Tax Technical Adviser

About the job

Job summary

Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it's really like to work at HMRC.

Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential.

HMRC are committed to providing our people with an accommodating and accessible work environment which values diversity and inclusion in everything we do. We encourage our people to bring their whole selves to work, providing a culture that values different perspectives to help tackle complex problems, promote innovation, and deliver stronger decision making.

Business Assets International (BAI) sits within the Strategy and Policy Directorate which is responsible for leading on strategy, policy, guidance, analytical, customer, business architecture and design functions.

You can learn more about the Strategy & Policy Directorate on its dedicated careers website; HMRC - Customer Strategy & Tax Design , Civil Service Careers

BAI is HMRC's centre of expertise for business, asset and international taxation, shaping and delivering policy that supports economic growth and ensures a fair and effective tax system. We work closely with compliance and operational teams to tackle avoidance and risk, providing high-quality technical advice and supporting litigation to ensure consistent and robust outcomes.

Job description

We are recruiting a Grade 7 tax technical adviser to join the Trading, Property and Miscellaneous Income Team within the Business Profits Team (BPT). BPT designs and maintains the rules governing trading income, property income and miscellaneous income and provides authoritative technical and policy advice on some of the most fundamental questions in direct tax.

This is a high-profile senior specialist role. It offers the opportunity to lead complex, challenging and rewarding technical work affecting businesses of all sizes, including disputes involving avoidance, litigation, governance decisions and issues of wider policy significance. The role is not simply about answering technical queries: you will be expected to exercise professional judgement, provide leadership through expertise, and influence robust and consistent outcomes across HMRC.

You will advise and support operational colleagues as they consider fundamental but often difficult questions about the correct application of the tax rules. Are costs capital or revenue? Was expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively for business purposes? Are the activities more hobby than business? You will need to apply legislation, case law, guidance and policy intent to new or uncertain scenarios, defend HMRC's technical position and explain your conclusions clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

There is an expectation that successful applicants will be able to apply their skills flexibly across all BPT areas of work, including where issues cut across different business profits regimes or interact with wider HMRC priorities.

Duties of this role include:

• Developing deep technical knowledge of relevant legislation, guidance and case law, and applying that knowledge confidently to novel, complex or untested scenarios.
• Providing authoritative technical advice and leadership to colleagues across HMRC on tax disputes, including avoidance cases and matters progressing through formal governance or litigation.
• Working closely with legal colleagues and Counsel to develop and articulate HMRC's technical position, prepare arguments and support cases before Tax Tribunals and higher courts.
• Establishing and developing effective relationships with stakeholders across HMRC, HM Treasury, Other Government Departments and Devolved Administrations, including contributing to policy development and fiscal event work where BPT issues are relevant.
• Engaging with operational, policy and technical colleagues to ensure legislation works as intended, guidance is clear, and HMRC staff and customers have a consistent understanding of the rules.
• Providing technical advice on issues of topical, political or ministerial interest, including Parliamentary Questions, Ministerial Correspondence, Freedom of Information requests, submissions and briefing for senior stakeholders.
• Contributing to the development of the team and BAI more widely by sharing knowledge, supporting capability building, identifying common issues and helping to promote consistent technical standards.

The role involves meetings with Counsel and attendance at Tribunals and Courts. Although many meetings are now conducted via Teams, attendance in London, sometimes at short notice, may be necessary. You may be required to attend Tribunal hearings for several consecutive days, either in person, via the Tribunal's own hearing platform or Teams depending on business needs. While reasonable regard will be taken of working patterns, some short notice travel may be required.

Person specification

• Demonstrate strong direct tax technical expertise and analytical ability, drawing on legislation, case law, guidance and policy material to provide robust advice on complex or contested issues across income tax and corporation tax, while rapidly developing expertise in new areas as required.
• Work collaboratively and proactively to take ownership of complex technical issues, managing competing priorities and ambiguity at pace while drawing on expertise from across HMRC to deliver robust outcomes.
• Demonstrate the ability to build effective relationships and influence decisions across diverse stakeholder groups, using insight from common issues, trends and emerging themes to drive consistent technical outcomes, improve guidance and support effective policy development.
• Provide clear, authoritative and proportionate advice on complex tax technical issues, tailoring communications to diverse audiences and influencing decision-making through effective engagement with senior colleagues, governance boards, legal advisers and appointed Counsel.
• Demonstrate professional leadership through expertise, including supporting the development of colleagues and contributing to the wider Tax Profession.

Essential Criteria

This is a Tax Profession role. Applicants must demonstrate that they meet both the qualification requirement and the professional experience requirements for the role. You must be able to demonstrate evidence of:

• Applying direct tax legislation, case law, guidance or policy material to complex technical issues, including issues where the position is uncertain or contested.
• Providing clear, reasoned and persuasive advice or recommendations to support decisions by senior stakeholders, governance boards or equivalent decision-makers.
• Working collaboratively across organisational boundaries to resolve complex technical, policy or operational issues.
• Communicating complex technical material clearly to different audiences, including non-specialists.
• Managing a varied workload at pace while maintaining quality, judgement and attention to detail.
• Professional experience requirement.

Qualification requirement

The post holder must hold one or more of the Qualifications noted below.

Further Location Information

Please ensure that you only apply for a location that you are willing and able to work from, as we will only make one offer of employment. Any additional notes included in a 'Further Location Preferences (optional)' field within the application form, will not be considered. Please be aware that you cannot change your location preference after submitting your application.

Additional Security Information

Please note that if you are appointed to 100 Parliament Street, as a condition of working in this location you will be required to obtain Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) level clearance.

To obtain this level of clearance, you will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period, which for CTC is 3 years UK residency prior to your vetting application.

You may not be able to start in the location until clearance is granted.

If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

Qualifications
The post holder must hold one or more of the following qualifications:

• HMRC's Tax Specialist Programme or predecessor qualifications (TPDP, IDP, ITS2, CPT, FT2).
• Chartered Tax Adviser (with direct taxes options).
• Advanced Diploma in International Taxation.
• Full membership of one of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (ICAEW, ICAS, CAI, ACCA, CIPFA), provided that direct tax matters make up a substantial part of your professional experience.
• Qualification as a Solicitor, Barrister or CILEX Lawyer (including the Professional stage Business and Commercial Law module) in England and Wales (or equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland), provided that direct tax matters make up a substantial part of your professional experience.
• Equivalent qualifications or relevant experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,541, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £16,959 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.

We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues' Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.

To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it's really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:

• A name-blind CV including your job history and previous experiences and full qualification details. Please provide details of your last 3 roles
• A 1000-word Personal Statement. Your Personal Statement should be used to describe how your skills and experience would be suitable for the advertised role, making reference to the Essential Criteria and Person Specification outlined in the advert.

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on your Personal Statement.

At full sift your CV and your Personal Statement, will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview.

We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.

Interview

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of. Using the STAR format will help you to structure your answers.

Interviews will take place via video link. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Please note that circumstances may arise that require the planned interview format to change. We will endeavour to provide you with as much notice of any change as possible.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. Mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we may not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, or have withdrawn yourself in error and need your application reinstated whilst the campaign is still live, please contact us via: unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk - Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example - 'Please re-open my application - [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]'.

To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application .

The HMRC app can help you with your application

The HMRC app can provide you with your past 5 years' employment history, making the process of filling in your application quicker and easier.

If successful in your application, you will need your National Insurance number for the onboarding process.

Download the HMRC app now and save your National Insurance number to your digital phone wallet.

How to download the HMRC app and sign up for an account

Download the free HMRC app from the App Store or Google Play store.

If you have an HMRC online account already, sign straight in using your ID and password. If not, you can prove your identity by answering some questions or providing your photo ID.

You'll then be able to access the app quickly and easily by signing in using a 6-digit PIN, your fingerprint, or facial recognition.

You can find guidance for technical issues on GOV.UK: Technical support with HMRC online services .

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles - if this applies to you, we'll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.

Merit List

After interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.

Criminal Record Check

Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

Hybrid working at HMRC

HMRC is an office-based organisation, and colleagues are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office. Our offices provide opportunity for interaction, collaboration which aids learning and development and a sense of community. Where the role allows it, and where the home environment is suitable, colleagues can work from home for up to 2 days a week, averaged over a calendar month (or a proportionate amount of time for colleagues who work less than full time).

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact the UBS Recruitment team via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the "Assistance required" section in the "Additional requirements" page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Technical Support

If you are experiencing problems that cannot be resolved by our ' help ' section, then technical support is available. You will receive a reply in 2 working days.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers

This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the 'location preferences' section that you can travel to.

Terms and Conditions

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.

HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations (opens in a new window) .

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process.

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - GOV.UK .

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Clare Irvine
• Email : clare.irvine@hmrc.gov.uk
• Telephone : 03000586478

Recruitment team

• Email : unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk

Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk . Please note that we do not accept complaints or appeals regarding scoring of outcomes of campaigns unless candidates can provide clear evidence that the campaign did not follow the Recruitment Principles. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.