HMRC has confirmed conveyancers who submit SDLT returns must register as tax advisers, in accordance with legislation introduced in the Finance Bill 2025-26, which will come into effect from May.
Confirmation was sent in an emailed response to Rob Hailstone, CEO and founder of Bold Legal Group, who approached HMRC amid uncertainty highlighted by the Law Society in September.
In a response to HMRC’s technical consultation on modernising and mandating tax adviser registration, the Law Society said the proposed legislation was “so broad that many legal professionals who do not hold themselves out as tax specialists, or who are not in any real sense tax advisers, would be caught.”
In a bid to clarify whether conveyancers who submit SDLT returns to HMRC will need to register as tax advisers, Hailstone approached HMRC for comment. The organisation responded:
“Thank you for getting in touch about the measures announced at Budget 2025.
“The requirement to register will apply to all tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of clients. This applies regardless of whether the organisation views itself as a tax adviser. Filing tax returns for a taxpayer, including SDLT returns, is defined as tax advice and so conveyancers who interact with HMRC must register to continue to do so.
“HMRC will publish guidance from January 2026.”
However, it was not clear from the response whether conveyancers must register individually. In a follow-up question, Hailstone queried:
“Can I clarify please? Do individual conveyancers need to register or just the firms they are employed by? Would it make a difference if the conveyancer was a consultant with a firm, but classed as self-employed?”
HMRC has yet to respond.
Earlier this month, HMRC shared further details of the action the government is taking to improve standards in the tax advice market.
“As set out at Budget 2025, legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2025-26 requiring tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of clients to register with HMRC and meet minimum standards. This requirement will come into effect from May 2026, with detailed guidance published in January 2026.
“It is right that tax advisers who have access to sensitive taxpayer information meet basic minimum standards. This requirement is not the same as regulating tax advisers.
“HMRC will not review the quality of the advice agents provide, qualifications, or professional conduct.”
The changes will be supported by a £36 million investment into the registration service, HMRC said.
9 responses
Confirmation that we did not need to see. Thanks a lot Rob Hailstone.
Don’t shoot the messenger.
Bang bang!
£36m investment to pay for this registration service! Wow! What problem are they trying to solve here? If it is making the conveyancer take responsibility for the individual tax burden of SDLT of the client, then the result is possibly likely to drive more conveyancers out of the industry. If we are deemed tax advisors then we must be provided with adequate mandated training and actually be given advice by HMRC when client’s situations are not straightforward, perhaps the £36m would be better placed training the HMRC advisors to provide tax advice so that clients are able to understand their tax position correctly. SDLT is such a minefield that many accountants won’t even provide advice on it. Let’s wait and see what this does to firms Professional Indemnity premiums!
£36m to set up a system that “will not review the quality of the advice agents provide, qualifications, or professional conduct”. What a waste of money.
Absurd
Needless to say they still need to update their information and guidance on shared ownership stamp duty which is currently in a pathetic state.
Any excuse to pass the buck and put this back on the shoulders of Conveyancers.
May be if the rules were set out, not so complicated for certain situations and training was provided to the legal industry if we are to be “tax advisors” and HMRC were more helpful when you call rather than advising we cannot provide any advice then this would assist. It seems more and more is being put on Conveyancers as we are the easiest to blame if there are any mistakes or errors. We are not surveyors, or environmental specialists, or AML specialists, we undertake the legal work! This is why so many people are leaving the profession as well as the way we are also treated. Maybe it would be better if the Government actually interacted with Lawyers that are on the ground doing the job to see what would be helpful rather than burdening us with more responsiblity
We should start instructing third parties to take care of HMRC matters and increasing costs to client. I am sure that Indemnity Insurance Companies will look at this and be rather alarmed. No doubt companies will start springing up offering services.