From 4 April 2022 all individuals will need to complete a tax check when applying to renew licenses in England and Wales. If a tax check is not completed, the licensing authority will be unable to consider your application to renew your licence and your current licence will expire.
The government has put in place new tax requirements for certain licence applications from 4 April 2022. This is supported by a new digital service developed by HMRC. It helps people in the taxi, private hire and scrap metal industries to complete a new tax check.
Most people are registered to pay tax and this is about ensuring everyone pays the tax they should, creating a level playing field for the compliant majority. The check should take a few minutes and is simply to confirm that someone is appropriately registered for tax.
You’ll need to complete a tax check when you renew your licence as a:
Further information about the checks on the HMRC website.
A tax check confirms that you’re registered for tax, if necessary. It will ask questions about how you pay any tax that may be due on income you earn from your licensed trade.
After you complete the tax check you’ll be given a 9-character code. This is your tax check code. You must give it to the licensing authority with your licence application — they will not be able to process your application without it.
Tax check codes expire after 120 days, so if you make a licence application for another licence after that time, you’ll need to carry out a new tax check for it.
If you’re a partner making a licence application on behalf of a partnership you must complete a tax check for yourself. Your licensing authority will tell you if any other partners also need to complete a tax check.
You can use one tax check code for more than one licence application, as long as all the applications are for the same type of licence (for example, they are all for taxi driver licences but with different licensing authorities).
If you’re applying for different types of licence (for example, a private hire driver licence and a private hire vehicle operator licence) you must complete a tax check for each one.
To carry out a tax check, you need a Government Gateway user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you start the check.
You’ll also need to know:
Complete a tax check here. You will need to read through the page and scroll down to where it says 'Start Now'.
If you’re unable to carry out a check online, you should contact:
When you’ve completed the tax check, you’ll get a code. You must give this code to your licensing body as part of your renewal. The licensing team cannot proceed with your licence application or renewal until the tax check is completed and they’ve received the code.
Please note, the licensing team will only receive confirmation from HMRC that you’ve completed the tax check, they will not have access to information about your tax affairs.