HMRC have published their Agent Update for September 2024. It includes several changes in HMRC banking details, a new allowance for Neonatal Care and VAT compliance notes. We have summarised the key content with links to our detailed guidance on the topics covered.
Change of HMRC's bank details
HMRC's bank details have permanently changed for:
- Plastic Packaging Tax
- Biofuels or gas for road use: Fuel Duty
- Economic Crime Levy
- Soft Drinks Industry Levy
- Trust Registration Penalty
Payments for any of the above via Faster Payments, BACS or CHAPS should now use the following details:
- Sort code: 08 32 10
- Account number: 12529599
- Account name: HMRC General Business Tax Receipts
These bank account details will show as a Confirmation of Payee match when input manually within payment screens in your banking provider app or online platform.
Taxpayers may be offered two further options when selecting an account name if searching HMRC or HM Revenue and Customs by business:
- HMRC General Business Tax Receipts 14: use this if the reference number the taxpayer will be quoting has 14 characters.
- HMRC General Business Tax Receipts 15: use this if the reference number the taxpayer will be quoting has 15 characters.
Any taxpayers who pay by Direct Debit do not need to take any action: the changes will be made automatically.
Change of bank details for Customs Declaration Service (CDS)
The bank details for all payments made into the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) account have permanently changed.
All taxpayers should use the following details when paying their CDS payments by Faster Payments, BACS or CHAPS:
- Sort code: 08 32 10
- Account number: 14077970
- Account name: HMRC Customs Duty Scheme
These details are slowly cascading into the banking industry platforms and will be a positive match when input.
Any taxpayers who pay by Direct Debit do not need to take any action as the changes will be made automatically.
Register for Self Assessment by 5 October 2024
The deadline for registering for Self Assessment for the 2023-24 tax year is 5 October 2024.
- Ensure relevant clients are signed up for Self Assessment before the deadline.
- HMRC have an online tool to help check if a tax return is required.
- Contact HMRC to remove taxpayers in Self Assessment that no longer need to be. This will prevent ongoing reminders and penalties if a tax return is not submitted on time.
See Register for Self Assessment and Calendar of tax deadlines and new tax measures
Registering as an employer: online process
At the end of September 2024, HMRC will update some links and options available on GOV.UK as part of the online employer registration process.
- These updates will only affect a small number of digital pathways (estimated at 5% of registrations), including those used by charities.
- The updates will not affect the ability of any employer or payroll agent to register for a PAYE scheme and obtain a PAYE reference number.
New statutory allowance from April 2025: Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and Leave (SNCP)
From April 2025 HMRC will introduce a new statutory allowance: Statutory Neonatal Care Leave and Pay (SNCP).
- HMRC understands that there will be circumstances where a baby is born prematurely and poorly and may then receive neonatal care in a hospital. In some cases, this care may need to last for a prolonged period.
- SNCP looks to reduce some of the burden on new parents who may have to return to their workplace at a time when their baby is still receiving hospital care.
- This new statutory allowance:
- Will to be paid to qualifying parents who have a child that requires neonatal care in the first 28 days following the birth of that child.
- May be paid for a maximum period of 12 weeks but it can be claimed flexibly depending upon individual parental circumstances.
- SNCP will give such parents the option to:
- Take up to 12 weeks of paid leave.
- Take SNCP in addition to other leave entitlements currently in operation such as statutory maternity or paternity leave.
- Afford them the ability to find, and spend, more time with their baby in neonatal care at what is most probably a time of great stress.
- SNCP is expected to broadly follow the same administration process as other existing statutory payments such as Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay & Leave (SPBP).
What an authorised agent can do on a client’s behalf
HMRC have changed the letters sent to taxpayers when authorising an agent to act on their behalf via the Online Agent Authorisation service.
- The changes are designed to make it clearer to taxpayers what actions an agent will be able to carry out for them.
- The letter reinforces that the taxpayer remains responsible for their own tax affairs.
Introduction of branded messages in October
HMRC will begin replacing some of the texts and Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages currently sent with branded messages.
- Content will not change, but the appearance of messages will. Messages will show HMRC as the sender and include HMRC's logo.
- HMRC advise taxpayers to follow their advice on identifying suspicious contact.
- Taxpayers who do not have a compatible Android phone will continue to receive communications as SMS messages.
Guidelines for Compliance: help with VAT compliance controls
HMRC has recently published Guidelines for Compliance — Help with VAT compliance controls.
- These guidelines are for UK VAT-registered businesses that use invoice accounting and set out HMRC’s recommended approach.
- HMRC say the guidelines:
- Help make informed decisions and consider if there are sufficient controls within VAT systems and processes.
- Should be applied to reflect the complexity and scale of individual businesses.
- Are not intended to be exhaustive or expected to apply equally to all businesses.
- Help identify risks and enable the development of a robust strategy to reduce those risks.
Are your clients preparing for retirement?
Taxpayers can use the HMRC app to check their State Pension Forecast and potential State Pension age, view their forecast State Pension amounts based on potential contributions, and the amount their State Pension would currently be worth, based on their National Insurance (NI) contributions to date.
- The app can also be used to check NI contribution years, and view any gaps in their record including how many weeks they have paid and how much they need to pay for it to become a full qualifying year.
Research and Development (R&D) reforms update
HMRC updated the R&D Additional Information Form (AIF) on 12 September 2024.
- The regulations which make the completion of the AIF mandatory in its new form were made and laid on 11 September 2024.
- Businesses can use the new form to claim for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024.
- The updated AIF requires details of the 10 largest R&D projects.
- Amendments to the Corporate Intangibles Research and Development manual to reflect the additional fields in the AIF will be published in the next few weeks.
Meeting the Additional Information requirements: proper completion of AIF
There have been examples of businesses not completing the AIF correctly, or referring to other documents.
- Completing the AIF is a mandatory part of an R&D claim.
- Not answering all the questions substantively (for example seeking merely to refer to other documents or returns) does not meet the requirements and will lead to claims being rejected, or a full compliance enquiry being opened.
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 claim to R&D, or its first claim for 3 years, you should check now 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 and R&D: Claim Notification
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax
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.
- To take part in MTD for Income Tax testing, you will need to be registered for an Agent Services Account.
- You can use the digital handshake to be authorised by your client to act on their behalf if you are not already authorised. You can sign clients up in 4 steps:
- Read the eligibility criteria and consider which clients you can sign up now. When signing up, you’ll be asked some questions to confirm whether your client is eligible.
- Speak to your clients to check they are happy for you to sign them up for testing, and that they have record-keeping software that is suitable and compatible with MTD.
- Ensure that you have MTD-compatible software ready to submit returns on behalf of your clients. Before signing up, check the available software options on GOV.UK and contact your chosen provider. They will provide you with guidance about their MTD testing onboarding process.
- Sign up your clients for the testing.
- Any taxpayers not currently eligible should be able to sign up later in 2025.
See MTD: Toolkit for accountants and Compare software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
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 online interactive guidance to support the completion of the return and for working out transition profit.
- HMRC have provided an online service to ask HMRC what the Overlap Relief figure should be according to their records.
- Current response times are not as quick as HMRC would like. You can check the progress of your request.
- If you are doing a paper tax return, you must submit it by midnight 31 October 2024. If you are still awaiting a response for your overlap relief figure for a paper return, file your return using provisional figures, and amend this when you have received the correct figure.
Machine Games Duty and Gaming Duty
Where clients run pubs or clubs with gaming machines, ensure they register for the correct duty where required.
- Machine Games Duty (MGD) is an excise duty charged on games played on a gaming machine, whether of chance or skill, in the UK, where the prize exceeds the cost to play.
- Taxpayers must register for MGD if they are responsible for premises where machine games are offered for play or if they are the tenants of a pub with gaming machines.
- Gaming Duty is an excise duty paid on casino gaming profits and does not apply to dutiable machine gameplay.
Points to consider for deregistration
- Taxpayers can cancel their registration if they stop being responsible for MGD.
- HMRC will issue a return for any whole or part accounting period immediately before deregistration, for which a return has not been received.
- If registration is not cancelled, HMRC will continue to request returns and payment based on estimates of what is owed (central assessments).
Calculating Machines Games Duty
- Do not use the VAT fraction when working out MGD liabilities.
- Multiply net takings (what is charged to play the games minus the amount you pay as winnings) by the correct MGD rate.
Navigating transfer pricing compliance: best practices and considered insights
HMRC’s newly published Guideline for Compliance (GfC7): Help with common risks in transfer pricing approaches considers arm’s length prices.
- These guidelines aim to offer UK businesses an insight into HMRC expectations of transfer pricing best practices and highlight common errors to avoid.
- The GfC helps businesses understand the most common risks and offers practical insights into best practice alternatives.
Corporate Interest Restriction: appointment of reporting company by HMRC
HMRC has published additional guidance on the situations where they will appoint a reporting Company on behalf of a group for the Corporate Interest Restriction (CIR).
- In the June 2023 Agent Update, HMRC clarified the situations in which they will appoint a reporting company for a CIR group.
- HMRC has now published additional guidance which confirms that there may be exceptional circumstances where they will appoint on behalf of a group where the group has been prevented from making their own appointment.
- The new guidance provides some examples of situations in which HMRC usually will or will not appoint a reporting company.
See Corporate Interest Restriction
Gift Aid Awareness Day
On Thursday 3 October HMRC are supporting the Charity Finance Group’s (CFG) initiative, Gift Aid Awareness day and encouraging donors to #TickTheBox.
- For the tax year to April 2024, tax reliefs for charities and their donors were just over £6 billion, including £1.6 billion in Gift Aid paid to charities. It is estimated that around £560 million of Gift Aid eligible to charities goes unclaimed every year.
- HMRC is working with industry to look at how the Gift Aid service can be improved for everyone who uses it.
See Gift Aid
Alcohol Duty new digital service: information for compounders rectifiers, and cider makers
- HMRC are writing to approved compounders and rectifiers, as well as cider makers who produce low amounts of alcohol, to tell them about the new digital service HMRC be launching in March 2025 and how to get ready.
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
