SG21000 - Security for tax at risk of being unpaid: Who may we require to give security?

VAT and environmental taxes

For VAT we can require a taxable person to give security. For example we may require a VAT-registered company to give security.

For environmental taxes we can require a registrable person to give security. A registrable person is a person who is registered, or is liable to be registered, for the tax.

In this guidance we use the term ‘person’ when we mean both ‘taxable’ and ‘registrable’ person.

PAYE/NICs

We can require an employer to give security for PAYE/NICs. We can also require security from the following person in relation to the employer

  • a director
  • a company secretary
  • any other similar officer
  • any person purporting to act in such a capacity
  • a member of a limited liability partnership (LLP) where the employer is an LLP.

In this guidance we use the term ‘person’ when we mean both the employer and any of the persons listed above.

There is guidance at SG26500 about asking for PAYE/NICs security from more than one person.

There are some employers from whom we cannot require security for PAYE/NICs, these are

  • the Crown
  • employers who have entered into and are meeting a time to pay arrangement, see SG25560
  • employers using the simplified deduction scheme under Regulation 34(3) Income Tax (PAYE) Regs 2003 who only employ authorised personal employees
  • employers who only employ ‘care and support’ employees under Regulation 206(4) Income Tax (PAYE) Regs 2003.

The law on securities is at SG15000.