAYE information for the current year plus the 4 previous tax years
• employment records, including time in employment, their PAYE reference, the pay and tax details for each of their employment
• student loan repayments, if any, collected through payroll
• latest tax code for the current tax year including all allowances and deductions
• taxable benefits provided by an employer such as company car and medical insurance and whether these are forecasted (P11D not received yet) or actual (P11D received)
• state and private pension information
• details of any underpaid tax and other debts such as tax credits or 2 National Insurance contributions collected through their tax code

We’ll continue to provide important reminders to customers and agents, this includes our latest warning to Self Assessment customers to look out for scam texts, emails and phone calls from fraudsters.

Income Record Viewer — client authorisation

We’ve been telling agents about the benefits of using the Income Record Viewer to check their client’s pay, tax, employment history, pension (private and state) and tax codes.

As a result, agents have been providing valuable feedback on the Income Record Viewer which has mainly focused on client authorisations.

PAYE and Income Record Viewer authorisations are held on different systems. This means separate client authorisations are needed for each. We appreciate it may be frustrating for you to source 2 separate authorisations and for your clients to provide them. We’ll continue to look for ways to make digital authorisations simpler and more efficient in the future and we’ll keep you updated on our progress. 

To make it easier for your clients we’ve produced a short YouTube video that you can pass on to them, which guides them through the Income Record Viewer online authorisation process. For any digitally excluded clients who can not authorise you online, they can contact the relevant helpline who’ll make a referral to our Extra Support Team who’ll help and guide them through the process.

Your feedback is already helping us improve the Income Record Viewer. We recently made a change to extend the tax code data from showing the current year only, to now showing the previous 4 tax years. We’ll also continue to develop and improve the Income Record Viewer and will keep you updated. 

Watch a video about How do I authorise an agent for the Income Record Viewer?

Support for customers who need extra help

We have principles of support for customers who need extra help. These set out our commitment to support customers according to their needs, and underpin the HMRC Charter. 

Find out how to get help and what extra support is available. 

Tax Agent Toolkits

HMRC have 26 tax agent toolkits available for you to download and use. They have been designed to address the most common errors seen from previous years. They include checklists of the key issues to consider and links to HMRC technical guidance and manuals.

Be aware that our toolkits are currently being updated.

Here is the breakdown of toolkits by category:

• Capital Gains Tax toolkits
• Toolkits for companies
• Employer toolkits
• Toolkits for individuals
• Property rental toolkit
• Trusts and estates toolkits
• VAT toolkits

By identifying the most common errors this may prompt a conversation between you and your clients to ensure submissions are correct.

Contact

You can complain to HMRC.

To make a complaint to HMRC on behalf of your client you must be appointed as their tax adviser.

Getting my reply — for tax agents

Find out when you can expect to get a reply from HMRC to a query or request you have made.

There is also a dedicated service for tax agents to: 

• register you as an agent to use HMRC Online Services
• process an application for authority to act on behalf of a client

Manuals

You can check the latest updates to HMRC manuals or subscribe to automatic notification of changes. You can also suggest improvements for pages of our manuals by using the feedback options in the page footer.

Online

You can find online training material and useful resources through the HMRC email updates and webinars for tax agents and advisers page.

HMRC videos on YouTube, online learning modules, and live and pre-recorded webinars are available for tax agents and advisers providing you with free help, learning and support on topical subjects.

Publications 

Countdown Bulletin 53 has been added to the Countdown bulletins for pension scheme administrators collection page.

The Revenue and Customs briefs can also be reviewed. These are briefs announcing changes in policy or setting out the legal background to an issue. They generally have a short lifespan, as announced changes are incorporated into permanent guidance and the brief is then removed.

Agent forum and engagement

Issues Overview Group and agent forum

Agents can use different links on GOV.UK pages to provide feedback, and if required receive a reply from HMRC. This is a more effective route to provide feedback than on the agent forum, but of course the latter can be used to canvas feedback from other agents if they feel it is a systemic issue.

You will be able to:

• use the contact link at the very bottom of any GOV.UK page, then under ‘Find contact details for services’, scroll down to HM Revenue and Customs and click on the link which will take you to the ‘GOV.UK form’ to provide more detailed feedback — you will receive an acknowledgement, and HMRC subject matter experts will email you a response

• let us know if a page was helpful by clicking either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the question ‘Is this page useful?’ — you can answer anonymously and doing this helps HMRC to understand what guidance is working as intended, and what needs attention

• report anything from a typo or a broken link, to missing or incorrect information using the ‘Report a problem with this page’ button at the bottom of any GOV.UK page

Agent online forum hints and tips to improve posts

Improving the quality and relevance of agent forum posts will assist the handling and responses to queries, and enhance the service. These are hints and tips that will assist to improve the quality and relevancy of posts.

Should your query relate to pages on GOV.UK use the contact form to receive a direct reply, in advance of considering whether it merits a post on the forum to assist impacting.

Technical issues with online services should be reported to contact centres in advance of posting on the agent forum to see if other agents are affected. IT service management will initially assess impact by reviewing reports from contact centres.

Agent forum responses may direct agents to guidance, but will not give advice on a query.

The agent forum does not handle complaints. Once a complaint has been made using the formal HMRC complaints process, the post will be closed and locked as the complaints handling team will be responding directly to the complainant. If the post is not about the subject of the complaint, but relates to the process, or seeks to assess impact, it is a valid post.

Removal of posts

Posts may be removed if agent forum administration deem a post breaches forum guidance.

Should an agent wish to query this decision they should email agentforum.wt@hmrc.gov.uk. If they then want the decision to be reviewed, they should contact their professional body representative on the Issues Overview Group.

Consideration of posts recently removed has resulted in a more pragmatic approach, on rare occasions allowing posts over the 250-word limit when the description of supporting evidence and impact requires it. 

Response times

Agents can now see the average response time by Head of Duty on the top of key forum boards.

Digital signatures

Policy colleagues have now confirmed that a pdf version of the original document for Gift Holdover Relief is acceptable. Issues Overview Group members had requested confirmation of this in previous meetings. 

Income Record Viewer

Issues Overview Group members reviewed the update of Income Record Viewer provided in Agent Update 113 with subject matter experts. Improvements sought are to extend coding data to the previous 4 years. Conversations are underway relating to Construction Industry Scheme data. Issues should continue to be reported using the Income Record Viewer page. Subject matter experts have requested that agents submit examples of cases where issues have not been dealt with.

Marriage Allowance

At the Issues Overview Group meeting on 5 October 2023, the subject matter expert advised that when issues are identified these are shared with the Making Tax Digital programme.

This enables colleagues to investigate, and where needed seek to design out flaws in future Making Tax Digital iterations.

Work is continuing to improve our existing Marriage Allowance guidance, Issues Overview Group members requested these changes are made prior to peak season.

Agents are requested to use the contact form on GOV.UK should they wish to provide feedback and receive a direct response on the guidance published.

Contact Information for professional and representative bodies

• AAT: wt@aat.org.uk

• ACCA Jason Piper: jason.piper@accaglobal.com

• AIA David Potts: workingtogether@aiaworldwide.com

• ATT: atttechnical@att.org.uk

• CIMA: prof.standards@cimaglobal.com

• CIOT Technical: technical@ciot.org.uk

• CIPP Lora Murphy: Lora.Murphy@cipp.org.uk

• CPAA Alison Hale: ahale@cpaa.co.uk

• IAB: Compliance@iab.org.uk

• ICAEW Caroline Miskin: Caroline.miskin@icaew.com

• ICAS Tax Team: tax@icas.com

• ICB Jacquie Mount: jacquie.mount@bookkeepers.org.uk

• ICPA Tony Margaritelli: admin@icpa.org.uk

• IFA John Edwards: JohnE@ifa.org.uk

• VATPG Ruth Corkin: Ruth.corkin@hhlp.co.uk

If you are not a member of a professional body, contact the Agent Engagement mailbox.