If you have a hearing

You’ll be told when and how the hearing will be held. Your hearing may take place by phone, by video or in person. Read how to take part in a phone or video hearing . You can watch a video about what happens at a video hearing . If you or your witness or representative is outside the UK and wants to give live video or audio evidence, contact the tribunal to request it. Tell the tribunal what country you, the witness or representative is in and what type of evidence is being given. You must do this as soon as possible. Documents you’ll need The tribunal will ask you for copies of all documents relevant to your appeal (such as letters, invoices and accounts). You might be sent a ‘bundle’ of documents before the hearing. This is usually by email, but you can request a paper copy. Your appeal acknowledgement letter will tell you how to do this. You must have the ‘bundle’ of documents available during the hearing. This can be on your device, such as a laptop. Who’ll be at the hearing You can represent yourself at the hearing or have a representative act on your behalf. This could be a legal adviser , tax adviser or accountant . There will be a tribunal panel led by a judge. In some cases, the tribunal may appoint other panel members. Representatives from the organisation whose decision you’re appealing may come to the hearing. The hearing will be open to members of the public. You can also ask any of the following people to the hearing: a representative, if you have one a friend, family member or colleague a witness, if you need one If you’re having a video hearing, you’ll need to tell the tribunal if any of these people are coming so they can be given access to the hearing. The tribunal will not pay for any travel or accommodation costs to allow you or any of these people to attend the hearing. If you cannot attend the hearing If you cannot go to the hearing and do not have a representative to go on your behalf, you must contact both: the tribunal as soon as possible to explain why you cannot go the organisation whose decision you’re appealing (their contact details will be on your decision letter) What happens at the hearing You (or your representative) will present your case to the tribunal. You must explain: what has been agreed what you think is wrong what evidence you have to support you, like any documents or witnesses Representatives from the organisation whose decision you’re appealing will present the case against you. The representatives and the tribunal may also ask questions during the hearing.

The tribunal's decision

The tribunal will send you or your representative a decision letter or email. You’ll usually get this within 12 weeks of the hearing. Reasons for the decision will be included unless both sides agree at the end of the hearing that they’re not needed. If you lose your case If you lose your case, you may be able to: get a decision ‘set aside’ ask for permission to appeal Get a decision set aside You can ask for a decision to be ‘set aside’ (cancelled), but only if you think there was a mistake in the process. The letter you get with the decision will tell you how to do this. Contact Citizens Advice if you need help. Ask for permission to appeal You may be able to appeal against the decision if the tribunal made a legal mistake, for example if it did not: apply the law correctly fully explain its decision Ask for full written reasons if you’ve not had them already. You must do this within 28 days of the date on the decision notice - the decision notice will tell you how. Ask for permission to appeal - download the appeal form and read the guidance notes . You must do this within 56 days of the date given on the full written reasons. Send the appeal form to: First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) PO Box 16972 Birmingham B16 6TZ Tax Tribunal taxappeals@justice.gov.uk Telephone: 0300 303 5857 Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm Find out about call charges After you send the form A judge will decide if you can take your case to a higher tribunal, called the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery). Appeal to the Upper Tribunal if you get permission. If you’re refused permission to appeal You can apply to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal if the First-tier Tribunal refuses, or only gives you permission to appeal on limited grounds.

Legislation and previous decisions

Read the rules the tribunal must follow and its decisions on previous cases. Previous decisions Search for tax tribunal decisions to see how and why they were made. Legislation The tribunal must follow the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Tax Chamber) Rules 2009 . Read the practice direction and practice statements for more detailed guidance. The tribunal was set up by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and Transfer of Tribunal Functions and Revenue and Customs Appeals Order 2009 .

Appeal to the tax tribunal

Overview

You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Tax) if you want to challenge some decisions by:

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
Border Force
the National Crime Agency (NCA)
the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA)
the Gambling Commission (only decisions about the Economic Crime Levy)

The tribunal is independent of the government, HMRC, Border Force, the NCA, the WRA and the Gambling Commission. It will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.

If you appeal, the tribunal can:

replace the decision with a new one
ask the organisation to look at the decision again

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

Before you appeal

You can ask for a review of some tax decisions. This can be quicker and cheaper than appealing to the tribunal.

You can:

If you do not agree with the outcome you can still appeal to the tribunal.

Appeal an HMRC decision

You can appeal against most decisions about ‘direct tax’ and ‘indirect tax’.

Direct tax includes:

Income Tax
PAYE Tax
Corporation Tax
Capital Gains Tax
National Insurance contributions
Inheritance Tax

Indirect tax includes:

VAT
Excise Duty
Customs Duty

How you appeal against a decision depends on if it’s direct or indirect tax.

You must appeal direct tax decisions to HMRC before you can appeal to the tribunal.

You can usually appeal indirect tax decisions straight to the tribunal.

You can also apply for alternative dispute resolution.

There’s a different way to appeal decisions about tax credits and Council Tax.

Delay your payment while you appeal

You can ask to delay paying a tax bill if you’re making an appeal to the tax tribunal. You’ll usually be charged interest if you lose your appeal.

You can still appeal to the tribunal if you cannot pay your tax bill - do not wait until HMRC has agreed to delay your payment. You must tell the tribunal if you’ve asked to delay your payment when you appeal.

If you ask to delay payment after submitting your appeal, you need to contact the tax tribunal to let them know.

Tax tribunal
taxappeals@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 303 5857
Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm
Find out about call charges

You do not have to pay upfront if you’re appealing a penalty.

Appeal about seized goods

You must ask Border Force or HMRC to take your case to the magistrates’ court (this is known as starting ‘condemnation proceedings’) if you think they should not have taken (or ‘seized’) your goods.

You may be able to appeal to the tribunal if Border Force or HMRC:

refuses to return your seized goods
says you need to pay to get your seized goods back

Before you can appeal against a refusal to return your seized goods, you must ask either Border Force or HMRC to review their decision. If you’ve missed the deadline for a review, you can apply to the tribunal to be allowed to request a late review.

If you’ve been asked to pay duty or a penalty

You may be able to appeal if HMRC:

sends you an assessment for duty
charges you a penalty

Before you appeal, you will usually have to pay an assessment for duty. If you cannot, you can apply to HMRC to delay paying it until after the appeal is over.

You do not need to pay a penalty before you appeal.

Appeal an NCA decision

The National Crime Agency (NCA) may check your tax return instead of HMRC.

You can make an appeal if you do not agree with the decision by writing to the NCA. You must appeal to the NCA before you can appeal to the tribunal.

National Crime Agency
Units 1 - 6 Citadel Place
Tinworth Street
London
SE11 5EF

Appeal a WRA decision

You can appeal some Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) decisions about Land Transaction Tax and Landfill Disposals Tax.

You must usually pay upfront what WRA says you owe. You can request to delay paying until you get a decision about your appeal. If you delay payment, you may be charged interest on the amount you owe.

Close an enquiry

If HMRC, the NCA or the WRA opens an enquiry into your tax return and you think it should be closed, you can ask the tax tribunal to order them to close it.

You can apply to:

You cannot apply if your tax return is being checked for indirect tax.

Help you can get

You may want to get help and advice before you appeal. An accountant, tax adviser or legal adviser may be able to help you.

You can get free advice from:

Citizens Advice
TaxAid
TaxHelp for Older People, if you’re over 60

View a printable version of the whole guide

Appeal to the tax tribunal

Overview

Before you appeal

Appeal an HMRC decision

Delay your payment while you appeal

Appeal about seized goods

If you’ve been asked to pay duty or a penalty

Appeal an NCA decision

Appeal a WRA decision

Close an enquiry

Help you can get

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Appeal to the tax tribunal

Overview

Before you appeal

Appeal an HMRC decision

Delay your payment while you appeal

Appeal about seized goods

If you’ve been asked to pay duty or a penalty

Appeal an NCA decision

Appeal a WRA decision

Close an enquiry

Help you can get

Related content

Is this page useful?

Help us improve GOV.UK

Help us improve GOV.UK