If you run a taxi service or private hire business then you may be interested to know about some changes that are coming into effect from the 4th April 2022 relating to income tax. Full details can be found on the gov.uk website but we provide some information below that we trust you find useful.

Apparently, if you are applying for a license for a taxi driver, private hire driver or a private hire vehicle operator whether your business is structured as an individual, partnership or company from the 4th April 2022 you will have to complete a tax check. This is required whether you are renewing a license, whether you happen to be submitting an application for exactly the same type of license but with a different licensing authority or if you happen to be submitting an application for exactly the same type of license that ended less than 12 months ago.

You will be asked various questions relating to the means that you use to pay tax on any income earned from your private hire or taxi business.

It is worth noting that you cannot use the likes of a tax adviser to do this for you – it must be done by yourself. A code will be provided once the tax check has been completed that you must provide to the licensing authority when completing the application. If you do not provide such a code then a license will not be granted.

You will be required to obtain a Government Gateway user ID as well as a password in order that you are able to complete a tax check.

Bear in mind that if you pay tax via PAYE then it will not be necessary to check your records.

We do hope that the above information has been of some benefit. As we said earlier, more information can be found on the gov.uk website.