HMRC Tax Adviser Registration

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) requires anyone who provides tax advice or deals with HMRC on behalf of clients to register as a tax adviser. Registration opened on 18 May 2026 and runs in four windows, each with its own application date.

HMRC describes this as part of its work to improve standards in the tax advice market and protect consumers. The registration requirement applies across the United Kingdom.

Based on HMRC’s published guidance, the following types of professionals may need to register if they deal with HMRC on behalf of clients:

• Tax advisers and tax consultants
• Accountants and chartered accountants
• Financial advisers and independent financial advisers (IFAs)
• Solicitors who provide tax-related services
• Will writers who advise on inheritance tax matters
• Licensed conveyancers who handle tax aspects of property transactions
• Any other professional who acts as an intermediary with HMRC

Many professionals are already regulated by established bodies. The HMRC registration is a separate requirement that may apply in addition to existing regulation:

• Solicitors: regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in England & Wales, the Law Society of Scotland, or the Law Society of Northern Ireland
• Chartered Accountants: may be members of ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) or ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
• Tax Advisers: may be members of CIOT (Chartered Institute of Taxation), which awards the Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) qualification
• Financial Advisers: regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Professionals should check with their existing regulatory body for any guidance on how the HMRC registration interacts with their current regulatory obligations.

HMRC has not set a single deadline. It has published four registration windows, and it gives each group three months from the date that group’s own window opens:

HMRC publishes circumstances in which registration is not needed. Its published exemptions cover people who deal with HMRC on behalf of others only:

• As an employer or as part of an in-house tax team, including a team handling its own company group’s tax affairs
• To give tax advice free of charge, for example through a charity or for friends and family
• Because the law requires it, even where they are paid to do so, such as insolvency practitioners and pension or investment firms
• By developing or providing accounting, tax or payroll software
• As a VAT representative appointed to handle VAT matters for a business
• On customs or import VAT matters only

HMRC lists further exemptions, including responding to a request for information from HMRC, Northern Ireland tax representatives, UK representatives for Vaping Duty, Import One Stop Shop intermediaries, representation in court or tribunal appeals, and business rates, council tax or property valuation work.

HMRC’s position is that if you need to register and do not do so, you will not be able to interact with HMRC on behalf of your clients, and that you may be subject to sanctions if you continue to try. HMRC sets this out on what happens if you interact with HMRC when you are unregistered or suspended (opens in a new tab)

Registration is handled directly by HMRC. For official guidance on whether you need to register and how to do so, visit:

• Check if you need to register as a tax adviser with HMRC (opens in a new tab)

Expat183 does not handle HMRC registration on your behalf. The registration process is managed entirely by HMRC through their GOV.UK services.

Once you have registered with HMRC, you can add your registration details to your Expat183 professional profile:

• Go to My Practice then Profiles in your professional dashboard
• Open the relevant profile and choose Manage
• Go to the Credentials section
• Choose Add Credential and select "HMRC Tax Adviser Registration" as the credential type
• Enter the registration number HMRC has issued to you

Credentials are checked by our team before they appear on your public profile, so allow time for verification. Once verified, your HMRC registration is shown on your listing so clients browsing the directory can see that you hold one. It is a record of what you have given us, not a statement about your regulatory position.

Expat183 is a technology marketplace that connects users with legal, financial, and tax professionals. We do not provide legal, tax, or regulatory advice.

We provide informational alerts about regulatory changes as a courtesy to help professionals stay informed. These alerts do not constitute advice, and professionals should always verify requirements directly with the relevant regulatory authority.

Where possible, we verify professional credentials through publicly available registers. However, we cannot guarantee the completeness of regulatory information, and credential verification through our platform does not constitute confirmation of regulatory compliance.

• HMRC: Check if and when you need to register (opens in a new tab)
• HMRC: What happens if you interact with HMRC when you are unregistered or suspended (opens in a new tab)
• Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) (opens in a new tab)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) (opens in a new tab)
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) (opens in a new tab)