How to Get a Copy of an Option to Tax Certificate From HMRC

To get a copy of an option to tax notification from HMRC, you have to fall into one of two narrow categories: the option’s effective date is likely more than six years ago, or you are an insolvency practitioner or a Land and Property Act receiver appointed to administer the property. If neither applies, HMRC will not send you a copy or confirm the option exists, and you will need to prove the position from your own business records.1GOV.UK. Changes in Processing Option to Tax Forms

Why HMRC Usually Will Not Send You a Copy

Before February 2023, HMRC acknowledged every option to tax notification with a written letter, and a business could write in at any time to request confirmation or a copy. That service has stopped. HMRC no longer performs validity checks on incoming notifications, no longer issues acknowledgment letters, and no longer supplies copies of previously filed options except in the limited cases below.2GOV.UK. Opting to Tax Land and Buildings (VAT Notice 742A) The onus of proof now sits with the business that made the option.

That matters most during property transactions. Solicitors used to treat HMRC’s confirmation letter as standard due diligence. Without it, buyers and sellers now depend on internal records, and gaps in those records can delay or unwind a deal.

The Two Situations Where HMRC Will Confirm

HMRC will search its records and respond only when one of these conditions is met:

  • The option is likely more than six years old. If the effective date predates your request by more than six years, HMRC will check whether it holds a record. Older options may predate current ownership or record-keeping systems, and the business may have no other way to verify the election.
  • You are acting under an insolvency or receivership appointment. Land and Property Act receivers and insolvency practitioners appointed to administer the property can request confirmation, but you must include a letter or deed of appointment; without it, HMRC will decline the request.1GOV.UK. Changes in Processing Option to Tax Forms

If neither applies — for example, you opted three years ago and lost your paperwork — HMRC will not respond. Skip ahead to the section on reconstructing proof from your own files.

What to Include in Your Request

If your request qualifies, HMRC needs specific details to locate the record. Vague submissions slow things down or produce no reply at all. Gather the following before you write:

  • The full legal name of the business that originally made the option. This may differ from a current trading name, especially after mergers or restructurings.
  • The VAT registration number of the entity that opted. You can verify a number using HMRC’s online VAT number checker.3GOV.UK. Check a UK VAT Number
  • The full property address with postcode. List each property separately if the request covers more than one.
  • The effective date of the option, if known. An approximate date still helps narrow the search.
  • The date VAT was first charged on the opted property.
  • The date the property was acquired, or a loan taken out on it, by the person who opted.1GOV.UK. Changes in Processing Option to Tax Forms

Insolvency practitioners and receivers must attach the letter or deed of appointment. Without that document, HMRC will not process the request no matter how complete the rest of the submission is.

Who Can Make the Request

The request should come from someone authorised to act for the business: a director, company secretary, sole proprietor, partner, or trustee. A tax agent can submit on your behalf if they hold a valid Form 64-8 authorisation covering VAT.4GOV.UK. Agent Authorisation: Apply Using HMRC Paper Forms

How to Submit the Request

Requests go to the Option to Tax National Unit. Email is the faster route: optiontotaxnationalunit@hmrc.gov.uk. Put “Option to Tax” and the relevant VAT registration number in the subject line so the automated sorting system routes it correctly.5GOV.UK. VAT: Option to Tax Enquiries

If you prefer to post a letter, the address is:

BT VAT
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1WR
United Kingdom5GOV.UK. VAT: Option to Tax Enquiries

Email is the better choice because you get an automated receipt confirming the date HMRC received your message. If you post the request, use tracked or recorded delivery and keep the confirmation. That receipt may be your only proof the request was ever sent.

What Happens Next

HMRC does not publish a guaranteed turnaround time. In practice, searches involving older records or properties that have changed hands can take several weeks. If HMRC holds a matching record and your request meets one of the two qualifying conditions, the unit will confirm the option’s existence and its effective date.

A “no record found” reply is a real possibility. It does not necessarily mean no option was ever made; it may mean the original notification was never properly received, or that the records have not been retained. Either way, without proof of a valid option to tax, you cannot charge VAT on the property’s rent or sale proceeds, and you may be unable to reclaim input tax on related capital expenditure. If that is where you land, get specialist VAT advice quickly — past returns may need correcting.

If You Do Not Qualify: Proving It From Your Own Records

Most requesters will not meet the two criteria, so the practical answer is usually to reconstruct proof from your own files. VAT Notice 742A sets out what you should hold:

  • A written record of the decision to opt, showing when and how it was made — a board meeting, written resolution, or similar — with the property details and the date.2GOV.UK. Opting to Tax Land and Buildings (VAT Notice 742A)
  • A copy of the notification sent to HMRC: the completed VAT1614A form, or the letter or email you used to notify.
  • Proof of delivery. For email, keep the automated response from HMRC confirming receipt. For post, keep tracked delivery records showing the dates of posting and delivery.2GOV.UK. Opting to Tax Land and Buildings (VAT Notice 742A)

The minimum retention period is six years, but HMRC recommends keeping records longer.2GOV.UK. Opting to Tax Land and Buildings (VAT Notice 742A) An option to tax stays in force indefinitely until revoked, and commercial property is often held for decades, so permanent retention is the safer stance. When you notify a new option, use email rather than post so the automated receipt gives you a timestamped record that is hard to dispute later.

If you cannot locate the original notification but can find the underlying decision, VAT returns showing output tax charged on the property, and correspondence with HMRC referencing the option, those together can still support the position. The stronger and more contemporaneous the paper trail, the better your footing if a buyer’s solicitor, an auditor, or HMRC itself asks you to prove that the option exists.