Philip K.

This will be by going through compliance roles and working your way through them. there are many areas of tax and there are specialist roles in each of them. When you come to HMRC, specifically compliance you will see different areas and roles available, your desires and goals may change throughout your career and the option is there for you to explore this as it is a large organisation

20 November, 2025 13:28

Prudencia O. Tax Professional Manager (Grade 6)

Hello and great question! The Tax Specialist Programme (TSP) is the main route, but it’s definitely not the only way to become a tax specialist.

Here are some other options:

• Start in Compliance roles – Many people join as Compliance Caseworkers or similar roles and then build their tax knowledge through experience and internal training.
• Apprenticeships – HMRC sometimes offers tax or compliance apprenticeships, which can be a good stepping stone.
• Lateral moves – If you already have relevant experience, you can apply for specialist vacancies when they come up.
  

All of these roles are advertised on the same site: https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/ Just set up job alerts for keywords like “Tax Specialist”, “Compliance”, or “Policy” so you don’t miss anything.

And just to share my own journey for encouragement: I joined HMRC as an Admin Assistant in 2005 and worked my way up to Compliance Caseworker, first dealing with the tax affairs of wealthy individuals. Later, I moved into Customs as a Higher Compliance Caseworker. Over time, I’ve gone through every single grade and I’m now a Tax Professional Manager in Large Business directorate managing G7 tax specialists. So yes, it can absolutely be done! Hope that helps! 😊

21 November, 2025 12:32