List of HMRC planned evaluation publications
Updated 27 April 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-evaluation-list/hmrc-evaluation-list
HMRC tax relief external evaluation programme
HMRC published a tax relief evaluation plan in December 2021 which set out the department’s approach to evaluating tax reliefs specifically.
The plan also includes a set of criteria used to determine which reliefs are evaluated, which were developed jointly with HM Treasury in response to the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendations on evaluating non-structural tax reliefs in a more systematic fashion.
Using this plan, the department is currently evaluating the following reliefs:
- on-screen creative reliefs – film, high end TV, children’s TV and children’s animation
- annual investment allowance
- capital allowances for first year plant and machinery for oil and gas
- employment allowance
- National Insurance Contributions (NICs) reliefs for U21s and apprentices U25
- Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)/Venture Capital Scheme (VCT)
- Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)
- share schemes – Company Share Option Plan (CSOP), Share Investment Plan (SIP)
- Save As You Earn (SAYE)
- employer NICs relief for veterans
- cycle to work scheme
Making Tax Digital: evaluation programme
The impact of Making Tax Digital is being evaluated with social research among customers and quantitative analyses of tax data. This allows assessment of both customer experience and additional tax revenue.
Findings are being published on GOV.UK. Our evaluation plans will cover more taxes and more businesses as Making Tax Digital develops.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme evaluation
HMRC and HM Treasury are jointly evaluating the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This evaluation will assess the delivery of the scheme, the impact it has had on employees, employers and the economy. This evaluation will also include a value for money assessment and the lessons learned.
HMRC and HM Treasury published an interim evaluation in October 2022, with a final evaluation planned for later in 2023.
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme evaluation
HMRC and HM Treasury are jointly evaluating the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. This evaluation will assess the delivery of the scheme and the impact it has had on self-employed individuals and the economy. This evaluation will also include a value for money assessment and the lessons learned.
HMRC and HM Treasury published an interim evaluation in October 2022, with a final evaluation planned for later in 2023.
Off-payroll reform evaluation
The off-payroll working rules (commonly known as IR35) changed for the public sector in April 2017 and for medium and large sized client organisations in the private and voluntary sectors in April 2021. The changes are being evaluated through a mix of externally commissioned research and HMRC analysis of its own internal data.
A number of research reports setting out the findings from the research conducted so far can be found on GOV.UK. In December 2022, HMRC published the latest research findings which set out the Short-term effects of the 2021 off-payroll working rules reform for private and voluntary sector organisations and HMRC analysis on the Impacts of the off-payroll working rules reform in the private and voluntary sectors.
HMRC will update this analysis when new data is available.
Evaluation of the UK Freeports Programme
The UK government will carry out a process, impact and value for money evaluation of the UK Freeports Programme to understand the impact of this new policy and to maximise learning. This evaluation is being developed in line with key principles and best practice from the Magenta Book. It will be guided by a mixed method quasi experimental, and theory-based approaches.
The government published the Freeports Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Strategy in May 2022 and an update on the M&E programme was issued in the Freeports Annual Report in December 2022. Further updates will be provided each year in the report on the findings from the ongoing M&E.
The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) as the Department responsible for the delivery of Freeports are leading the M&E and working closely and collaboratively across government to ensure a robust and rigorous evaluation.
Uncertain tax treatment (UTT) evaluation
UTT requires large businesses to notify HMRC about an uncertain amount of Corporation Tax, Income Tax (including PAYE) or VAT.
This measure will be monitored and evaluated through the analysis of internal tax data and customer research to assess both the impact of the measure and customers’ experience.
More information can be seen in the UTT Evaluation Plan, which was published in December 2022.
Environmental impact of taxes evaluation proof of concept study
HMRC is procuring external expertise to build a robust analytical approach to monitoring, evaluating and quantifying the environmental impacts of tax measures, including whether they are having wider impacts. This includes testing the approaches on 2 initial environmental taxes.
Super-deduction evaluation
The super-deduction is a 130% capital allowance for qualifying expenditure by companies on main rate plant and machinery incurred between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023.
We have completed some qualitative research with 40 medium to large businesses which looked at their awareness of the super-deduction, and whether and how it has impacted their investment decisions. We are about to complete some further quantitative research that will give us some information on the size of the behavioural response.
Together, these pieces of research will help keep ministers appraised of how the policy is working and will help inform the consideration of any future policy options.
Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) evaluation
PPT applies to plastic packaging that has been manufactured in, or imported into, the UK, which does not contain at least 30% of recycled plastic.
The evaluation of PPT will be in line with best practices outlined in the Magenta Book. This tax will be monitored and evaluated through the analysis of environmental and tax data, as well as customer research, to assess both the impact of the measure and customers’ experience.
More information will be available in the evaluation plan, which will be published in 2023.