HMRC widens its crypto net as a £16bn tax gap sharpens enforcement

HMRC & Policy

Improved Self Assessment registration service launched

HMRCOctober SA deadline

HMRC has rolled out a redesigned online Self Assessment registration service on GOV.UK, aimed at cutting drop-outs during the sign-up flow ahead of the October registration deadline. Practices should update onboarding checklists and any client-facing how-to-register guidance to reflect the new journey.

What this means for firms. Refresh SA onboarding scripts and client comms this week. Client abandonment during registration is the friction firms most often absorb as unbilled time.

GOV.UK

VAT Gap estimates published

Hospitality, construction, second-hand goodsAutumn compliance narrative

HMRC's latest official statistics on the VAT gap have been released, feeding into the Chancellor's compliance narrative ahead of the Autumn Budget. Renewed enforcement focus is expected on the sectors historically over-represented in the gap, notably hospitality, construction, and second-hand goods.

GOV.UK

UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism live from 1 January 2027

Aluminium, cement, fertiliserHydrogen, iron, steel

Two coordinated HMRC publications, the CBAM Policy Summary and the Introduction of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, set out how the UK CBAM will apply from 1 January 2027 to imports of aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron, and steel. Advisers with importer clients should begin scoping registration thresholds and embedded-emissions data capture now, ahead of a busy Q4 for supply-chain data collection.

What this means for firms. CBAM readiness is a 2026 conversation, not a 2027 one. Firms should map importer clients against the six covered goods and start emissions-data workstreams before year-end.

HMRC

Anti-avoidance information notices: refreshed guidance

GOV.UKTighter response timelines

HMRC has published refreshed guidance on the scope and issuance of anti-avoidance information notices, tightening timelines for taxpayer responses. Litigation and tax investigation teams should review live enquiry files against the new expectations.

GOV.UK

RTI 2027-28 technical specifications published

HMRCPayroll software prep

Updated Real Time Information internet submission specifications for the 2027-28 tax year are now available for payroll software vendors and in-house developers, giving the market roughly 18 months to adapt. Firms running bureau payroll should confirm vendor roadmaps and internal test windows in Q1 2027 plans.

GOV.UK

Approved offshore reporting funds and MLR register refreshed

GOV.UKRoutine but relevant

The approved offshore reporting funds list has been refreshed and the Money Laundering Regulations Supervised Business Register updated. Routine but relevant for AML supervision teams and offshore fund investors, particularly on year-end reporting.

GOV.UK

Accountancy in Practice

Hypercar dealer wins £477k VAT tribunal

£477,000 reclaimPrivate-use rebuttal

A First-tier Tribunal decision has awarded a UK hypercar dealer a £477,000 VAT reclaim, with the tribunal accepting that the vehicle's actual use pattern rebutted HMRC's private-use assumption. A useful reference case for high-value asset advisers on evidential thresholds around private-use blocks.

AccountingWEB

September is where January is made or broken

Capacity crunch seasonOutsource / offshore prep

Two AccountingWEB pieces published today, on outsourcing 2026 Self Assessment work and on why September fixes the January problem, reinforce the industry consensus that January capacity crunches are made or broken in September. Firms delaying capacity decisions past this month typically end up cutting price into late Q4.

What this means for firms. Capacity commitments for the January push have to be closed this month. Firms that wait until October are choosing between overtime, price cuts, or missed deadlines.

AccountingWEB

Accountancy Age publishes third wave of 35 Under 35

Accountancy AgeRecruitment benchmark

Accountancy Age has released the third tranche of its 2026 35 Under 35 list, highlighting rising talent across Big Four, mid-tier, and boutique advisory. Useful for recruitment benchmarking and referral pipelines, and a leading signal for the firms winning the mid-career fight.

Accountancy Age

Corporate Finance & M&A

Regional partnership: two family firms merge with Allica Bank support

Allica Bank debtSub-£10m tier template

Two family-owned accountancy firms have merged with debt support from Allica Bank, framed by principals as a partnership rather than an acquisition. The debt-supported partnership template is increasingly common in the sub-£10m-revenue tier, offering an alternative to a PE exit for owners who want continuity.

Trade press

PE overhang keeps multiples elevated

Cinven, Grant Thornton UKHg, BC Partners

Cinven's majority position in Grant Thornton UK, alongside Hg Capital and BC Partners' broader sector interest, continues to underpin elevated deal multiples. Corporate finance teams advising owner-managed practices should be pressure-testing earn-out structures against the tightening MTD and AI capex outlook.

Sector commentary

Technical Updates

Lease accounting: from implementation to audit

IFRS 16, FRS 102Discount-rate documentation

AccountingWEB's implementation-to-audit piece sets out what finance teams should now expect from lease accounting software as auditors sharpen focus on IFRS 16 and FRS 102 lease disclosures, particularly around remeasurements and discount-rate documentation. Weak evidence in these two areas is the most common audit finding this cycle.

AccountingWEB

Ireland: IAASA sustainability assurance technical support

CAIISAE (Ireland) 3000ISA (Ireland) 505 & 600

Chartered Accountants Ireland has issued fresh technical support on ISAE (Ireland) 3000 for sustainability assurance engagements, and on revised ISA (Ireland) 505 and conforming changes to ISA (Ireland) 600 on group audits. Practices with Irish audit registrations should refresh methodology and ISQM 1 and 2 documentation.

What this means for firms. Irish-registered firms should update audit methodology and quality-management documentation before the next inspection cycle. Sustainability assurance is now inside the file, not alongside it.

Chartered Accountants Ireland

Ireland: member outlook survey shows earnings optimism

75%+ expect earnings to rise

More than three-quarters of Irish accountants surveyed by CAI expect earnings to rise over the next 12 months, notwithstanding sustained cost-base pressure. The read supports continued investment in capacity and technology across the Irish practice base.

Irish practice outlook

of Irish accountants expect earnings to rise over the next 12 months (more than three-quarters)

Chartered Accountants Ireland

Corporate Finance, IFA & Software

HMRC issues 81,000+ crypto nudge letters

Exchange-supplied data liveStress-test before 31 Jan

Accountancy Age reports HMRC has begun issuing over 81,000 crypto nudge letters using its first tranche of exchange-supplied data. IFA and wealth teams should stress-test client crypto disclosures ahead of 31 January, particularly on disposals, staking rewards, and airdrops treated as miscellaneous income.

81,000+

crypto nudge letters issued from first exchange data

£16bn

unpaid corporate tax flagged in the same cycle

What this means for firms. Any client with a crypto footprint should be reviewed proactively before the January push. A nudge letter arriving in December will land on top of a full Self Assessment queue.

Accountancy Age

Corporate tax gap widens: £16bn unpaid flagged

£16bn unpaid corporate taxCoP 8 / 9 expected uplift

£16bn of unpaid corporate tax has been flagged in the same reporting cycle, sharpening HMRC's mid-market enforcement lens. Expect more Code of Practice 8 and 9 activity into Q4, and heavier scrutiny of transfer pricing, R&D, and diverted profits positions.

HMRC statistics

R&D tax relief: new compliance tooling for a scrutinised regime

AccountingWEBClaim-defence insurance

AccountingWEB features new tooling aimed at reducing compliance risk in R&D claims, reflecting HMRC's continued focus on the regime and rising insurance-market appetite for claim-defence cover. Firms carrying an R&D book should re-baseline claim documentation and quality-review workflows.

AccountingWEB

AI-native debt recovery lands in SME workflows

AccountingWEBSME working capital

An AI-native law firm has launched a small-business debt-recovery service, likely to become a partner-referral option for practice teams whose SME clients face rising working-capital strain. Adds to the small stack of automated finance-adjacent services now inside practice referral networks.

AccountingWEB

Payroll's most expensive habit is typing

AccountingWEBAPI-linked payroll

An AccountingWEB piece on payroll productivity makes the case for API-linked payroll pipelines ahead of the RTI 2027-28 spec rollout. Bureaus running fully-typed workflows are the ones most exposed to margin compression as the new spec beds in.

AccountingWEB