STBV (Short-Term Business Visitor) Reporting Due by 31st May

When is an STBV agreement required?

All UK businesses receiving business visitors from overseas that are working ‘for’ the UK business (subjective!) should be operating PAYE for each visit unless they have entered an STBV agreement with HMRC.

This agreement relaxes the PAYE requirement and instead allows for businesses to submit an annual report by 31 May following the end of the tax year, detailing any visitors who spent more than 30 days in the UK but are exempt from UK income tax under a double tax treaty (“DTT”) with the STBV’s home country. Without this agreement, each business visit (even for those exempt from UK income tax) constitutes a PAYE failure.

It is therefore prudent for all businesses with internationally mobile employees receiving STBVs to enter into this agreement with HMRC and track who is visiting, for how long, and the nature of their visits to the UK.

Who can be included on an STBV report?

The majority of STBVs will be exempt and can be included on the report; however, care needs to be taken for STBVs in any of the following cases:

• They are resident in a country with which the UK does not have a DTT
  
  
• They are employed by a non-UK branch of the UK company (the branch is deemed to be part of the UK company, and they therefore have a UK employer so cannot qualify for exemption under a DTT)
  
  
• They spend 60 days or more in the UK and either (or both) their remuneration costs are recharged to the UK company, or they are deemed to be economically employed by the UK company while here (i.e. under the direct control of the UK company for their time here and effectively acting as a UK employee)
  
  
• They are a statutory director of the UK company and attend board meetings in the UK (under most DTTs director’s duties cannot be exempt)

Any individual who does not qualify for STBV reporting should have been added to the UK payroll and PAYE withheld. For most, these can be included on a special annualised payroll (Appendix 8), and for those who cannot, they must be added to the UK payroll from day 1.

What STBV action should I take?

If you already have an agreement in place with HMRC, ensure that you have filed your report for the 2024/25 tax year by 31 May.

For those that do not have an agreement, review any STBVs that may visit the UK and assess whether an agreement is required (usually, the answer will be ‘yes’ – we typically recommend one to be entered to be prudent). HMRC are typically amenable to accepting STBV agreements on a ‘going forward’ basis if there is no tax exposure from prior tax years. Should there be, a voluntary disclosure is recommended and an STBV agreement put in place going forward.

How can TAP help with my STBVs?

As well as putting an agreement in place with HMRC and assisting you with your year-end reporting, the biggest challenge for most businesses is implementing a sufficiently robust process to track your STBVs coming to the UK.

We can work closely with you to find a solution that is right for your organisation, as well as meeting the requirements of the STBV agreement with HMRC. We can also help your internal stakeholders to be aware of the requirements of the agreement, make assessments on whether STBV exemption is available, and manage the ongoing administrative requirements.

Please do get in touch with us should you require any support with your STBVs.