What are employer compliance checks?

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
Produced by Tolley in association with Lesley Fidler
Owner-Managed Businesses
Guidance

What are employer compliance checks?

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
Produced by Tolley in association with Lesley Fidler
Owner-Managed Businesses
Guidance
imgtext

The purpose of employer compliance checks

The purpose of an employer compliance check is to satisfy HMRC that all earnings and benefits have been identified and reported correctly by an employer, and that associated payments of income tax and NIC have been made within the statutory time limits. The checks will also consider whether statutory payments and deductions are correct. In the case of large employers (those to which a Customer Compliance Manager has been assigned by HMRC), periodic checks or visits may be made by HMRC. These are outside the scope of this guidance note.

Selection of employers for checks

HMRC’s Risk and Intelligence Service (RIS) identifies the cases for compliance checks. This is to remove any bias from the process. Whilst cases are usually selected because a risk has been identified, random selections are also made. Disgruntled former employees or former spouses / partners (of both the business and personal variety) of owners can be a source of HMRC information, although RIS officers are well aware that such information may be incorrect

Continue reading the full document
To gain access to additional expert tax guidance, workflow tools, generative tax AI, and tax research, register for a free trial of Tolley+™
TAKE A FREE TRIAL NOW
Lesley Fidler
Lesley Fidler linkedinicon

Employment taxes specialist at RSM

After several decades advising employers of all sizes on tax compliance including the Construction Industry Scheme and IR35, in 2016 Lesley decided to practice what she had preached by joining the tax team of a financial institution and working in-house. Although she no longer speaks on tax issues, she continues to write and retains a particular interest in the area of national insurance contributions. Lesley is a member of both the Chartered Institute of Taxation (sitting on its Employment Taxes sub-committee) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. After gaining a law degree and her initial training as a solicitor she joined the Inland Revenue as a direct entrant inspector before realising that she preferred advisory work and the opportunity for long-term collaboration that this can bring.

Read moreRead more
Powered by Tolley+™
  • 04 Sep 2025 15:40

Home/ Tolley Tax Guidance/ Owner-Managed Businesses / Enquiries, penalties and appeals

Popular Articles

Corporation Tax

Group relief for carried-forward losses

Group relief for carried-forward lossesThis guidance note examines in detail the relief available to groups for carried-forward losses. The scope excludes the treatment of specialist businesses such as banks, insurance companies and oil and gas companies.From 1 April 2017, companies can surrender

14 Jul 2020 11:50 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more
Corporation Tax

Real estate investment trusts (REITs)

Real estate investment trusts (REITs)Introduction to REITsA real estate investment trust (REIT) is in fact not a trust at all, it is a company which qualifies for special tax treatment under CTA 2010, Part 12. REITs are similar in many ways to collective fund vehicles (such as unit trusts) in that

14 Jul 2020 13:04 | Produced by Tolley in association with Rob Durrant-Walker of Crane Dale Tax, part of AMS Group Read more Read more
Trusts and Inheritance Tax

Corrections and amendments to the IHT account

Corrections and amendments to the IHT accountThis guidance note explains how to deal with changes to the taxable values in the original inheritance tax account.Why do amendments arise?When the IHT account is first submitted to HMRC, it is based on information available at an early stage of the

14 Jul 2020 11:20 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more