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Help with sharing group structure information

Published 9 February 2026

Purpose, scope and audience 

These guidelines are most relevant to large and complex business groups when preparing or reviewing group structure information for HMRC. They help UK businesses share clear information about their group structure and transactions, saving them both time and resources, and support collaborative working.

UK businesses share group structure information with HMRC for various purposes. For example, to:

• support a statutory clearance application, for more information read Apply for statutory clearance for a transaction 
• request an Advanced Pricing Agreement, for more guidance read INTM422020 – Transfer pricing: methodologies: Advance Pricing Agreements 
• make a Profit Diversion Compliance Facility disclosure, for more information read HMRC Profit Diversion Compliance Facility 
• comply with a HMRC information request as part of a compliance check
• to show business updates and significant business changes as part of the Large Business Risk Review process, for more guidance read Tax Compliance Risk manual TCRM3100 – The Business Risk Review (BRR+): Overview 

How to use these guidelines 

These guidelines are not mandatory. You can use group structure information that is already available. We encourage you to:

• check that the group structure information provides the key information set out in these guidelines 
• highlight and explain the differences between the best practice in these guidelines and the information provided to HMRC 
• clarify any nuances, features and special characteristics
• provide the date of the group structure or transaction information

When highlighting differences, you may need to include: 

• additional information in a letter, email or additional table 
• a key to the group structure chart 
• existing country-by-country reporting (CbCR) data, with an additional column and a table — read section ‘Complex group structures’ in this guide

Key information 

It is best practice to share group structure information that provides the following key information as a minimum: 

• entity type 
• name 
• ownership and or control 
• country of tax jurisdiction 
• special characteristics 

The entity type includes incorporated bodies, unincorporated bodies, joint ventures, cells in protected cell companies and individuals.

If the control of the entity is different to its ownership, this should be clearly shown. The business should also explain how the entity is controlled, such as through shares, voting rights or similar powers.

If the country of incorporation is different to the country of tax residence, show both country codes — country of tax residence followed by the country where legally formed.

A branch or permanent establishment (PE) is not incorporated. You should provide the country code for the branch or PE. For example, the UK branch of a US company, would provide UK country code for the branch. You should show how the entity, which the branch or PE is part of, on the group structure and its tax residence. You should use identical names to help reinforce the fact that they are the same entity.

A partnership tax status is either ‘transparent’ or ‘opaque’. Read INTM180010 — Foreign entity classification for UK tax purposes: Introduction. Some partnerships are not formally incorporated but will have a country where they are legally formed. They also may not have a tax residence status for UK tax purposes. In this case, include the country of tax residence or jurisdiction where legally formed or both inside the partnership symbol. Alternatively, an accompanying note to clarify:

• the tax status of the partnership and its partners 
• where legally formed 
• country of tax residence

A trust is not incorporated. Use country codes to indicate the tax residence and the country where legally formed, if different.

Examples of special characteristics include: 

• hybrid entity 
• public body 
• charity 
• 3rd party bank 
• investment manager or broker 
• institutional investors 
• joint venture 
• limited, limited liability or Scottish partnership 

Hybrid entities

HMRC needs to be able to identify hybrid entities in a group structure, to understand complexities in the tax treatment of the entity and its transactions. For a definition of a hybrid entity, read INTM550580 — Hybrids: definition of key terms.

To help you understand the importance of hybrids in your group structure, we have provided 2 examples.

US check the box — example 1

A UK limited company has a US parent. The US parent elects for the UK company to be treated as a transparent entity (flow-through) for US tax purposes.

Use an oval inside a rectangle to show that an entity is both a:

• company in its country of incorporation
• disregarded entity for US tax purposes

A partnership hybrid — example 2

A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is established in the UK. For UK tax purposes an LLP is generally treated as ‘transparent’, meaning that members are taxed individually on their share of partnership profits. Many other countries treat LLPs as corporations by taxing the entity itself. This difference can lead to tax mismatches.

Use a triangle inside a rectangle to show that a partnership is also treated as a corporation in another country.

Standard shapes and symbols

Using standard shapes and symbols to represent the key information is common practice. HMRC manuals refer to this as standard notation. The common shapes and symbols used to show entity types are: 

• rectangle — company 
• oval — branch or PE 
• triangle — partnership 
• triangle inside a rectangle — partnership hybrid 
• oval inside a rectangle — company hybrid 
• diamond — trust 
• circle — an individual 

When sharing pre-existing group structure diagrams that may not have been specifically prepared for HMRC, it is best practise to include the reference key. 

Key information is provided inside or beside the shape. For example: 

• entity name — in the middle of the shape 
• 100% ownership — use a hierarchical structure with a solid line
• partial ownership — include the percentage of ownership either next to the solid line in the hierarchical structure or in the supplementary notes 
• place of tax residence — alphabetic country code shown in a small rectangle positioned at the bottom right corner of the shape

Read ISO country codes.

Some groups use coloured shapes to indicate tax residence, with a key matching each colour to a country. This is an acceptable alternative to alphabetic codes, but you should consider the accessibility of the information.

For more information about:

• images and descriptions, read Appendix A — standard shapes and symbols
• practical illustrations of group structure charts, read Appendix B — examples

Complex group structures 

Some businesses have a complex group structure and may find it difficult to provide a visual chart. A helpful alternative is to use a table format to provide this information.

Some large businesses provide entity-level information to satisfy CbCR. Read IEM300010 — Country-by-Country Reporting: Introduction.

Supplementing CbCR can minimise the effort required by businesses to provide group structure information.

Step 1 — obtain the following entity level information from Table 2 in the CbCR: 

• tax jurisdiction 
• constituent entities resident in tax jurisdiction 
• constituent entities Tax Identification Number (TIN)
• tax jurisdiction of incorporation if different from residence 

Step 2 — add entity type information, with reference to any special characteristics (for example Company; Company Hybrid) to the Table 2 data from the CbCR.

Step 3 — provide a separate table with the following data points:

• parent name or TIN
• subsidiary name or TIN
• ownership percentage

To help you understand the steps to create table 1 and table 2, read example 3.

Group structure using a table format — example 3

Table 1

Tax jurisdiction	Constituent entities resident in tax jurisdiction	Constituent entities TIN	Tax jurisdiction of incorporation if different from residence	Entity type
United Kingdom	Entity 1	12345670	no data	Company
United Kingdom	Entity 2	12345671	no data	Company Hybrid
United Kingdom	Entity 3	12345672	United States	Company
United Kingdom	Entity 4	12345673	no data	Company
Australia	Entity 5	12345674	no data	Company

‘No data’ has been added for accessibility users only. Do not add content when you send in your report.

Table 2

Parent name or TIN	Subsidiary name or TIN	Ownership %
Entity 1	Entity 2	100%
Entity 1	Entity 3	100%
Entity 2	Entity 4	100%
Entity 3	Entity 5	100 %

Partial group structures 

Sometimes businesses only need to share part of the group structure, for example, when discussing or reviewing a transaction that only affects part of the group. HMRC encourages this approach for complex groups. HMRC may need to carry out further checks to establish all relevant facts.

Further questions

If you have any further questions after reading these Guidelines for Compliance, you can contact us by email at: ccgguidelinesforcompliance@hmrc.gov.uk. 

Include the reference GfC17 in the subject line. Copy your customer compliance manager into the email if you have one. 

Read about the risks of corresponding with HMRC by email.