Monthly Tax Update - July 2026

Objectives

To update delegates on recent and proposed changes in taxation that are relevant to their clients.

Key topics

MANDATORY PAYROLLING OF BENEFITS IN KIND: PHASED ROLLOUT

TEMPORARY REDUCED RATE OF VAT: GREY AREAS

• Children’s meals
• Children’s meals: grey areas
• Children’s theatre and cinema tickets
• Children’s tickets: grey areas
• Admissions to attractions
• Attractions: grey areas
• Guidance and legislation
• Supercar driving experiences qualified for VAT reduced rating

HMRC’S 2026 TAX UPDATE

• Income Tax
• Consultation: more timely payments for Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA)
• Consultation: modernising the distributions framework
• Reviewing employment expenses within Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA)
• Consultation: first-time buyer Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)
• Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
• Draft legislation: Capital Gains Tax (CGT) relief for gifts of business assets
• Employers
• Call for evidence: PAYE Settlement Agreements (PSAs)
• Consultation: requiring payment of PAYE and VAT by Direct Debit
• Review and uprating of Benchmark Scale Rates (BSR) and Overseas Scale Rates (OSR)
• National Insurance
• Call for evidence: voluntary National Insurance Contributions (NICs)
• Companies
• Ignoring expenditure credit income from Corporation Tax Quarterly Instalment Payment (QIP) profit thresholds
• Consultation outcome: Land Remediation Relief (LRR)
• Inheritance Tax (IHT)
• Inheritance Tax (IHT) reporting requirements for non-taxpaying trusts

VAT

• Consultation: VAT treatment of land intended for social housing
• Consultation: online marketplace liability
• Consultation: Electronic Sales Suppression (ESS) software standards
• Digitising the option to tax process
• Supplementary data for VAT returns
• E-invoicing: core interoperability network announcement
• Compliance & Administration
• Consultation: tackling lower-value debts
• Consultation: introducing a criminal offence for making reckless untrue statements or declarations in direct tax
• Changes reforming civil tax information and inspection powers (Schedule 36 Finance Act 2008) and modernising the definitions around computer records
• Publishing details of deliberate defaulters reform
• Policy maintenance package to tackle promoters of tax avoidance

HMRC ADMINISTRATION AND COMPLIANCE

• Multi factor authentication: Voluntary registration
• Finding the 'Agent Identifier'
• HMRC sign-in details and authentication tools
• Sign-in details
• Using automation tools
• How could this affect firms?
• SDLT discovery assessment invalid where sufficient disclosure made
• Voluntary Restitution

Who should attend

Accountants in general practice who advise on tax planning and compliance.