United Kingdom: Tax

HMRC has announced a phased approach to mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind starting April 2027, alongside updates to the UK-India Double Contributions Convention and clarifications on PAYE Settlement Agreements. What do these changes mean for employers managing international assignments and employee benefits?

UK executors administering estates with US shares are facing unprecedented delays of two to three years when seeking IRS estate tax clearance through Form 706-NA applications. These processing bottlenecks, stemming from pandemic-related backlogs and ongoing IRS staffing pressures, are preventing executors from completing estate administration and leaving beneficiaries waiting years to receive their inheritance from US investments.

The consultation considers whether UK payers should be able to apply treaty relief at source without first obtaining a formal direction from HMRC. If implemented, this could reduce delays, administrative burden and cash-flow issues under the current regime. However, it could also shift greater responsibility, and potentially greater risk, onto borrowers and other UK payers.

Since October 2014, the rules governing who inherits when someone dies without a Will (the ‘Rules of Intestacy’) have remained largely unchanged.

The UK government has finalised inheritance tax information-sharing requirements for pension schemes, updated its pensions reform roadmap with key implementation dates through 2030...

UK executors administering estates with US shares are facing unprecedented delays of two to three years when seeking IRS estate tax clearance through Form 706-NA applications. These processing bottlenecks, stemming from pandemic-related backlogs and ongoing IRS staffing pressures, are preventing executors from completing estate administration and leaving beneficiaries waiting years to receive their inheritance from US investments.

Settlement agreements often involve complex tax implications that can significantly affect how much money employees actually receive. Understanding which payments qualify for the £30,000 tax exemption, which are fully taxable, and which may be paid entirely tax-free is essential before signing any agreement.

UK businesses routinely pay immigration fees on behalf of their workers, but the tax treatment of these costs is often misunderstood. With HMRC increasing its scrutiny and data-sharing with the Home Office expanding, sponsors must understand which costs are taxable benefits in kind and review their arrangements accordingly.

HMRC has announced a phased approach to mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind starting April 2027, alongside updates to the UK-India Double Contributions Convention and clarifications on PAYE Settlement Agreements. What do these changes mean for employers managing international assignments and employee benefits?

The UK's new International Controlled Transactions Schedule (ICTS) will fundamentally transform how HMRC assesses transfer pricing risks, shifting from documentation-focused reviews to data-driven analysis powered by AI and advanced analytics. With mandatory filing beginning January 1, 2027, multinational enterprises must prepare to provide detailed, standardized information about cross-border related party transactions, facing unprecedented scrutiny and visibility of their transfer pricing arrangements.

The OECD's side-by-side package introduces new safe harbors for multinational groups under Pillar Two's global minimum tax regime, responding to U.S. concerns about undertaxed profits rules and existing tax credits. These reforms create significant implications for M&A transactions, particularly affecting due diligence processes, target pricing certainty, and contractual protections for deals involving U.S. acquirers and joint venture structures with mixed investor bases.

The European Commission has adopted a tax simplification package that abolishes withholding taxes on cross-border payments and modernises key direct tax directives. For private capital managers, the most significant development may be the formal withdrawal of the controversial Unshell Directive, though substance requirements remain on the regulatory agenda in a different form.