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Led by Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum
Eight tutorials on UK taxation across the principal taxes — income tax, National Insurance, PAYE, corporation tax, VAT, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, and the framework for tax avoidance, evasion, and dispute resolution. Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum leads — fictional archetype of a 35-year career inside the Inland Revenue (joined 1968; retired 2003 at the HMRC merger) now in private tax consultancy. Stage 3 of the Accounting & Finance (UK) programme.
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Led by Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum
The question
An introduction to the UK tax system at the architectural level. Chetham-Wade Simulacrum covers the principal statutes (ITEPA 2003, ITTOIA 2005, ITA 2007, CTA 2009, CTA 2010, TCGA 1992, IHTA 1984, VATA 1994), the agency (HMRC and its predecessors), the compliance frameworks (self-assessment, PAYE, VAT registration, corporation-tax self-assessment), the interpretive principles (statute primacy, the Ramsay purposive construction, the GAAR backstop), and the appeal route from an HMRC decision through the Tax Chamber tribunals to the Supreme Court.
Outcome
The student can identify the principal UK tax statutes and which tax each governs; can articulate the self-assessment, PAYE, and VAT compliance frameworks; can distinguish avoidance from evasion; and can outline the appeal route from an HMRC decision. (UK tax architecture)
Practice scenarios
You orient a new tax trainee at a UK mid-market accountancy firm with a portfolio of small companies, individual self-assessment clients, family-trust matters, and occasional owner-managed-business advisory work. The work tests whether you can structure the trainee's learning order, point to the right daily-use resources, identify the careful-of pitfalls, and explain the inspector's-view discipline of reading returns against patterns of risk.
Your goals
Led by Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum
The question
Income tax for individuals — the largest single UK tax by yield. The module covers the income types (employment, self-employment, property, savings, dividends, pensions, foreign), the personal allowance and its taper above £100k, the rate bands for 2024–25, the savings allowance and dividend allowance, the principal reliefs (pension contributions, ISA, EIS, SEIS, VCT, Gift Aid, Marriage Allowance), the high-income child benefit charge, and the self-assessment compliance discipline. The post-April-2025 FIG regime replacing remittance basis is introduced.
Outcome
The student can perform a UK personal income tax computation including all income types, allowances, and rate bands; can apply the personal-allowance taper; can calculate tax on dividends and savings income separately; and can identify the principal reliefs available. (Income tax for individuals)
Practice scenarios
You prepare the 2024–25 self-assessment computation for a high-earning UK consulting professional — £140k salary, £30k bonus, £8.5k benefits, £24k buy-to-let income, dividends, savings, EIS investment, charitable giving — including the personal-allowance taper, pension-contribution band extension, mortgage-interest restriction, and EIS relief. The work tests whether you can integrate eight income types and six reliefs into a defensible self-assessment computation.
Your goals
Led by Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum
The question
National Insurance, PAYE, and the employer-compliance framework — the second-largest UK tax and the largest area of HMRC's compliance activity by case volume. The module covers the National Insurance classes and 2024–25 rates, PAYE operation and Real-Time Information, P11D reporting of benefits in kind, the Construction Industry Scheme, and the off-payroll-working (IR35) regime as substantially reformed in 2017 and 2021. The HMRC employer-compliance review process and typical findings close the module.
Outcome
The student can identify the National Insurance class applicable to a worker; can calculate employee and employer NI on a typical salary; can identify common PAYE / P11D / RTI compliance failures; and can articulate the IR35 framework. (NI, PAYE, employer compliance)
Practice scenarios
You handle a 4-year HMRC employer-compliance review of a 50-person UK tech consultancy with 12 contractors paid through personal-service companies, varied benefits in kind, and no IR35 Status Determination Statements on file. The work tests whether you can quantify the IR35 exposure, diagnose the benefits and Employment Allowance compliance, recommend the immediate response and longer-term remediation, and resist the CFO's contention that *substitution clauses mean outside IR35*.
Your goals
Led by Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum
The question
Corporation tax — applied to UK-resident companies on worldwide profits. The module covers the rate structure (small-profits 19%, main 25%, marginal relief between £50k and £250k), the trading-profit computation including the disallowable-expense add-backs and capital-allowances deductions, Full Expensing on plant and machinery, R&D relief under the post-2024 merged scheme, the Patent Box, loss relief and group relief, the Substantial Shareholding Exemption on share disposals, and the Pillar Two minimum-tax regime effective from 2024.
Outcome
The student can perform a corporation tax computation including capital allowances, loan-relationships adjustments, and group relief; can identify when the small-profits rate, main rate, or marginal relief applies; and can articulate the principal corporation-tax reliefs (R&D, Patent Box, SSE, group relief). (Corporation tax)
Practice scenarios
You compute corporation tax for Halberd UK Limited at year-end — £8.4m accounting profit, £2.1m of qualifying capex, £450k of R&D, intercompany management charge, group relief surrendered in — applying Full Expensing, the merged-scheme R&D credit, group relief, and the 25% main rate with QIPs. The work tests whether you can integrate every major corporation-tax mechanism into one defensible computation.
Your goals
Led by Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum
The question
Capital gains tax — applied to UK individuals, trusts, and personal representatives on disposals of chargeable assets. The module covers the gain computation (proceeds less acquisition cost less enhancement less incidental costs), the annual exempt amount (£3,000 for 2024–25), the rates pre and post 30 October 2024, the principal reliefs (Business Asset Disposal Relief, Investors' Relief, Private Residence Relief, Holdover Relief, Rollover Relief, EIS/SEIS deferral), the share-matching rules, and the 60-day reporting requirement for residential property disposals.
Outcome
The student can perform a CGT computation for a typical individual including the principal reliefs; can apply the share-matching rules to a portfolio disposal; can identify when BADR or Investors' Relief is available; and can articulate the 60-day reporting requirement for residential property. (Capital gains tax)
Practice scenarios
You advise a 60-year-old founder on the tax planning for a £4.2m sale of his trading-company shares, including BADR application, EIS deferral of the post-BADR gain, and the deferred-consideration treatment under Marren v Ingles. The work tests whether you can construct an integrated plan minimising current CGT while preserving optionality, and defend the EIS deferral strategy to the client's solicitor.
Your goals
Led by Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum
The question
Value Added Tax — the second-largest UK tax by yield. The module covers the rate categories (standard 20%, reduced 5%, zero, exempt), the registration threshold (£90k from April 2024), the VAT return cycle, the place-of-supply rules for cross-border services, the post-Brexit framework including postponed VAT accounting and the Northern Ireland Protocol, partial exemption for businesses with both taxable and exempt supplies, the Capital Goods Scheme, and the special schemes (Flat Rate, Cash Accounting, Tour Operators Margin Scheme). MTD for VAT compliance closes the module.
Outcome
The student can determine whether a supply is standard-rated, reduced, zero-rated, or exempt; can identify the registration threshold; can perform a basic partial-exemption calculation; and can articulate the post-Brexit cross-border-supply framework. (Value Added Tax)
Practice scenarios
You work the VAT compliance position for a UK training-and-publishing business with three activities (corporate training, government-funded apprentice training, books and digital materials) plus cross-border supplies to and from US and Germany. The work tests whether you can apply partial-exemption rules with the standard method and de-minimis test, handle the place-of-supply rules post-Brexit, and resolve the reverse-charge mechanism on the German supplier.
Your goals
Led by Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum
The question
Inheritance tax and trusts — the UK succession-tax regime. The module covers the transfer-of-value concept, the distinction between potentially-exempt transfers and chargeable lifetime transfers, the nil-rate band (£325,000) and residence nil-rate band (£175,000) and their transferable form between spouses, the 7-year rule and taper relief, the principal reliefs (Business Property Relief, Agricultural Property Relief — both substantially restricted from April 2026), the relevant property regime for discretionary trusts, and the post-April-2027 reform bringing pensions into the IHT estate.
Outcome
The student can perform a death-estate IHT computation including NRB, RNRB, TNRB, BPR, and APR; can articulate the relevant property regime for discretionary trusts; can identify the principal lifetime exemptions; and can advise on the impact of the post-2026 reforms to trust and pension treatment. (Inheritance tax and trusts)
Practice scenarios
You produce an estate-planning analysis for a UK couple with a £6.7m combined estate including £4.2m of trading-company shares qualifying for BPR, ahead of the April 2026 reform that caps BPR at £1m. The work tests whether you can compute the IHT position pre and post reform, evaluate lifetime-gifting and trust-based options, and structure a recommendation for a reluctant founder unwilling to surrender control.
Your goals
Led by Reginald Arthur Chetham-Wade Simulacrum
The question
Tax avoidance, evasion, and disputes — the framework within which all UK tax practice operates. The module covers the avoidance-evasion-planning spectrum, the Ramsay purposive-construction line of cases, the General Anti-Abuse Rule and the GAAR Advisory Panel, the DOTAS and POTAS disclosure regimes, the Loan Charge and disguised-remuneration anti-avoidance, the corporate offence under the Criminal Finances Act 2017, the Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT) standards binding UK tax practitioners, and the inquiry-and-appeal route. The closing scenario refuses a contractor-loan tax-avoidance scheme.
Outcome
The student can articulate the avoidance-evasion-planning spectrum and the relevant statutory and professional responses; can identify when the GAAR, Ramsay, or PCRT standards apply; can advise a client on the inquiry-and-appeal route; and can articulate the practitioner's professional and ethical responsibilities. (Tax disputes and professional conduct)
Practice scenarios
You decline to support a contractor-loan tax-avoidance scheme proposed to your sports-professional client by another adviser, while offering legitimate alternatives. The work tests whether you can apply the disguised-remuneration legislation, GAAR, and DOTAS analysis to identify the exposure; whether you can hold to the PCRT professional standard against client pressure; and whether you can articulate the risk of the Loan Charge convincingly to a client persuaded by *the other adviser has 200 clients in this scheme*.
Your goals