Collection

Tax avoidance schemes currently in the spotlight

Information about tax avoidance schemes that HMRC believes are being used to avoid paying tax due, published from August 2010 onwards.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 14 January 2014
• Last updated: 17 December 2020 — See all updates

The National Archives website has details of tax avoidance schemes in the spotlight (numbered 20 to 29).

This guidance includes some of the schemes that HMRC has:

• identified as having the features of tax avoidance
• started investigating

If you use an avoidance scheme, HMRC will:

• open an enquiry into your tax affairs
• seek full payment of any tax due, plus interest
• charge penalties where appropriate

Together with HMRC’s guidance on what tax avoidance is, these spotlights aim to warn you against using tax avoidance schemes.

Spotlight 60 onwards

• Limited Liability Partnerships arrangements used to disguise employment income (Spotlight 66)
  • 23 October 2024
  • Guidance
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provision used to reduce tax liability (Spotlight 65)
  • 18 October 2024
  • Guidance
• Warning for employment agencies using umbrella companies (Spotlight 64)
  • 22 April 2024
  • Guidance
• Property business arrangements involving hybrid partnerships (Spotlight 63)
  • 4 October 2023
  • Guidance
• Dividend diversion scheme used to fund education fees (Spotlight 62)
  • 2 June 2023
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: remuneration trusts used to reduce profits and disguise income (Spotlight 61)
  • 22 December 2022
  • Guidance
• Warning for agency workers and contractors employed by umbrella companies (Spotlight 60)
  • 25 August 2022
  • Guidance

Spotlights 50 to 59

• Employee Bonus Schemes: Growth Securities Ownership Plan (GOSP) tax avoidance and similar schemes update (Spotlight 59)
  • 24 March 2022
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: tax avoidance using unfunded pension arrangements (Spotlight 58)
  • 28 November 2023
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: tax avoidance by selling future business revenues to a revenue service trust (Spotlight 57)
  • 26 May 2022
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: tax avoidance by owner managed companies using remuneration trusts (Spotlight 56)
  • 1 September 2020
  • Guidance
• Comparison and broker websites marketing umbrella companies are not always what they seem (Spotlight 55)
  • 27 April 2020
  • Guidance
• Tax avoidance promoters targeting returning NHS workers (Spotlight 54)
  • 9 April 2020
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: tax avoidance using capital advances, joint and mutual share ownership agreements (Spotlight 53)
  • 22 July 2019
  • Guidance
• Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes: tax avoidance using offshore trusts (Spotlight 52)
  • 15 May 2019
  • Guidance
• Remuneration trust: tax avoidance using loans or fiduciary receipts (Spotlight 51)
  • 10 May 2019
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: asset transfer arrangements set up to avoid the loan charge (Spotlight 50)
  • 26 March 2019
  • Guidance

Spotlights 40 to 49

• Disguised remuneration: schemes claiming to avoid the loan charge (Spotlight 49)
  • 8 March 2019
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: contractor loans settlements and obtaining a deed of release (Spotlight 48)
  • 14 February 2019
  • Guidance
• Attempts to avoid an Income Tax charge when a company is wound up (Spotlight 47)
  • 4 February 2019
  • Guidance
• Rewarding employees and contractors using contrived loan arrangements (Spotlight 46)
  • 16 January 2019
  • Guidance
• Umbrella companies offering to increase your take home pay (Spotlight 45)
  • 12 September 2018
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: schemes affected by the loan charge (Spotlight 44)
  • 31 May 2019
  • Guidance
• Stamp Duty Land Tax avoidance: misleading advertising (Spotlight 43)
  • 21 March 2018
  • Guidance
• Contractor loan schemes: misleading advertising (Spotlight 42)
  • 14 February 2018
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: a Supreme Court decision (Spotlight 41)
  • 29 September 2017
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration trust schemes: misleading advertising (Spotlight 40)
  • 25 October 2017
  • Guidance

Spotlights 29 to 39

• Disguised remuneration: re-describing loans (Spotlight 39)
  • 10 August 2017
  • Guidance
• VAT: supply splitting tax avoidance schemes (Spotlight 38)
  • 26 June 2017
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: job board avoidance scheme (Spotlight 37)
  • 17 March 2017
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: schemes claiming to avoid the new loan charge (Spotlight 36)
  • 2 December 2017
  • Guidance
• Disguised remuneration: tax avoidance using annuities (Spotlight 35)
  • 14 February 2017
  • Guidance
• Capital Gains Tax: Entrepreneurs’ Relief tax avoidance scheme (Spotlight 34)
  • 16 May 2022
  • Guidance
• Contractor tax: loan schemes can cost you more (Spotlight 33)
  • 22 December 2022
  • Guidance
• Managed service company legislation (Spotlight 32)
  • 25 February 2020
  • Guidance
• Transitional relief on investment growth: withdrawal date changed (Spotlight 31)
  • 31 August 2016
  • Guidance
• Misleading claims from tax avoidance scheme promoters (Spotlight 29)
  • 16 May 2022
  • Guidance

Published 14 January 2014
Last updated 17 December 2020 + show all updates

1. 17 December 2020

   Spotlight 57 has been added to the collection.

2. 14 January 2014

   First published.