What is the tribunal system for tax disputes?
Answered 17 March 2026
Here is a comprehensive overview of the UK tribunal system for tax disputes, based on the available sources.
What the law says
The term "tribunal" in UK tax legislation means the First-tier Tribunal or, where determined by or under Tribunal Procedure Rules, the Upper Tribunal.
The current two-tier tribunal system was established by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (TCEA), which created a framework of specialist Chambers to handle particular types of appeal. Appeals from the Upper Tribunal to the appellate courts are governed by sections 11 and 13 of the TCEA.
The tribunal is a creature of statute and only has the jurisdiction Parliament has conferred on it. Matters allocated to the tribunal by Parliament — such as challenges to tax assessments — must be pursued through the tribunal system rather than through the courts.
HMRC guidance / practice
Structure of the tribunal system
The tribunal system consists of two tiers:
- First-tier Tribunal — hears most appeals in the first instance.
- Upper Tribunal — hears appeals from the First-tier Tribunal, but only on a point of law and only with permission from the First-tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal itself.
The Tax Chamber
The Tax Chamber was created by the TCEA and brought together matters previously heard by the General and Special Commissioners, as well as other tax tribunals that existed before 1 April 2009. This included appeals against National Insurance contributions, employment status, and statutory payments decisions.
Further appeals beyond the Upper Tribunal
Appeals against Upper Tribunal decisions go to the relevant appellate court (with permission from the Upper Tribunal, on a point of law):
- Court of Appeal in England and Wales
- Court of Session in Scotland
- Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland
Upper Tribunal in the first instance
A small number of appeals may be heard by the Upper Tribunal in the first instance, but only with the agreement of the parties and the consent of the Chamber President. These are likely to involve substantial and complex points of law with limited facts to be found.
Statutory review process
At the same time as the Tax Chamber was introduced (1 April 2009), HMRC introduced a new statutory review process, with the aim of settling disputes more quickly and cost-effectively before they reach the tribunal.
Scope of tribunal jurisdiction
The tribunal handles both direct tax (e.g. PAYE/NICs) and indirect tax (e.g. VAT and environmental taxes) disputes. A determination under Regulation 80 (PAYE) can also be used as a vehicle to take contentious points — such as employed vs. self-employed status — to the First-tier Tribunal and the courts.
Citation sources
Citation and commencement 1 This Order may be cited as the Revenue and Customs Appeals Order 2009 and comes into force on 1st April 2009. Amendment of the Oil Taxation Act 1975 2 For paragraph 14(11) of Schedule 2 to the Oil Taxation Act 1975 (management and collection of petroleum revenue tax) substitute— 11 When an appeal is notified to the tribunal, the decision of the tribunal on the appeal is final and conclusive. 12 But sub-paragraph (11) is subject to— a sections 9 to 14 of the Tribunals,
As part of a wider programme of tribunal reform being taken forward by the Ministry of Justice, TCEA created a new tribunal system to replace some tribunals across government. It put in place a framework for a two-tier tribunal system with specialist Chambers handling particular types of appeal. The Tax Chamber brought together matters previously heard by the General and Special Commissioners as well as other tax tribunals which existed before 1 April 2009. This included appeals against National
hat outcome is at least consistent with the analysis in such cases as Autologic.” 28. The important point noted by the Master in [129] is that it is not always possible to bring a tax-related dispute before this Tribunal, as the Tribunal is a creature of statute and only has the jurisdiction Parliament has conferred on it. While it may be an abuse to seek to challenge an existing or anticipated tax assessment outside the Tribunal, because that would be to ignore the allocation of such disputes t
inciple”. This was raised by Mr Hopkins but not really replied to by Mr Avient. The “tax exclusivity” principle starts from the premise that it is for this Tribunal to determine the matters allocated to it by Parliament and in consequence it is an abuse for a taxpayer to seek to have a matter allocated to the Tribunal decided in the courts. The classic expression of this approach is to be found in the speech of Lord Nicholls in Autologic Holdings plc and others v IRC, [2005] UKHL 54, at [11]-[13
Regulation 80 is used mainly where an employer has failed to deduct tax under the PAYE system and there has been no previous direction that the tax in question should be recovered from the employee. (Where there is a PAYE failure then, unless there is a direction, the responsibility for the tax lies with the employer even though the employee has received a gross amount.) HMRC can make a determination of the tax due from the employer, and the employer has the normal rights of appeal. The PAYE Man
prenticeship levy, inheritance tax, stamp duty land tax, ... stamp duty reserve tax , or annual tax on enveloped dwellings . “ trade ” includes every venture in the nature of trade. “ tribunal ” means the First-tier tribunal, or where determined by or under Tribunal Procedure Rules, the Upper Tribunal. “ working day ” means a day which is not a Saturday or a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom. 2
The tribunal system consists of two tiers, the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal. The First-tier Tribunal hears most appeals. Decisions of the First-tier Tribunal may be appealed to the Upper Tribunal provided the appeal is on a point of law and the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal has given permission. When we refer to the tribunal in this chapter we mean the First-tier Tribunal. In this chapter you will find an overview of the appeals and reviews processes for indirect and direct