Tax barristers.
Specialist tax counsel for HMRC enquiries, tax tribunal appeals and higher tax litigation. Instructed by individuals, accountants, in house teams and any law firm needing tax expertise.
Specialist tax counsel for HMRC and tribunal work
Clerk and Counsel is a clerking agency that places specialist tax barristers on tax matters across England and Wales. Our panel of tax counsel covers the full spread of UK tax law, from routine HMRC enquiries through to lead cases in the Upper Tribunal and Court of Appeal, and every instruction is placed on a written fixed fee where the shape of the work allows.
Tax is a technical area where the outcome often turns on the interaction between a single statutory provision, the underlying facts and the HMRC guidance in force at the time. Members of our panel are chosen for depth in that technical work rather than breadth, which means the tax counsel you instruct for an SDLT partnership point is not the same counsel we would place on a VAT partial exemption appeal or an IR35 status determination.
We work with any law firm that needs specialist tax counsel to sit alongside its own team, with accountancy practices bringing HMRC enquiries forward on behalf of their clients, and directly with taxpayers under Public Access. The tax barrister can be instructed for a written opinion, for drafting the Notice of Appeal, for managing the appeal through case management, or for full tribunal representation.
Areas of tax law covered by the panel
HMRC enquiries and assessments
Responses to HMRC information notices, discovery assessments, closure notice applications and statutory reviews under TMA 1970.
First-tier Tax Tribunal appeals
Direct and indirect tax appeals from Notice of Appeal through case management to substantive hearing at Taylor House and regional centres.
Upper Tribunal and higher court tax litigation
Upper Tribunal Tax and Chancery Chamber appeals, judicial review of HMRC decisions and Chancery Division tax litigation at the Rolls Building.
VAT and indirect tax
VAT registration, partial exemption, option to tax, TOGC, MTIC, customs and excise duty and cross border indirect tax appeals.
IR35 and employment status
Off payroll working rules, employment status determinations and personal service company assessments.
SDLT, ATED and property tax
SDLT liability, group relief, chargeable consideration, multiple dwellings relief, ATED and property investment tax.
Residence, domicile and cross border
Statutory residence test disputes, remittance basis, non domiciled taxpayers and offshore structures.
IHT, trusts and estate tax
Inheritance tax valuations, business property relief, agricultural property relief, trust taxation and estate planning disputes.
Members of our tax panel
Members of our panel include junior tax counsel of five to ten years call for HMRC correspondence, penalty appeals and one day tribunal hearings, senior juniors for multi day appeals and technically demanding written advice, and silks for the largest tax litigation, Upper Tribunal appeals and lead cases turning on statutory construction.
Panel tax counsel come from leading commercial and tax chambers, the Government Legal Department and the in house tax departments of major accountancy firms. Between them they cover every substantive area of UK tax law, from private client and IHT through to the most complex tax structuring points affecting multinationals and financial institutions.
When a tax case comes in we shortlist by hearing date, tribunal, subject matter and budget rather than seniority alone. If the point is a discrete question of statutory construction we will often recommend a specialist junior over a generalist silk. If HMRC has instructed leading counsel the shortlist matches that level.
London and regional tax hearings
The First-tier Tribunal Tax Chamber principally sits at Taylor House on Rosebery Avenue in London for direct and indirect tax appeals, with regional hearing centres in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol and elsewhere. The Upper Tribunal Tax and Chancery Chamber and the Chancery Division sit at the Rolls Building on Fetter Lane. Judicial review of HMRC decisions is heard in the Administrative Court at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Panel tax counsel travels to any regional hearing centre where the tax case has been listed. Case management hearings and short interlocutory applications are now routinely listed on video, which keeps travel costs off the tax case budget and makes London based tax counsel practical for clients anywhere in England and Wales.
Fixed fee tax advice and tribunal representation
Every fee is agreed in writing before any work begins. A written opinion on a discrete tax point typically runs between seven hundred and three thousand pounds plus VAT depending on complexity and document volume. Drafting a Notice of Appeal to the First-tier Tax Tribunal usually sits between eight hundred and two thousand five hundred pounds plus VAT.
Hearing fees run from around one thousand pounds plus VAT for short case management hearings up to three thousand five hundred pounds plus VAT for a full day tax tribunal appeal at junior level, with refreshers for longer cases. Silks are quoted separately. Complex HMRC enquiries with rolling disclosure are quoted stage by stage rather than as a single fixed fee.
Tax barristers, common questions
What does a tax barrister actually do?
A tax barrister gives specialist written advice on tax law, drafts responses to HMRC, advises on settlement, and represents taxpayers at the First-tier Tax Tribunal, the Upper Tribunal and in the higher courts. Members of our panel work on both direct and indirect tax.
When is the right time to instruct tax counsel?
As soon as HMRC opens an enquiry, issues an assessment or intimates a penalty. Early tax counsel input shapes the disclosure strategy, keeps arguments open and often narrows the issues before any tribunal hearing.
Can I instruct a tax barrister on Public Access?
Yes. Under the Public Access scheme, individual taxpayers, accountants and in house teams can instruct tax counsel directly without a solicitor for advice, HMRC correspondence and tribunal representation.
Do tax barristers cover VAT and indirect tax?
Members of our panel include counsel across VAT, customs and excise, SDLT, ATED and all indirect tax appeals, alongside income tax, corporation tax, CGT, IHT and cross border residence work.
What are typical fees for a tax barrister?
Written opinions run from around seven hundred pounds plus VAT for a discrete point up to three thousand pounds plus VAT for complex advice. Full day tribunal hearings typically run between two and three thousand five hundred pounds plus VAT for junior counsel, higher for silks.