The Law Society has published new guidance for conveyancers on the upcoming mandatory tax adviser HMRC registration, having sought advice directly from HMRC, to help firms prepare ahead of the expected start date on 18/5/26.
HMRC has been promising additional guidance on how to register before the start date for some months. Given we are now only just over a week away from the registration date, it would be helpful if this guidance came sooner rather than later! In the meantime, the Law Society’s Q&A guidance provides some helpful answers to some questions we hear being asked quite regularly.
As we have previously explained, if your firm “interacts” with HMRC as part of a service for others, you must register as a tax adviser with HMRC. The term is very broad, and the general consensus is that most conveyancers will be caught by the registration requirement because of the submission of SDLT returns (as well as any other teams that liaise with HMRC or file tax returns on behalf of clients, such as IHT, CGT etc returns). This is the case even if no actual tax advice is being provided.
The Q&As cover 20 questions, including some common ones, such as:
- whether it is the firm or individuals who have to register with HMRC (spoiler alert: it’s the firm);
- what happens if you don’t register;
- can firms outsource their SDLT arrangements to avoid registration (spoiler alert: probably not! And don’t forget your obligations under the UK Finance Handbook and Conveyancing Protocol (if a CQS accredited firm), which both include obligations in relation to SDLT);
- whether being registered as a tax adviser with HMRC means you can then give tax advice (again, NO! You can still say in your Terms of Business that you do not provide tax advice if that is the case).
The last section provides a list of “10 actions you can take to prepare”, including reviewing engagement letters to ensure your position is clear on providing tax advice (or otherwise) and that the accuracy of the tax return is the client’s responsibility. Nothing mind-blowing, but a useful checklist to review ready for the 18/5/26 kick off date.
Watch this space for any further Law Society or HMRC updates.