HMRC have issued their Agent Update for November 2021. We have summarised the key content for you with links to our detailed guidance on the topics covered. 

COVID-19

The update includes a summary of all international related COVID-19 Guidance published by HMRC.

Legislation was introduced in Finance Act 2020 applying from 1 March 2020 to 1 June 2020 to:

Important things to remember:

See SRT: Statutory Residence Test and COVID-19: Statutory Residence Test

Declaring Coronavirus grants on company tax returns 

Grants from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), Eat Out to Help Out (EOHO), or any payments made by local authorities and devolved administrations must be reported as income when companies are calculating their taxable profits.

UK Transition

UK-Swiss Convention on Social Security Coordination

The UK and Switzerland: Convention on Social Security Coordination came into force, provisionally, on 1 November 2021.

Self Assessment: COVID-19 support grants

Self Assessment customers must declare grants or payments from COVID-19 support schemes up to 5 April 2021 as these are taxable, including:

See COVID-19: Taxation of Coronavirus support payments

Tax

Freeports tax sites announced 

Autumn Budget 2021 announced that tax sites were being designated at the first group of Freeports. Freeports at Humber, Teesside and Thames have eight tax sites designated which go live on 19 November 2021. 

From this date, eligible businesses in those tax sites will be able to benefit from tax reliefs including: 

See Freeports: Tax breaks

Working Tax Credit: reporting changes to working hours  

One of the measures introduced during the pandemic was that Working Tax Credit (WTC) customers did not need to tell HMRC about any temporary reductions to their working hours due to COVID-19. This ended on 30 September 2021.  

Sending clients' 2022-23 Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) returns 

If you have not registered with HMRC to use the online service, you have until 1 April 2022 to register so that you can file on time by 30 April 2022.

See Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED)

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Payment for Property Disposals (PPD)

Changes to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Payment for Property Disposals (PPD) service rules were announced at Autumn Budget 2021.

1. Time limits

Taxpayers now have 60 days instead of 30 days to report and pay any tax due on residential UK land and property sales if the completion date for the disposal was on or after 27 October 2021.

The HMRC IT system is currently being updated with the new time limit. Until this is complete, there is a message on the system, so customers are aware of the change when using the service.

2. Mixed-use property

The rules are clarified for UK residents so that, where a gain arises in relation to a mixed-use property, only the portion of the gain that is the residential property gain has to be reported and paid online under PPD.

See CGT: Payment of tax and CGT: Reporting, how to report CGT?

Making Tax Digital (MTD)

Changes to the VAT Registration Service: agents registering clients for VAT

HMRC are moving to introduce the VAT Registration Service (VRS) to Agents. Current plans are for agents to start using the service during winter 2021-22.

See Making Tax Digital: VAT (subscriber guide)

Agent authorisation by the client and MTD Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) sign up: four-month expiry period

Due to the deferral of mandatory MTD for ITSA, HMRC have temporarily suspended the four-month expiry period between a client accepting the authorisation from the agent and the agent signing them up to MTD.

See MTD: Toolkit for accountants

Changes to the Agent Services Account (ASA) content: removing references to MTD

See Agent Service Account & VAT: Top Tips

Government Gateway: asking customers to confirm their email addresses

HMRC are asking some customers to take steps when they next log in to the Government Gateway to help keep their account secure. This involves:

HMRC Research and Development (R&D) SME Tax Credit claims processing (December 2021 to January 2022)

Between December 2021 and January 2022, HMRC expect to be dealing with higher volumes of R&D claims and are warning that they may take longer than the standard 28 days to process claims during this period.  

The 28-day processing aim does not apply to claims:

HMRC are asking agents not to contact them to chase claims advising them to check the company’s online account for an update on the status of any R&D claim.

See R&D Tax Relief: Overview

New Service for reporting dormancy for Corporation Tax

See Dormant company? Inform HMRC online

Upholding the standard for tax agents

Licence application tax check: information and communications resources

Who will need to complete a tax check?

The tax check will be a new addition to the checks that licensing bodies already have in place. It will need to be completed when people are renewing their licences in England and Wales to:

Getting a new licence

Renewing a licence

What is the role for agents?

The digital service is there to assist applicants in completing the tax check.

See Conditionality: taxi, private hire vehicles and scrap licenses

Tax Agent Toolkits

Tax Disputes

Contact

Agent Forum

External link

Agent Update: issue 90 


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