Tax disputes barrister.
Tax barristers for HMRC tax investigations, tax litigation and tax tribunal appeals, instructed by individuals, accountants, in house teams and any law firm handling complex tax matters.
Specialist tax counsel for HMRC tax disputes
Clerk and Counsel is a clerking agency that places specialist tax barristers on tax disputes across England and Wales. Our panel is built for HMRC tax enquiries, tax investigations, tax tribunal appeals and higher tax litigation, whether the client is a private individual, a family business, a plc or an accountancy practice bringing tax matters through on behalf of clients.
Tax disputes rarely stand still. Once HMRC has opened an enquiry or issued an assessment, the timetable is driven by statute rather than commercial preference. Bringing tax counsel in early gives the disclosure strategy a shape, identifies which arguments will actually run at the First-tier Tax Tribunal, and prevents avoidable concessions during the correspondence stage. That is where a proven track record in tax appeals genuinely changes the outcome.
We work with any law firm that needs specialist tax counsel to sit alongside its own team, and we work directly with taxpayers on Public Access where a solicitor is not required. The instruction can be for a written opinion, for drafting the Notice of Appeal, for managing appeals through case management, or for full representation at hearing.
HMRC tax disputes, investigations and appeals
HMRC tax enquiries and investigations
Code of Practice 8 and Code of Practice 9 tax investigations, discovery assessments, information notices and closure notice applications.
Tax tribunal appeals
First-tier Tribunal Tax Chamber appeals across direct and indirect tax, from case management through to substantive hearing.
Tax litigation in the higher courts
Upper Tribunal Tax and Chancery Chamber appeals, judicial review of HMRC decisions and Chancery Division tax litigation.
VAT and indirect tax
VAT registration, partial exemption, MTIC, customs and excise duty and cross border indirect tax appeals.
Residence, domicile and offshore matters
Statutory residence test disputes, remittance basis, offshore structures and complex tax involving trusts and non domiciled taxpayers.
Employment status and IR35
Off payroll working, employment status determinations and personal service company assessments.
Property tax and SDLT
SDLT liability, group relief, chargeable consideration, ATED and property investment tax disputes.
Penalties and settlement
Behavioural penalty appeals, suspension applications and contract settlement negotiations with HMRC.
Members of our 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 tribunal appeals and technically demanding written advice, and silks for the largest tax litigation, Upper Tribunal appeals and lead cases turning on statutory construction.
Members of our panel include tax counsel with backgrounds in the Government Legal Department, in leading commercial chambers and in the tax departments of major accountancy firms. Between them the panel covers every substantive area of UK tax law, from personal tax and IHT through to the most complex tax structuring points affecting multinationals.
When you send us a tax case we shortlist counsel by hearing date, court, subject matter and budget rather than by seniority alone. If the tax matter is a discrete point of statutory construction we will often recommend a specialist junior over a generalist silk. If HMRC has instructed leading counsel then we match that seniority.
Where tax disputes are heard
London tax hearings dominate the panel diary. The First-tier Tribunal Tax Chamber sits at Taylor House on Rosebery Avenue for most direct and indirect tax appeals. The Upper Tribunal Tax and Chancery Chamber and the Chancery Division sit at the Rolls Building. Judicial review of HMRC decisions is heard in the Administrative Court at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Outside London the tribunal sits regionally in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh and elsewhere. Counsel from the panel travels to any regional hearing centre, and case management and shorter interlocutory hearings are now routinely listed on video, which keeps travel costs off the tax case budget.
For accountancy practices and solicitors outside London, instructing London based tax counsel no longer carries the friction it once did. Papers are exchanged electronically, conferences are held on video, and only the substantive hearing requires an attendance.
Fixed fee tax advice and managing appeals
Every fee is agreed in writing before any work begins. A fixed fee 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 shorter case management hearings through to three thousand five hundred pounds plus VAT for a full day tribunal appeal, with refreshers for longer cases. Managing appeals across a full timetable, from Notice of Appeal to hearing, is quoted as a staged package so the client always knows the next number.
Please note that complex tax investigations, particularly Code of Practice 8 and 9 cases with rolling HMRC disclosure, are quoted stage by stage rather than as a single fixed fee. We think that is more honest than a headline number that has to be revised every time HMRC issues a new information notice.
Tax laws move quickly. Finance Act changes, tribunal decisions and HMRC guidance updates all feed into the strategy on any live tax case, and counsel on the panel keep close to those developments so the advice does not go stale between conference and hearing.
If you have a tax dispute that needs counsel, send us the HMRC correspondence, any assessment or decision letter, and a short chronology. We will come back with a shortlist of tax barristers, an indicative fixed fee where Public Access fits, and confirmation of conflict check timing.
Every barrister we place is regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Clerk and Counsel is a clerking agency and does not provide legal services itself.
Tax disputes barrister, common questions
When should I instruct a tax disputes barrister?
Instruct tax counsel as soon as HMRC opens an enquiry, issues an assessment, or intimates a penalty. Early input on tax matters shapes the disclosure strategy and often narrows the issues before the tribunal stage.
Do you offer a fixed fee for tax appeals?
Yes. For most tax appeals and written opinions we agree a fixed fee in writing before any work begins. Complex tax investigations with rolling document review are quoted in stages.
Can a tax barrister act without a solicitor?
Under Public Access, tax counsel can be instructed directly by individuals, accountants and in house teams for advice, correspondence with HMRC and representation at the First-tier Tax Tribunal and Upper Tribunal.
Do members of our panel cover VAT as well as direct tax?
Members of our panel include counsel across income tax, corporation tax, capital gains, SDLT, VAT, customs duties and cross border residence and domicile disputes.
Where are tax tribunal hearings held?
The First-tier Tribunal Tax Chamber principally sits at Taylor House in London with regional hearing centres nationally. Upper Tribunal appeals sit at the Rolls Building.