Collection

Tax avoidance schemes currently in the spotlight

Information about tax avoidance schemes that HMRC believes are being used to avoid paying tax due.

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

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.

The National Archives website has details of archived spotlight articles.

Spotlight 60 onwards

• Managed Service Companies (Spotlight 67)
  • 21 November 2024
  • Guidance
• 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 31 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

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.