Property Quorum: The Deadline Conveyancers Cannot Ignore

There always seems to be something else for conveyancers to think about.

As if getting a property transaction from instruction to completion was not complicated enough, there is another date looming in the diary. For many firms, the deadline for registering with HMRC as a tax adviser is 18 August 2026.

At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking this has very little to do with conveyancing. After all, how many conveyancers would introduce themselves to a client by saying they are a tax adviser?

Yet HMRC's definition is wider than many might expect.

If you are paid to interact with HMRC about somebody else's tax affairs, you may fall within the registration requirements. That can include submitting returns, making payments and corresponding with HMRC on behalf of a client.
And, of course, conveyancers routinely deal with Stamp Duty Land Tax.

Suddenly, something that sounds like a change aimed at accountants and tax specialists becomes very relevant to the property profession.

The immediate question is whether every firm that needs to register is ready for the deadline. The bigger question for Property Quorum is what happens afterwards.

Solicitors and conveyancers already carry an extraordinary amount of responsibility. There are anti-money laundering requirements, source-of-funds checks, lender requirements, fraud prevention, building safety issues, leasehold complications and an ever-growing compliance burden.

Now we can add HMRC tax adviser registration to the list.

There is a reasonable argument behind the change. Consumers should be protected, and people dealing with somebody else's tax affairs should meet appropriate standards.

Yet conveyancers are already operating within a heavily regulated profession. Does adding another layer genuinely improve consumer protection, or simply create more administration for firms already under considerable pressure?

There is also an interesting question about where conveyancing actually ends.

Completing an SDLT return has long been regarded as a normal part of many property transactions. Yet tax can become complicated very quickly. Higher rates, additional properties, mixed-use transactions and reliefs can turn what appears to be a straightforward calculation into something very different.

At what point should the conveyancer stop and say, "You need specialist tax advice?"

That boundary becomes particularly interesting when HMRC itself is requiring certain conveyancing firms to register as tax advisers.

There is also a wider contradiction.

We continually hear that buying and selling property takes too long. Government wants transactions to become quicker, information to be available earlier and fewer sales to fall through.

At the same time, the professionals responsible for making those transactions happen seem to be taking on more responsibilities, more checks and more compliance.

Can we genuinely expect conveyancing to become faster and cheaper while continually adding more to the conveyancer's desk?

It follows rather neatly from our Property Quorum conversation last week about tomorrow's property solicitors. We asked what the property lawyer of the future might look like.

Perhaps we have just been given another part of the answer.

This Thursday, Gareth Wax, Silas J. Lees, Zahrah Aullybocus and myself, Hamish McLay, will be asking whether the profession is ready for the approaching deadline, what the registration requirements mean in practice and whether this is simply another administrative requirement, or the beginning of something much bigger.

Most importantly, we will be asking:
Just how many hats are we expecting today's conveyancer to wear?

Property Quorum is live this Thursday at 10am.

Watch live or catch up afterwards on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@SpillingTheProper-Tea