What is a Tax Agent?

The term ‘tax agent’ refers to all individuals and businesses involved in professionally representing or advising taxpayers. This includes anyone who provides tax advice or offers services to third parties to assist compliance. It potentially includes a wider range of professions, from accountants and tax advisers to financial advisers, payroll professionals and legal professionals.

They help customers access reliable tax advice and ensure that they pay the right amount of tax at the right time. By providing good advice and high-quality work for their clients, agents help to build trust and add value to personal and business tax dealings. Many have the technical expertise required and not only carry out tax services such as filing returns but also provide high quality advice to their clients, helping them navigate the tax system by (for example) promoting take-up of the reliefs that government wants customers to use.

high tax agent standards have a key role in the efficiency of and trust in the tax system and are not just about minimising tax error.