Expatries Network
United Kingdom

Social security contributions and returns in United Kingdom

Every country has its own collecting body, its own filing calendar and its own way of certifying that a company is up to date. In United Kingdom, these elements form part of the file of every firm listed by the network.

The social security clearance certificate is the document that sums everything up: at a given moment it states whether the company has filed and paid. It is also the one that expires soonest, and the first the network asks its partners to renew. The table of documents below indicates which body issues it in United Kingdom and under which wording to apply for it.

The simplest test of a British firm's real capability comes down to one question: does it hold an agent services account with HM Revenue and Customs and a PAYE agent code. Without both, it cannot file your clients' real time submissions. Add a current Companies House extract, the employers' liability insurance certificate, proof of registration with the Information Commissioner's Office, and identification of the body providing its anti-money laundering supervision. The supervisor's identity should be verified rather than simply asserted by the firm.

Bodies and certificates in United Kingdom

Local wordingIssuing bodyValiditySource
HMRC Business Tax Account statement of liabilities / lettre de confirmation d'absence d'arriérésHMRC statement of account / confirmation of no outstanding liabilities

À signaler franchement au candidat : HMRC ne délivre pas d'attestation générale de régularité fiscale équivalente à l'attestation française. La pratique britannique, y compris dans la commande publique, repose sur une déclaration sur l'honneur du candidat (self-declaration) complétée par l'impression de son relevé de compte HMRC en ligne. Une lettre HMRC sur demande reste possible mais n'est ni normalisée ni de droit.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)3 months
Where applicable
Official website

Back to the United Kingdom profile

You employ staff in United Kingdom

Describe your requirement. It is put to the partners in that country as an anonymous summary, and your contact details are passed on to the selected firm alone.

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You run payroll in United Kingdom

Submit an application: we review your file, we check the documents required on the ground and we give you an answer, whether it is positive or not.

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