COVID-19 - Changes to notifying an option to tax land and buildings

Contents

• Changes to the time limit
• If you are notifying an option as a business
• If you are notifying an option as an agent

If you are notifying us of a decision to opt to tax land and buildings, you are normally required to notify us within 30 days by either:

• printing and sending us the notification, signed by an authorised person within the business
• emailing a scanned copy of the signed notification

Social distancing in response to coronavirus has made these rules challenging to follow. We have temporarily changed the rules to help businesses and agents.

Changes to the time limit

We have temporarily extended the time limit to 90 days from the date the decision to opt was made.

This applies to decisions made between 15 February and 30 June 2020.

You can email notifications to optiontotaxnationalunit@hmrc.gov.uk.

If you are notifying an option as a business

You can submit the form with an electronic signature but we need evidence that the signature is from a person authorised to make the option on behalf of the business.

Examples of supplementary evidence include emailing the form:

• with an email from the authorised signatory to the sender within the business, giving authority to use the electronic signature
• from the authorised signatory with their sign off in the email and the form
• with an email chain or a scan of correspondence showing the authority given by an authorised signatory

If you are notifying an option as an agent

If you are an agent notifying us that your customer has made a decision to opt and you email the form with an electronic signature, you need to send us proof that:

• the signature is from a person authorised to make the option on behalf of the business
• authority has been granted to you by the business to use the electronic signature

Examples include emailing the form:

• with a current email or email chain from an authorised signatory of your customer’s business, giving you authority to use this signature and send it to us on their behalf
• with a scan of correspondence showing authority is granted by an authorised signatory to use their electronic signature on the form and to also send this form to us on their behalf

Find out more about opting to tax land and buildings.