Agent Update: August 2024

HMRC have published their Agent Update for August 2024. We have summarised the key content with links to our detailed guidance on the topics covered. 

PAYE Settlement Agreement Calculations 2023-24

Any tax and National Insurance due for 2023-24 under PAYE Settlement Agreements (PSAs) must be paid by 22 October 2024 if paying electronically, or by 19 October 2024 if paying by post. 

• Calculations need to be submitted in advance of payment. Submissions can be made online.
• To make a submission, employers or agents will need:
  • Employer reference.
  • Tax year of the PSA calculation.
  • Type of expenses and benefits.
  • Number of employees receiving each expense or benefit.
  • Correct rate of tax for each employee.
• Once the calculation is processed, HMRC will automatically issue a payslip confirming the amount due including the payment reference number.
• An employer's PSA liability and payment will not be available to view on their Business Tax Account. 

See PAYE Settlement Agreements

Tell HMRC about who is dealing with the estate when someone dies, P1000 Update 

HMRC has published form P1000 on GOV.UK, allowing personal representatives of a deceased person’s estate to give HMRC their details and those of any agent.

• HMRC’s Bereavement team will contact the person(s) noted on the P1000 form in dealing with the tax affairs of an individual up to the date of death and for Income Tax and capital gains of ‘informal’ administration periods.
• Form P1000 does not replace any other means of notifying HMRC, in particular for Inheritance Tax or any ‘agent handshakes’ required by online services.
• If the personal representative cannot form P1000, they should receive a letter within 40 days of using the Tell Us Once service. Otherwise, they should call the Bereavement Helpline.
• Agents should use the Bereavement Helpline for deceased estates in preference to the Agent Dedicated Line (ADL).

See Trusts & Estates: What’s New 2024/25

Changes to Corporation Tax reminders, statements and receipts

HMRC will stop sending some paper non-statutory Corporation Tax letters where taxpayers can access the information in their HMRC online accounts or GOV.UK guidance. Agents can access the information in HMRC’s Corporation Tax for Agents online service.

• From September the following Corporation Tax letters will no longer be issued:
  • CT205/A return reminder.
  • CT608 instalment payment reminder.
  • CT207 interest statement.
  • CT209 payment receipt.
• From October HMRC will stop sending the CT603A agent list of issued notices to deliver the Company Tax return.
• From September until January 2025, HMRC will no longer send CT208 reminders as a trial. The letters to be trialled are: 
  • CT208 PR1 payment reminder.
  • CT208 PR2 return and payment reminder.
  • CT208A PR2 return and payment reminder agent copy.

Research and Development (R&D) reforms update

For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) scheme no longer exists.

• Businesses will either need to claim the merged Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) or, if they qualify, the enhanced support for R&D-intensive loss-making SMEs.
• HMRC have updated the Additional Information Form (AIF) to accompany these changes. It is anticipated to be released in September when HMRC will simultaneously update the accompanying regulations. 
• Several pages of the Corporate Intangibles Research and Development (CIRD) manual have been updated to reflect the changes that have occurred over the last couple of years and will be published in the next few weeks.

R&D: check whether you need to submit a claim notification 

• For many taxpayers with 12-month accounting periods, the time limit for submitting a claim notification will be September.
• If your company is making its first R&D claim or its first claim for three years, you should check whether you need to submit a claim notification.
• If your company is required to notify its claim, but a valid claim notification is not made by the end of the notification period, the company will be prevented from claiming R&D relief for that accounting period.

See Research & Development Tax Reliefs

DIY housebuilders scheme agent online submission reminder

In Agent Update Issue 119, HMRC announced changes to the online process allowing agents to claim VAT repayments on behalf of clients, under the VAT DIY Housebuilder Scheme.

• Since its introduction, agents have been able to submit claims and other supporting information online. 
• You do not need to use agent services to do this. You can do it using your Government Gateway user ID, but must have a valid 64-8 form that authorises you to deal with HMRC on your client’s behalf.

See Land & Property: DIY Housebuilders scheme

Authorising a Tax Agent: hints and tips for completing the 64-8 form

To help HMRC process your 64-8 request quickly and avoid any unnecessary delays, HMRC suggest you should:

• Make sure the latest version of the 64-8 form is used.
• Not include a covering letter, unless it contains information that is necessary to process the form. Add any essential information to your cover letter and do not write outside the boxes on the form.
• Make sure the form is typed or the handwriting is easy to read.
• Not provide any additional information in the form fields other than the requested information. For example, the ‘Agent code’ field only includes the correct Self Assessment agent code, consisting of six characters 1111XX.
• Provide the correct agent codes for the relevant tax regimes, for example, PAYE XX1111.
• If you want to include company logos, do so in the white space at the top of the form.

See Where to send form 64-8 (agent authority)

Help to avoid errors in claims for plant and machinery allowances 

HMRC have published Guidelines for Compliance to help avoid errors in claims for plant and machinery allowances by setting out common mistakes. 

See What expenditure qualifies for plant & machinery allowances?

2023-24 tax returns

HMRC have tools purposely built for agents to help prepare tax returns. They include:

• Self Assessment for agents which covers individuals, businesses, trusts and partnerships. This service allows you to submit your client’s tax return online, view and change their contact details, see their PAYE coding notice and more.
• Income Record Viewer (IRV) which can help you prepare and check tax returns. The IRV gives you access to your client’s pay, tax, employment history, pension (private and state) and tax codes.

See Self Assessment Return 2023/24: What's new?

Supporting sole trader clients getting started in business 

HMRC has updated a guidance page to make it easier for taxpayers to know what they need to do when setting up as a sole trader. See Set up as a sole trader: step by step.

See A new business? Start here...

Making Tax Digital (MTD)

From April 2026, Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax will require self-employed individuals and landlords with gross income over £50,000 to keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC using compatible software. 

• Those with a total income over £30,000 will have to do this from April 2027.

Joining MTD now

HMRC state that the MTD testing phase is an opportunity to work with them to help make sure MTD works best for you and your clients.

• Those in HMRC's testing programme will have access to HMRC's dedicated MTD Customer Support Team. They can support you with your selected clients' wider personal tax affairs (individual PAYE and self-assessment matters) for 2024-25.

How to join MTD testing

You can sign up as many of your eligible clients as you wish for testing in three steps:

1. Read the eligibility criteria and consider which clients can participate. When signing up, you’ll be asked some questions to confirm whether your client is eligible.
2. Ensure you and your client’s software is compatible with MTD and suits your needs. Before signing up, check available software options on GOV.UK and contact your chosen provider.
3. Sign up your client for the testing.

You need to be registered with HMRC for an agent services account to participate in the testing.

Asking VAT-registered customers to assist with MTD testing

During August 2024, HMRC will be emailing approximately 60,000 VAT-registered taxpayers whose records show they may be eligible to join the testing phase for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

• This is to invite them to sign up for voluntary testing to help HMRC test the service, and to assist them in getting ready for the change before it becomes a legal requirement.

See MTD: Income Tax Pilot Tool

Basis Period Reform

All sole trader and partnership businesses must now report their profits on a tax year basis, beginning with the 2023-24 Self Assessment return due by 31 January 2025.

• HMRC have launched a package of online interactive guidance to support the completion of the return and working out transition profit. 
• HMRC have provided an online service to ask HMRC what the Overlap Relief figure is according to their records.
• Current response times are slower than they were. You can check the progress of your request. HMRC ask not to be contacted directly: they expect to have cleared the current backlog in the coming weeks.

See Basis Period reform

Employer liabilities and payments viewer 

See Employer Bulletin: August 2024

Student and postgraduate loans

See Employer Bulletin: August 2024 

Wealthy External Conference Summary Notes

HMRC hosted the second Wealthy External Conference alongside representatives from HMRC’s mid-sized business area. 

• The minutes from the conference have been published on GOV.UK.

Apply for healthcare cover in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland (CA8454) 

Form CA8454 is now live, for those who need a healthcare entitlement certificate (S1) in respect of healthcare cover in a European Economic Area country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland, 

• To ensure that the correct application form is used and based on your circumstances, use the tool National Insurance if you work abroad.

HMRC release updated Franked Investment Income Group Litigation Order customer brief

HMRC have recently released an updated version of its customer brief outlining the basis on which it is prepared to settle open Franked Investment Income Group Litigation Order (FII GLO) issues.

• The new brief replaces the previous version released in January 2020.
• HMRC has shared the customer brief with the agents representing FII GLO claimants that it is aware of. If you are affected by this and have not been contacted, please contact your Customer Compliance Manager if you have one, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

HMRC confirms changes to UK subsidy reporting thresholds for Climate Change Agreement scheme participants

HMRC must collect data from Climate Change Agreement scheme participants whose annual tax subsidy benefit is above a defined threshold.

• HMRC are finalising the reporting arrangements to enable businesses to submit their subsidy information for the calendar year 2023 and will confirm the new process before the end of October 2024.
• The threshold for reporting subsidy information for 2023 and future calendar years, is £100,000. 
• Further information will be provided in the next Agent Update.  

Alcohol Duty: New Digital Service

HMRC will contact approved producers of alcoholic products in the UK to inform them about the new digital service launching in March 2025. 

• The new service is intended to simplify and modernise the processes for Alcohol Duty approvals, returns, and payments. 

Tax agent toolkits

HMRC have many Tax agent toolkits available for you to download and use that address the most common errors seen in previous years.

Contact

Complain about HMRC: To make a complaint to HMRC on behalf of your client you must be appointed as their tax advisor.

Where’s My Reply? for tax agents: Find out when you can expect a reply from HMRC to a query or request you have made. There is also a dedicated service for tax agents to:

• Register you as an agent to use HMRC Online Services.
• Process an application for authority to act on behalf of a client.

Manuals

Check the latest updates to HMRC manuals or subscribe to the automatic notification of changes.

External link

Agent update 122