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Personal tax

Expert commentary and practical guidance from ICAEW related to personal taxation, covering areas including: capital gains tax, income tax, inheritance tax, pensions, residence and domicile, savings and investments and trusts.

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Guidance

MTD for individuals

MTD for individuals is centred around the Personal Tax Account (PTA) which already has many of the services needed by PAYE taxpayers. HMRC continues to improve and develop the PTA.
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Taxline

Practical points: personal tax

Every month, the Tax Faculty publishes short, practical pieces of guidance to help agents and practitioners in their day-to-day work. This month covers capital gains tax; and property tax.
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Capital gains tax

Exclusive Home loan schemes under the spotlight
  • Article
  • 29 Sep 2023
Andrew Cockman reviews the recent Elborne First-tier Tribunal decision and considers the practical impacts the case may have for practitioners with clients who still have home loan schemes in place.
Where are the gaps in HMRC’s digital services?
  • Article
  • 14 Aug 2023
ICAEW’s Tax Faculty wants to get your thoughts on the top priorities for the development of HMRC’s digital services.
Exclusive Understanding the statutory clearance process
  • Article
  • 03 Aug 2023
Nick Wright summarises the key case law that is relevant to understand whether HMRC will provide statutory clearance for a transaction.
Have your say: HMRC consultation on employee ownership trusts and employee benefit trusts
  • Article
  • 01 Aug 2023
Reforms to the tax treatment of EOTs and EBTs proposed in the paper are intended to focus the rules more effectively on the policy objectives of rewarding employees and encouraging more employee engagement. Another objective is to prevent tax advantages being obtained through the use of these trusts outside their intended purposes.
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Income tax

Exclusive Home loan schemes under the spotlight
  • Article
  • 29 Sep 2023
Andrew Cockman reviews the recent Elborne First-tier Tribunal decision and considers the practical impacts the case may have for practitioners with clients who still have home loan schemes in place.
Exclusive HMRC’s digital services: the single customer account
  • Article
  • 29 Sep 2023
Caroline Miskin explains what we know about HMRC’s single customer account programme, the unique customer record that is a prerequisite, and what this means for taxpayers.
Self assessment registration deadline approaches
  • Article
  • 12 Sep 2023
Taxpayers who need to submit a tax return for the tax year to 5 April 2023 should register for self assessment (SA) by 5 October 2023. Individuals who no longer need to file a tax return should also contact HMRC to have their notice to file withdrawn.
Where are the gaps in HMRC’s digital services?
  • Article
  • 14 Aug 2023
ICAEW’s Tax Faculty wants to get your thoughts on the top priorities for the development of HMRC’s digital services.
View all

Inheritance tax

Exclusive Home loan schemes under the spotlight
  • Article
  • 29 Sep 2023
Andrew Cockman reviews the recent Elborne First-tier Tribunal decision and considers the practical impacts the case may have for practitioners with clients who still have home loan schemes in place.
Exclusive Inheritance tax: pitfalls and planning points
  • Article
  • 03 Aug 2023
Inheritance tax has been in the public eye again in recent months, sparking media debate on the merits and demerits of one of the UK’s least favourite taxes. Mei Lim Cooper looks at some of the pitfalls and planning points for inheritance tax as it stands.
Have your say: HMRC consultation on employee ownership trusts and employee benefit trusts
  • Article
  • 01 Aug 2023
Reforms to the tax treatment of EOTs and EBTs proposed in the paper are intended to focus the rules more effectively on the policy objectives of rewarding employees and encouraging more employee engagement. Another objective is to prevent tax advantages being obtained through the use of these trusts outside their intended purposes.
HMRC guidance on digital records and signatures
  • Article
  • 24 Jul 2023
HMRC confirmed its position on digital records and signatures in Agent Update 110. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty is encouraging HMRC to conduct a wider review of this area.
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Webinars and videos have been designed by the Tax Faculty to provide practical guidance to practitioners on important developments to tax practice and policy.

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Pensions

ICAEW responds to draft Finance Bill 2023-24 provisions
  • Article
  • 20 Sep 2023
The Tax Faculty provided input on measures relating to the proposed merged R&D tax credit scheme, tougher measures for promoters of tax avoidance, changes to data HMRC collects from customers and abolishing the pensions lifetime allowance.
Exclusive HMRC’s appetite for clearance
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2023
In the second part of our series, Nick Wright explains HMRC’s current attitude to providing statutory clearance for transactions.
Will income tax be extended to beneficiaries of all pensions?
  • Article
  • 24 Jul 2023
Policy documents regarding changes to the taxation of pensions were published as part of Legislation Day 2023. This included a suggestion that certain beneficiaries of pensions of members who died under age 75 may become subject to income tax as part of future tax changes.
Trust and the future of pensions
  • Article
  • 21 Jul 2023
Fraud concerns, constant government policy changes and a lack of sectoral transparency are undermining trust in pensions. What needs to happen to restore public confidence?
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Residence and domicile

Exclusive Inheritance tax: pitfalls and planning points
  • Article
  • 03 Aug 2023
Inheritance tax has been in the public eye again in recent months, sparking media debate on the merits and demerits of one of the UK’s least favourite taxes. Mei Lim Cooper looks at some of the pitfalls and planning points for inheritance tax as it stands.
Under pressure: resetting the UK’s national bargain
  • Article
  • 03 Jul 2023
The UK tax burden is set to hit a post-war high in 2027/28. ICAEW examines how governments can improve the public purse at the same time as keeping public sentiment onside.
Exclusive Determining domicile as a preliminary issue
  • Article
  • 03 Mar 2023
Andrew Cockman reviews the continuing litigation by Epaminondas Embiricos concerning the point at which a taxpayer’s domicile should be established in the litigation process.
Tax news in brief 6 July
  • Article
  • 05 Jul 2022
Highlights from the broader tax news for the week ending 6 July 2022, including: L-Day; tax credit renewals; ID for government gateway; HMRC survey on forms; residence indicator tool; CHIEF closed to new importers; and an updated partial exemption toolkit.
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Savings and investments

Exclusive The keeping of horses not a trade for EIS relief
  • Article
  • 20 Jul 2023
There have been a number of tribunal cases where appeals have failed as a result of there not being a recognisable trade, e.g. Babylon Farm Ltd v HMRC [2021] UKUT 224 (TCC) regarding the sale of hay for horses.
Exclusive Payment of blocked dividends - a Bloomsbury case study
  • Article
  • 10 May 2023
Mark McLaughlin, Bloomsbury Accounting and Tax Service, looks at the payment of dividends in owner-managed companies and highlights a recent case on restricted or ‘blocked’ dividends.
Exclusive Business tax strategy amid uncertain fiscal policy
  • Article
  • 06 Dec 2022
Angela Clegg examines practical steps for managing the uncertainty within the tax policy environment, including remuneration for owner-managers, the return of close investment-holding companies, the annual investment allowance and the end of the super deduction.
Consultation on EU-wide system for withholding tax on dividends and interest payments
  • Article
  • 25 Apr 2022
The European Commission is considering three options and seeking opinions and experience on problems caused by the existing withholding tax systems, operated by individual member states.
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Trusts

Charity tax reforms should not overly burden charities, cautions ICAEW
  • Article
  • 25 Jul 2023
While ICAEW’s Tax Faculty supports HMRC’s efforts to counter the abuse of charity tax rules, any reforms should be proportionate to the issue. Otherwise, the reforms risk deterring volunteer involvement and vital donations to charities.
Tax news in brief 19 April 2023
  • Article
  • 19 Apr 2023
Highlights from the broader tax news for the week ending 19 April 2023, including: closure of online VAT return; PAYE direct debits; TRS reporting requirements; interest rate increase for discounted gift trusts; NMW campaign; Finance Bill amendment for R&D; closure of the DAC6 reporting service; and Tax Administration and Maintenance Day.
Exclusive Two registers to watch out for
  • Article
  • 03 Nov 2022
As we all know by now, the Trust Registration Service was set up in 2017, as part of a worldwide drive to reduce money laundering. Although this was done as part of a European initiative, it was agreed as part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement that this would be maintained in future. However, another register has been introduced with very little notice or publicity.
Updates to TRS guidance for excluded express trusts
  • Article
  • 25 Oct 2022
HMRC has updated its Trust Registration Service (TRS) guidance to set out more information on how and when to register an excluded express trust, also known as a Schedule 3A trust.
HMRC issues step-by-step guides to trust registration
  • Article
  • 24 Aug 2022
In advance of the 1 September 2022 deadline for registering trusts online, HMRC shares guides on registering a trust and how to claim a trust and authorise an agent.
Trust Registration Service Update
  • Webinar
  • 23 Jun 2022
New rules require all UK express trusts and some non-UK trusts to register with HMRC. This includes non-taxable trusts unless the trust is specifically excluded.
Four months to register non-taxpaying trusts
  • Article
  • 03 May 2022
The April 2022 edition of HMRC’s trusts and estates newsletter highlights the 1 September 2022 deadline for registering non-taxpaying trusts and includes other useful updates on capital taxes.
Trust Registration Service opens to all non-taxable trusts
  • Article
  • 07 Sep 2021
HMRC has opened the Trust Registration Service to all non-taxable trusts. The deadline for registering these trusts has been extended to 1 September 2022. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty can confirm that trusts relating to healthcare policies and children’s bank accounts will not be required to register.
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