FORTHCOMING CHANGE: HMRC published a call for evidence, ‘Simplifying the VAT Land Exemption’, in May 2021, inviting comments on some radical suggestions for the future scope of the exemption. These included making all ‘short-term or minor’ interests in land subject to VAT, or removing the current ‘option to tax’ rules and instead making all land transactions VATable, subject to specific exemptions such as for property with a residential or charitable purpose. These proposals were not generally well-received, but might indicate some more specific, and perhaps appropriate, changes which HMRC might seek to pursue in the near future. The call for evidence ran from 12 May 2021 to 3 August 2021. A summary of responses was published on Tax Administration and Maintenance Day on 30 November 2021 which confirmed that the government did not intend at that time to take any further action regarding the proposals previously discounted by the Office of Tax Simplification but intended to have further discussions with stakeholders on the issues commencing in 2022. For more information, see News Analysis:

Why is the exemption for financial services important? VAT is a key concern for businesses in the financial sector as the supply of certain types of financial services to customers belonging in the UK are exempt from UK VAT. This is important because: • businesses will not charge VAT on services falling within the exemption, and • such businesses will not be able to recover input VAT on supplies they receive in the course of making an onward exempt supply The financial services exemption from VAT The UK VAT exemption for financial services is based on the relevant provisions of Directive 2006/112/EC (the VAT Directive). These were enacted into UK law by group 5 of Schedule 9, Part II to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 1994), which sets out a number of items falling within the exemption. This Practice Note focuses on the exemptions for services falling within the category of ‘providing credit’ (VATA 1994, Sch 9 Pt II, group 5, items 2, 2A, 3 and 4). The UK ceased to

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to the modernisation of stamp taxes on shares framework: Stamp duty and SDRT will, in 2027, be replaced with a single, self-assessed tax on transfers of securities, the securities transfer tax (STT) (formerly referred to as the securities transfer charge or STC), that will be paid (and reported) through electronic transfer systems such as CREST or, where appropriate, a new online portal. Draft legislation for the STT was published on 13 July 2026, along with explanatory notes, a policy paper and the outcome of the higher rate 1.5% stamp tax consultation. Subject to exemptions, the STT draft legislation includes a main charge of 0.5% for agreements to transfer chargeable securities to another person for consideration in money or money’s worth and, for transfers to a clearance service (CS) or depositary receipt issuer (DRI), a higher-rate charge of 1.5%. The main charge arises when an agreement is made or, in the case of a conditional agreement, when the conditions are satisfied, although, where the agreement is not electronic,

This Practice Note provides practical guidance on the exemption review. As such, it provides guidance on what the exemption review is intended to review, who may apply, how to apply and what the outcome may be. Introduction The UK Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) is entitled to exempt an importer or overseas exporter from anti-dumping duties or countervailing measures. The TRA may of course exempt an importer or overseas exporter from anti-dumping duties or countervailing measures when conducting the original investigations or in any interim or expiry reviews if the TRA finds that the specific importer or overseas exporter is not dumping or is not subsidised. For guidance on the on the original anti-dumping investigation, see Practice Note: An introduction to anti-dumping duties. For guidance on the original countervailing investigation, see Practice Note: An introduction to the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. For guidance on interim reviews on anti-dumping duties, see Practice Note: Interim reviews in anti-dumping investigations. For guidance on interim reviews on countervailing measures, see Practice Note: Interim reviews in subsidy

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: The government is exploring options to potentially simplify the process and administration of double tax treaty (DTT) relief from UK withholding tax on payments of UK source yearly interest to non-UK lenders. For more information on the consultation published on 13 July 2026, see News Analysis: Legislation Day: Draft Finance Bill 2027—Tax analysis—Finance. This Practice Note outlines the exemptions and reliefs from the obligation to deduct UK income tax from yearly interest, including the exemptions for short interest, interest paid by banks in the ordinary course of their business, interest on an advance from a bank, interest paid by or to a building society, the UK to UK exemption (also referred to as excepted payments), the quoted eurobond exemption including the extension for unlisted debt admitted to trading on a multilateral trading facility, the qualifying private placement exemption, the exemption for certain peer-to-peer lending, the exemption for interest distributions from certain funds, the exemption for interest paid by qualifying asset holding companies and relief under double tax

For income tax rates and allowances applicable in the current tax year, see Practice Note: Key UK tax rates, thresholds and allowances for Private Client. Personal allowances The following income tax allowances are available to individuals: • personal allowance • transferable personal allowance • blind person's allowance • married couple's allowance • personal savings allowance • dividend allowance • property income allowance • trading income allowance The personal allowance, blind person's allowance, personal savings allowance, dividend allowance, property income allowance and trading income allowance are each deducted from net income to obtain the taxpayer's taxable income. This means that a certain amount of income is tax-free each year. The married couple's allowance (which includes civil partners) is given by way of a 10% reduction of tax. The personal allowance, the blind person’s allowance and the married couple’s allowance can be transferred to the taxpayer's spouse or civil partner in certain circumstances. The personal allowance The amount of the personal allowance depends on the taxpayer's total income in the tax year. Since 6 April

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to the modernisation of stamp taxes on shares framework: Stamp duty and SDRT will, in 2027, be replaced with a single, self-assessed tax on transfers of securities, the securities transfer tax (STT) (formerly referred to as the securities transfer charge or STC), that will be paid (and reported) through electronic transfer systems such as CREST or, where appropriate, a new online portal. Draft legislation for the STT was published on 13 July 2026, along with explanatory notes, a policy paper and the outcome of the higher rate 1.5% stamp tax consultation. Subject to exemptions, the STT draft legislation includes a main charge of 0.5% for agreements to transfer chargeable securities to another person for consideration in money or money’s worth and, for transfers to a clearance service (CS) or depositary receipt issuer (DRI), a higher-rate charge of 1.5%. The main charge arises when an agreement is made or, in the case of a conditional agreement, when the conditions are satisfied, although, where the agreement is not electronic, the STT charge arises when the

VAT is chargeable on supplies of goods and services made in the UK by a taxable person in the course of a business, unless those supplies are exempt (or zero-rated, for which, see Practice Note: VAT—zero-rated and reduced rate supplies). VAT exemption has three main consequences: • the supplier is not required to charge VAT • the value of the supply is not taken into account when deciding whether the supplier must register for VAT, and • the supplier cannot recover any input tax attributable to its exempt supplies—for a business that makes exempt supplies, such input tax is therefore an absolute (and not just a timing) cost For an explanation of the rules on recovery of input tax, see Practice Note: When can a person recover VAT? The Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 1994) lists 16 categories of exempt supplies, referred to as groups. These were derived from EU Council Directive 2006/112/EC (the VAT Directive) or its predecessors, but there were important differences between the UK legislation and the VAT Directive. In cases of

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to the modernisation of stamp taxes on shares framework: Stamp duty and SDRT will, in 2027, be replaced with a single, self-assessed tax on transfers of securities, the securities transfer tax (STT) (formerly referred to as the securities transfer charge or STC), that will be paid (and reported) through electronic transfer systems such as CREST or, where appropriate, a new online portal. Draft legislation for the STT was published on 13 July 2026, along with explanatory notes, a policy paper and the outcome of the higher rate 1.5% stamp tax consultation. Subject to exemptions, the STT draft legislation includes a main charge of 0.5% for agreements to transfer chargeable securities to another person for consideration in money or money’s worth and, for transfers to a clearance service (CS) or depositary receipt issuer (DRI), a higher-rate charge of 1.5%. The main charge arises when an agreement is made or, in the case of a conditional agreement, when the conditions are satisfied, although, where the agreement is not electronic,

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to the modernisation of stamp taxes on shares framework: Stamp duty and SDRT will, in 2027, be replaced with a single, self-assessed tax on transfers of securities, the securities transfer tax (STT) (formerly referred to as the securities transfer charge or STC), that will be paid (and reported) through electronic transfer systems such as CREST or, where appropriate, a new online portal. Draft legislation for the STT was published on 13 July 2026, along with explanatory notes, a policy paper and the outcome of the higher rate 1.5% stamp tax consultation. Subject to exemptions, the STT draft legislation includes a main charge of 0.5% for agreements to transfer chargeable securities to another person for consideration in money or money’s worth and, for transfers to a clearance service (CS) or depositary receipt issuer (DRI), a higher-rate charge of 1.5%. The main charge arises when an agreement is made or, in the case of a conditional agreement, when the conditions are satisfied, although, where the agreement is not electronic, the STT charge arises when

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note provides information on the data protection regime before 25 May 2018 and reflects the position under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998). This Practice Note is for background information only and is not maintained. This Practice Note identifies and explains the principal exemptions available under the DPA 1998. When does the DPA 1998 apply? Before applying any exemption it is important to be clear what underlying obligation the exemption relates to and why the exemption is necessary. The starting point is to clarify whether the DPA 1998 applies at all and, if so, what it requires. This will depend on: • the type of information (personal data) • the activities being carried out in relation to that personal data (processing) • the equipment/location of processing • which party has obligations (data controller) In general terms, the DPA 1998 applies to: • UK data controllers who process personal data, and • non-UK/non-EEA data controllers who use equipment in the UK to process personal data See Practice Notes: Data protection—applicability

STOP PRESS: On 19 June 2025, the Data (Use and Access) Bill received Royal Assent, becoming the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA 2025) and coming partly into force on that date. Certain provisions of DUAA 2025, concerning matters such as responding to data subject access requests and the conferring of power to make further regulations, came into force immediately on 19 June 2025. Other provisions, concerning notices from the Information Commissioner and some aspects of law enforcement processing, came into effect on 19 August 2025 (being two months from the date of Royal Assent). The majority of DUAA 2025’s provisions require further regulations (in the form of statutory instruments) to be made to bring them into force. Parts 5 and 6 of DUAA 2025 serve to amend aspects of data protection and ePrivacy law in the UK, including the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, SI 2003/2426. The