ACCA ATX-UK Professional Skills and Ethics Marks

Ethics and professional skills marks in ACCA ATX-UK

ATX-UK has 20 professional skills marks and 5 ethics marks. Section A carries the ethics marks and 10 professional skills marks across all four skills; each Section B question carries 5.

Section A	5 ethics marks and 10 professional skills marks
Each Section B question	5 professional skills marks
The four skills	Communication, analysis and evaluation, scepticism, commercial acumen
In all	20 professional skills marks of 100

Section A

5 ethics marks and 10 professional skills marks

Each Section B question

5 professional skills marks

The four skills

Communication, analysis and evaluation, scepticism, commercial acumen

In all

20 professional skills marks of 100

The four professional skills

Communication: informing and advising clearly in a style and format that suits the reader.
Analysis and evaluation: working through the information to reasons, figures and conclusions.
Scepticism: questioning assertions and assumptions, and saying what further information is needed.
Commercial acumen: weighing the non-tax factors and recommending what is practical for the client.

Where each is examined

All four are examined in Section A. Each Section B question examines at least two of analysis and evaluation, scepticism and commercial acumen; communication is not examined in Section B.

How the course practises them

Every written question here ends with professional skills parts that say what earns their marks, and each Section A style question has an ethics part on the adviser's position. Mia reads those parts like any written part: she shows which points your answer makes, in your own words, and what to add.

Try 3 questions

Short questions in the course’s own format, not ACCA’s: the exam itself is all written.

Question 1 · Course practice question · Administration and ethics2 marks

Administration, offshore penalties and the ethics of tax advice

Dev is a tax adviser in practice.

In which of the following situations may Dev pass on information about a client without the client's permission? (2 marks)

Tick 2He reports to his firm's money laundering reporting officer a suspicion that the client has kept the proceeds of tax evasionThe client's husband asks how large a tax refund the client is dueA firm that is taking over the client asks him why the client is leavingA court orders him to produce the client's recordsAn HMRC officer telephones him to ask informally about the client's income

Question 2 · Course practice question · Tax planning2 marks

Taxes in combination and tax planning

Carys pays interest on several loans in 2025/26.

On which TWO loans does the interest qualify for income tax relief as a deduction from total income? (2 marks)

Tick 2A loan to buy less than 1% of the shares of a quoted trading company listed on a stock exchangeA loan to contribute capital to a trading partnership of which she is a partnerA loan to buy her main residenceA loan to buy a car she uses only privatelyA loan to buy 10% of the ordinary shares of a close trading company

Question 3 · Course practice question · Share schemes and employment2 marks

Share schemes and employment

Greta's employer awards her free shares worth £3,000 in 2025/26 under a share incentive plan. She leaves them in the plan for five years and then takes them out.

What is the income tax position on the free shares? (2 marks)

No income tax on the award or when she takes them out after five yearsIncome tax on £3,000 spread over the five years in the planIncome tax on their value when she takes them out of the planIncome tax on £3,000 in 2025/26, when they are awarded

Questions people ask

How many professional skills marks are in ATX-UK?

20: 10 in Section A and 5 in each of the two Section B questions.

Is ethics examined in ATX-UK?

Yes. Section A carries 5 ethics marks, and the syllabus includes the ethical and professional issues that arise in giving tax planning advice.

Unofficial practice for the ACCA Advanced Taxation (ATX-UK) exam, not affiliated with ACCA. ACCA is a trademark of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which does not endorse this course. Every question here is original. No VAT is charged.

		Normal rates	Dividend rates
Basic rate	£1 – £37,700	20%	8·75%
Higher rate	£37,701 – £125,140	40%	33·75%
Additional rate	£125,141 and over	45%	39·35%
Savings income nil rate band – Basic rate taxpayers			£1,000
Savings income nil rate band – Higher rate taxpayers			£500
Dividend nil rate band			£500

	£
Personal allowance	12,570
Transferable amount	1,260
Income limit	100,000

Days in UK	Previously resident	Not previously resident
Less than 16	Automatically not resident	Automatically not resident
16 to 45	Resident if 4 UK ties (or more)	Automatically not resident
46 to 90	Resident if 3 UK ties (or more)	Resident if 4 UK ties
91 to 120	Resident if 2 UK ties (or more)	Resident if 3 UK ties (or more)
121 to 182	Resident if 1 UK tie (or more)	Resident if 2 UK ties (or more)
183 or more	Automatically resident	Automatically resident

The relevant base level of CO2 emissions is 55 grams per kilometre.
The percentage rates applying to petrol cars (and diesel cars meeting the RDE2 standard) with CO2 emissions up to this level are:
51 grams to 54 grams per kilometre	16%
55 grams per kilometre	17%
The percentage for electric cars with zero CO2 emissions is 3%.
For hybrid-electric cars with CO2 emissions between 1 and 50 grams per kilometre, the electric range of the car is relevant:
130 miles or more	3%
70 to 129 miles	6%
40 to 69 miles	9%
30 to 39 miles	13%
Less than 30 miles	15%

Annual allowance 2022/23	£40,000
2023/24 to 2025/26	£60,000
Minimum allowance	£10,000
Threshold income limit	£200,000
Income limit	£260,000

Plant and machinery
Main pool	18%
Special rate pool	6%
Cars
New cars with zero CO2 emissions	100%
Second-hand cars with zero CO2 emissions	18%
CO2 emissions between 1 and 50 grams per kilometre	18%
CO2 emissions over 50 grams per kilometre	6%
Annual investment allowance
Rate of allowance	100%
Expenditure limit	£1,000,000
Enhanced capital allowances for companies
Main pool first year allowance	100%
Special rate pool first year allowance	50%
Structures and buildings allowance
Straight line allowance	3%

Financial year	2023	2024	2025
Small profits rate	19%	19%	19%
Main rate	25%	25%	25%
Lower limit	£50,000	£50,000	£50,000
Upper limit	£250,000	£250,000	£250,000
Standard fraction	3/200	3/200	3/200

Standard rate	20%
Registration limit	£90,000
Deregistration limit	£88,000

Days late	Penalty
Up to 15 days	None
16 to 30 days	3%
More than 30 days	6% plus a daily penalty at an annual rate of 10%

Nil rate band	£325,000
Residence nil rate band	£175,000
Rate of tax on excess over nil rate band – Lifetime rate	20%
– Death rate	40%

Years before death	Percentage reduction
More than 3 but less than 4 years	20%
More than 4 but less than 5 years	40%
More than 5 but less than 6 years	60%
More than 6 but less than 7 years	80%

Lifetime limit – business asset disposal relief	£1,000,000
investors’ relief	£1,000,000
Rate of tax	14%

Class 1 Employee	£1 – £12,570 per year	Nil
	£12,571 – £50,270 per year	8%
	£50,271 and above per year	2%
Class 1 Employer	£1 – £5,000 per year	Nil
	£5,001 and above per year	15%
	Employment allowance	£10,500
Class 1A		15%
Class 4	£1 – £12,570 per year	Nil
	£12,571 – £50,270 per year	6%
	£50,271 and above per year	2%

Official rate of interest	3·75%
Rate of interest on underpaid tax	8·50%
Rate of interest on overpaid tax	3·50%

Taxpayer behaviour	Maximum penalty	Minimum penalty – unprompted disclosure	Minimum penalty – prompted disclosure
Deliberate and concealed	100%	30%	50%
Deliberate but not concealed	70%	20%	35%
Careless	30%	0%	15%

Up to 10,000 miles	45p
Over 10,000 miles	25p

Up to £150,000	0%
£150,001 – £250,000	2%
£250,001 and above	5%