ECSH43532 - Registration exemptions by sector- accountancy service providers: Difference between tax advice and tax information
Tax information
When a person gives information about tax to a client, and it is the same for everyone (so their particular situation is not looked at), this is tax information. For example: give customers, or link to, basic tax information that would be the same for everyone (such as the basic rate of Income Tax).
Tax advice
When a person gives tax advice however, they will have studied a client's particular circumstances, and assessed and recommended a particular course of action, or a product that is suitable for them. This applies even when the relationship with a client is for a short time only.
This means that a number of businesses that do not formally call themselves accountants will fall within the scope of the regulations. For example:
A business supplying bookkeeping services.
A payroll agent calculating tax liability, earnings or payments made to a business’s employees.
A stock auditor calculating expected sales from stock records and comparing them with the takings.
A business which helps facilitate the tax refunds of other people.
(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)