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This Practice Note outlines the law concerning criminal recklessness. The subjective test for recklessness Certain statutory and common law offences allow the prosecution to prove mens rea through ‘recklessness’. Put simply, recklessness is where the accused takes an unjustified risk that results in unlawful harm or damage. The House of Lords in R v G reaffirmed the subjective approach to recklessness. Before R v G, two distinct tests were used, depending on the offence charged: Subjective recklessness from R v Cunningham: the prosecution had to establish that the accused personally foresaw the risk. Objective recklessness from R v Caldwell: the prosecution only needed to show that the risk would have been obvious to a reasonable person, without proving the accused themselves foresaw it. In R v G, the House of Lords concluded that the objective test could operate unfairly where a defendant did not foresee the
This Practice Note examines the remedy of rescission, explaining when and in what manner a contract can be unwound (at common law, in equity and under statute) and thereby terminated and brought to an end. It covers the consequences and effects of rescission, the principal grounds for setting aside an agreement (misrepresentation, mistake, undue influence, duress, non‑disclosure, fiduciary misdealing and bribery) and the main obstacles to claiming rescission—affirmation, the intervention of third‑party rights and the impossibility of restitution. For further guidance on rescission in the context of misrepresentation, see Practice Note: Misrepresentation—rescission as a remedy. There are many ways in which a contract may reach its end; see: Terminating contracts—how and when a contract ends—overview for a brief and accessible summary, with links to the related further practical guidance, including Practice Note: Termination and expiry of contracts. For a table
What is a res judicata? A res judicata is a determination by a court or tribunal with jurisdiction over the cause of action and the parties, which finally disposes of the issues decided so they cannot be litigated again by those bound, save on appeal. Final judgments entered by default or by consent fall within this concept, whereas rulings on purely procedural points and any decision lacking finality do not. The doctrine’s aim is to bring litigation to an end and shield parties from being harassed by the same dispute twice. in personam—binds the parties and their privies in rem—binds all persons, privy or otherwise (ie a judgment binding the whole world) A party may rely on res judicata: as an estoppel to defeat an opponent’s claim or defence; and/or as the basis of their own claim or
The offence of causing grievous bodily harm with intent Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent can be tried solely in the Crown Court on indictment. Elements of the offence Under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (OATPA 1861), the prosecution must establish that the defendant unlawfully and maliciously: wounded with the intention of causing GBH, or caused GBH with that intention, or wounded intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person, or caused GBH intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person ‘Unlawfully’ and ‘maliciously’ Unlawfully The wounding or causing of GBH must be unlawful. Such conduct may be lawful if used: in self-defence in defence of another in defence of property for the prevention of crime where the victim gave express or implied consent For further information on these defences, see below:
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This Practice Note addresses the VAT considerations that arise in commercial development projects. It first outlines a simple, uncontentious scenario, then explores: when and whether the developer should opt to tax input tax recovery and circumstances in which that option could be disapplied whether a sale to an investor qualifies as a transfer of a going concern ( TOGC) alternative development structures, such as forward funding and forward sales planning obligations and other payments towards local infrastructure tenant incentives disposals of surplus land and incomplete schemes, and rights to light For VAT issues in residential developments, see Practice Note: Residential development— VAT issues. Basic scenario There can be a variety of VAT considerations with commercial schemes, yet in practice most projects do not create major difficulties. It is helpful to begin with a clear, uneventful example...
There is no blanket relief for charities from VAT on the supplies they make. Likewise, they get no relief on supplies they receive. Nevertheless, zero rating can apply in some circumstances, and certain exemptions and concessions may attach to supplies made by charities. Charities may undertake both primary and non‑primary purpose trading. In the former, trading occurs in furtherance of their charitable aims; in the latter, activities are used as an ancillary means of generating funds. Charities are not allowed to conduct non‑primary trading on any significant scale unless they establish subsidiary trading companies. If they proceed in that way, they will forfeit any VAT benefits available to the charity unless both the charity and the subsidiaries register for VAT and can be included within a VAT group. It is crucial to distinguish between ‘trading’ and ‘business’. A charity’s trading will...
In the UK, VAT applies to supplies of goods and services made by a taxable person in the course of business activity, save where those supplies are exempt (or zero‑rated—see Practice Note: VAT—zero‑rated and reduced rate supplies). A VAT exemption carries three principal effects, namely: the supplier does not need to charge VAT on the transaction the value of the supply is ignored when determining whether the supplier must register for VAT purposes input tax attributable to exempt supplies cannot be reclaimed—so for a business making exempt supplies, that input VAT represents an absolute (and not merely a timing) cost For a fuller explanation of the rules on input tax recovery, see Practice Note: When can a person recover VAT? The Value Added Tax Act 1994 ( VATA 1994) sets out 16 groups of exempt supplies. Those groups were derived from EU...
This Practice Note reviews the obligation on trustees to file a Trust and Estate Tax Return (form SA900) where a trust is chargeable to income tax and/or capital gains tax ( CGT). For guidance on the rules governing trust income, expenses and capital gains, and the computation of tax liabilities, see the Trusts—income tax and capital gains tax subtopic. For commentary on completing the Trust and Estate Tax Return for estates by personal representatives, see Practice Note: Estate tax returns and informal procedures. All UK express trusts (not solely those with a UK tax liability in a given tax year) must be registered with the Trust Registration Service ( TRS) unless an exemption applies. See Online registration and beneficial ownership information reporting requirements for trustees below for further guidance. Requirement to submit a tax return The income and gains of trusts fall within the Self...
STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime Finance Act 2025 ( FA 2025), which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, brings in legislation to remove the remittance basis and usher in a residence-based system from 6 April 2025. FA 2025 also substitutes domicile as the determining factor for inheritance tax exposure. Additional updates amend the rules for excluded property, abolish the protected settlements status of offshore trusts, and alter overseas workday relief. For further detail, see Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation from 2025–26 and A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26. See also: Finance Bill Tracking Service: Key dates ( Finance Bill 2025) and Finance Act 2025. Trustees have multiple duties to file tax returns and supply information to HMRC. Alongside submitting a self assessment trust and estate tax return ( SA900) when income...
Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and Money Laundering Regulations 2020 The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds ( Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 ( MLR 2017), SI 2017/692, sit within the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework. They took effect on 26 June 2017 to implement the EU’s Fourth Anti- Money Laundering Directive, Directive ( EU) 2015/849 (4MLD), and have subsequently been broadened significantly by the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing ( Amendment) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2020 ( MLR 2020), SI 2020/991. Those 2020 amendments give effect to aspects of the EU’s Fifth Anti- Money Laundering Directive, Directive ( EU) 2018/843 (5MLD), concerning the registration of trusts. The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing ( Amendment) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/1511, also transposed elements of 5MLD into UK law; however, they addressed areas other than trust registration and therefore fall outside the ambit of this...
Background to the HMRC's online HMRC’s online trust registration approach was devised to give effect to the EU’s Fourth Anti- Money Laundering Directive, Directive ( EU) 2015/849 (4MLD), via the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds ( Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 ( MLR 2017), SI 2017/692, and to the EU’s Fifth Anti- Money Laundering Directive, Directive ( EU) 2018/843 (5MLD), through the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing ( Amendment) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2020 ( MLR 2020), SI 2020/991. The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing ( Amendment) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/1511 also transposed 5MLD into UK law, but addressed matters other than the registration of trusts. Accordingly, this Practice Note concentrates on MLR 2017, SI 2017/692 and MLR 2020, SI 2020/991. For guidance on implementing 5MLD in the UK, including the consultations undertaken, see Transposing 5MLD into UK law below. MLR...
HMRC's online Trust Registration Service ( TRS) HMRC’s online Trust Registration Service ( TRS) was created to give effect to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds ( Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 ( MLR 2017), SI 2017/692, and to further HMRC’s digital agenda for tax transparency. MLR 2017, SI 2017/692 was later amended by the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing ( Amendment) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2020 ( MLR 2020), SI 2020/991. Together, MLR 2017 and MLR 2020 implement the EU’s Fourth Anti- Money Laundering Directive ( EU) 2015/849 (4MLD) and Fifth Anti- Money Laundering Directive ( EU) 2018/843 (5MLD). On 15 March 2021, HMRC confirmed that the original 10 March 2022 deadline for registering trusts with the TRS, where registration is required by 5MLD and MLR 2020, SI 2020/991, would be pushed back by roughly 12 months from the...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to UK transfer pricing legislation: Finance Bill 2026 (as introduced) sets out a suite of amendments to the UK’s transfer pricing rules. Subject to enactment, for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2026, the package will, amongst other matters, do the following when enacted: switch off UK‑to‑ UK transfer pricing (with exclusions to prevent tax arbitrage opportunities), revise the participation condition, confirm that the OECD Model Tax Convention and OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines serve as interpretative aids, and introduce several changes to the provisions governing financial transactions so as to align the UK rules more closely with the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. Alongside these reforms, the government announced at Budget 2025 that it will proceed with a requirement for in-scope multinationals to report information annually on cross‑border related party transactions for accounting periods beginning on or after 1...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to UK transfer pricing: At Budget 2025, the government confirmed that it intends to move ahead with a new duty on in‑scope multinationals to submit annual information regarding cross‑border related party transactions and dealings for accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2027. The detailed rules for the new ‘ International Controlled Transactions Schedule’ ( ICTS) are expected to be formally issued for technical consultation during spring 2026. A consultation on this measure ran from April through to July 2025. See News Analysis: Budget 2025— Tax analysis— International. This Practice Note reviews the UK transfer pricing rules as they apply to chargeable periods (referred to in this Practice Note for ease and convenience as ‘accounting periods’) commencing before 1 January 2026. Note that the Finance Act 2026 introduced a range of reforms to the UK’s transfer pricing regime, most of which apply for...
FORTHCOMING CHANGES: At Budget 2025 on 26 November 2025, the government confirmed minor remedial changes to the residence-based tax framework introduced by the Finance Act 2025 would be implemented......
STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime The Finance Act 2025 ( FA 2025), which secured Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, enacts the removal of the remittance basis and brings in a residence-based regime with effect from 6 April 2025. FA 2025 also makes residence, rather than domicile, the principal criterion for determining inheritance tax exposure. Further measures include: Revisions to the rules for determining excluded property treatment Removal of protected settlements status for offshore trusts Updates to overseas workday relief For details, refer to Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation from 2025–26 and A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26. See also: Finance Bill Tracking Service: Key dates ( Finance Bill 2025) and Finance Act 2025. This Practice Note is archived and not...
FORTHCOMING CHANGES: At the Budget 2025 on 26 November 2025, the Government signalled it will introduce minor corrective changes to the residence-based tax framework enacted in Finance Act 2025......
FORTHCOMING CHANGES: At the 2025 Budget on 26 November 2025, the government confirmed plans for minor corrective changes to the residence-based tax regime introduced by the Finance Act 2025......
ARCHIVED : The Tier 1 ( Investor) visa catered to high net worth individuals able to place a significant investment in the UK. This route closed without notice on 17 February 2022, so it is no longer open to new applicants. Those already granted leave under this route may continue to reside and work in the UK. The provision allowing individuals who have held a Tier 1 Investor visa within the last 12 months to apply for entry clearance in this category from overseas still applies. Extension applications must be submitted by 17 February 2026. Settlement applications must be made by 17 February 2028. For further details, see LNB News 17/02/2022 76. This Practice Note is preserved in archived format for historical interest. The applicable rules for this category are set out at paragraphs 245E–245EF of Part 6A of the...
Temporary non-residence—statutory anti-avoidance rule The statutory test for non-residence contains a general anti-avoidance provision intended to remove tax advantages that could otherwise be secured if an individual is non- UK resident only for a short spell. This rule is set out in paragraphs 109–144 of Schedule 45 to the Finance Act 2013 ( FA 2013). As the statutory test applies separately to each tax year, it is feasible for someone to be non- UK resident for one, or a small number, of tax years even though they are UK resident both beforehand and afterwards. The rule aims to stop individuals engineering a brief period of non- UK residence and, in that window, realising sizeable income or gains that would not be taxed in the UK because of their residence status. It therefore targets sources where the emigrating individual can control the timing of receipts, and income and gains that...
This Practice Note was first created in collaboration with Tolley. When a person dies, their estate is responsible for income tax on income arising from 6 April before death up to the date of death. There is also liability to capital gains tax ( CGT) on any gain from disposals by the deceased of their property in that period, ie in the tax year in which they died up to the date of death. The deceased’s personal representatives ( PRs) will often need to liaise with HMRC to finalise the deceased’s tax affairs, both for the year in which death occurred and the previous tax year if a self‑assessment return was due and had not yet been submitted. This Practice Note sets out how to quantify the income and calculate the tax due on any income or gains in the tax year up to the date of...
This Practice Note outlines key aspects of the taxation of investment income that apply specifically to discretionary trusts and interest in possession trusts. Interest Since 6 April 2016, interest is generally paid gross, without tax deducted at source. Trustees do not benefit from the savings allowance created by section 4 of the Finance Act 2016, which allows individuals to receive up to £1,000 of gross interest taxed at the nil rate. Accordingly, after the end of deduction at source, trustees may need to file a tax return to settle liabilities arising on very small amounts of interest. HMRC acknowledged the added administrative and financial burden. As a temporary measure, initially for 2016–2017 only, HMRC confirmed that trustees need not declare or pay tax on interest where savings interest is the sole income and the liability is under £100. This easement was extended to later tax years and...
Introduction This Practice Note considers the taxation of benefits paid from a pension scheme on the death of a member. The outcome chiefly depends on whether the person belonged to a defined benefit (final salary) scheme or a defined contribution arrangement, such as a SIPP or a personal pension plan. It also turns on whether the scheme member: dies before taking retirement benefits; or dies while receiving retirement benefits, whether as a secured pension, a life annuity or income drawdown, and, in either situation, the age at death (that is, death before age 75 or death on or after age 75). Defined benefit ( DB) schemes When a member of a defined benefit ( DB) scheme dies, the benefits due will vary according to whether death occurs before or after retirement. Death before drawing benefits On death prior to retirement, any lump sum...
For UK tax, an overseas vehicle can be treated as either transparent or opaque. This Practice Note sets out how that characterisation affects the taxation of the entity itself and of its members. The classification directly shapes how tax applies to both the entity and its members. UK legislation gives limited guidance on whether an overseas entity should be viewed as transparent or opaque. For the relevant case law and HMRC’s position on classification, see Practice Note: Entity classification case law and HMRC’s interpretation, and Classifying overseas entities for UK tax purposes—checklist. Taxation of overseas entities and their members Transparent overseas entities Where an overseas entity is treated as transparent, UK‑resident members (for example, shareholders, beneficiaries and partners) are charged to tax as the entity’s profits or gains arise. Consequently, from a direct tax standpoint, transparent entities generally operate as tax‑neutral conduits for members: the entity is not...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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