Tax news in brief

Government's plans for the tax system

The government’s Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, includes the section Delivering a tax system that supports growth (page 84 onwards). The government refers to commitments made earlier, including in the corporate tax roadmap published alongside the Autumn Budget 2024, and says that it will “look across all available levers to deliver change at the Budget in Autumn 2025 and across the Parliament, including via continued consideration of the tax environment to ensure it supports the ambitions of the Industrial Strategy”.

HMRC writes to directors

HMRC has announced that it is writing to directors who:

• received a loan from the company they are a director of;
• had that loan written off or released between April 2019 and April 2023; and
• failed to declare the taxable arising as a result of the write off/release.

HMRC states that taxpayers with income to declare for 2022/23 and earlier tax years should use the digital disclosure service. Tax returns for 2023/24 are still within the deadline for making an amendment.

New dedicated bereavement support helpline

It is now possible to report a death and settle the deceased’s tax affairs by calling HMRC’s new dedicated bereavement service helpline, on 0300 322 9620. ICAEW has updated its HMRC contact information webpage for the new number. HMRC says that where the existing numbers are used, callers will be routed to bereavement advisers until further notice.

HMRC's online complaints service for agents

HMRC says that it has made the following improvements to its online complaints service for agents in response to feedback:

• unsubmitted complaints can now be accessed for up to 90 days; and
• up to 10 attachments per complaint can be uploaded as supporting material.

HMRC says that it is planning further improvements, including a new start page that sets out the information the agent needs to provide when making a complaint. Agents can feedback on the service by completing the feedback survey that appears after a complaint has been submitted.

See HMRC’s Agent Update 119 for further information on the service, including how to access it.

HMRC to expand use of voice recognition

From July 2025, HMRC will offer voice recognition to all individuals that use its contact centres. HMRC says that 1.5m people currently use voice recognition to verify their identity with HMRC, and that, by expanding voice recognition across all personal and business tax lines between July and October 2025, it hopes to reduce call times and increase capacity.

Changes to the VAT registration service

When completing an application on the VAT registration service, the applicant must now enter a breakdown of taxable turnover by standard rate (20%), reduced rate (5%) and zero rate (0%). The changes took affect on 19 May 2025.

Read more in HMRC’s Agent Update 132.

Borders and trade

HMRC has published updates on the following:

• The Import Control System 2 (ICS2). This is the new safety and security declaration system for road, rail and maritime movements into Northern Ireland which, in time, will replace the current system (ICS). HMRC says that road (and rail) carriers who bring goods into Northern Ireland or the European Union have until 1 September 2025 to move to ICS2 to be able to continue submitting safety and security declarations.
• Proof of Union Status (PoUS). PoUS removes the need for further customs processes or duties when moving goods between the EU and Northern Ireland. The second phase of PoUS will introduce the Customs Goods Manifest (CGM) from 15 August 2025.

International tax round-up

CFE Tax Advisers Europe has published its latest collection of tax top 5 developments, including an update on the Customs Union reform package.