Revenue officer

Revenue officers are Civil Servants who work for HM Revenue & Customs. They might manage a group of administrative staff, dealing with the tax of individuals and small businesses, or be involved in case work, dealing with more complicated tax affairs of larger companies. Compliance and collection involves tracking down, investigating and dealing with people who try to avoid paying tax.

Also known as:

Tax officer

Work activities

Revenue officers work for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). They aim to help people in difficulty by giving them time to pay what they owe but to enforce payments from people who won’t pay. They are often responsible for a team of administrative staff, helping them to deal with the tax affairs of individuals and small businesses. The revenue officer has a supervisory role, monitoring the work of the team and helping team members to develop their skills.

Revenue officers also deal with case work. A case could involve more complex tax work, for example, the personal tax affairs of a company director or someone running their own business. The revenue officer examines tax returns, checks allowance entitlements and makes sure that the individual involved has declared their income fully and correctly.

A revenue officer might be involved in compliance work. This includes encouraging people to comply with tax laws as well as helping to track down and investigate people who are trying to avoid paying their taxes. In cases of tax fraud, revenue officers help to prepare cases for court action. In collection work, an officer might visit someone’s business premises or home to negotiate payment of taxes that are overdue. If the person cannot pay all the tax they owe at once, the revenue officer can help them reach an agreement to pay over a certain period of time.

Revenue officers could also be involved in customer service, by telephone, in writing or face to face. They might work in a contact centre, supervising a team or helping members of the public to understand tax and giving advice on, for example, tax credits, National Insurance or student loan repayments.

Being able to read, write and speak Welsh may be an advantage when you’re looking for work in Wales.

Personal qualities and skills

As a revenue officer, you’ll need:

Interpersonal skills to deal with staff, other professionals, and taxpayers.
Customer service skills.
Teamwork skills.
Strong number skills.
To be able to manage people and resources.
Effective verbal and written communication skills.
Listening skills.
Strong negotiating skills.
IT skills – HM Revenue & Customs uses computer systems to calculate and record tax payments.
Telephone skills.

Pay and opportunities

Salaries vary depending on role and responsibilities. Revenue officers typically start on around £30,000 per year, rising to £57,000 with experience.

Hours of work are usually fairly flexible, Monday to Friday. However, some duties might require extra hours in the evenings or at weekends. Temporary or short-term work at administrative grades is sometimes available.

Where could I work?

Revenue officers are Civil Servants who work for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Opportunities for revenue officers occur in some towns and cities throughout the UK.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised on the Civil Service Jobs website, in local/national newspapers, and on the Government’s Find a Job service.

Entry routes and training

HMRC runs a graduate programme for trainee tax professional. To apply, you should hold (or expect to gain in the year HMRC is recruiting) at least a 2:2 honours degree in any subject. HMRC also accepts an equivalent postgraduate or overseas qualification. A good place to start is studying for an Institute of Financial Services (IFS) qualification in a college. You will need to be a UK national or meet one of the other Civil Service nationality requirements. You might also be able to enter through the Civil Service Fast Stream development programme.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: working for HM Revenue & Customs is an exception to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.

Qualifications

To apply for the HMRC graduate programme, you must have at least a 2:2 honours degree in any subject. The usual entry requirement for any degree course is:

Two-to-three A-levels
GCSEs at grades 9-4 in two to three other subjects.

Alternatives to A-levels include:

Edexcel (BTEC) level 3 National qualifications
International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.

However, course requirements vary so check prospectuses carefully.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Related careers

Auditor
Excise officer
Tax inspector
VAT officer