As we near the end of 2025, the focus moves to year-end activities and now is the perfect time to start preparing for next year’s short-term business visitor (STBV) reporting cycle. HMRC requires annual submissions by 31 May following the end of the tax year, reporting all the business travellers to the UK during that year where you have an approved STBV Agreement in place, and for many organisations this becomes a last-minute scramble to gather information about who visited, when, and for how long. Remember, if you don’t have a Short Term Business Visitor agreement in place with HMRC, but you do have STBVs to the UK, then you need to consider whether you need to apply as soon as possible. Our experts can help you with this.
As global operations expand, it’s increasingly common for companies to host overseas colleagues in the UK for meetings, projects or training. These short visits might seem routine, but they can create unexpected tax and reporting obligations under PAYE (Pay As You Earn). If your organisation welcomes non-UK employees, setting up a smart tracking process now will save you considerable time and stress later in the year.
When an employee from an overseas branch or group company carries out duties in the UK, there may be a PAYE withholding obligation from day one, meaning income tax must be withheld on earnings linked to UK duties. However, HMRC recognise this isn’t always practical and so Short Term Business Visitor agreements can make life a little easier when reporting these visits to the UK, depending on your specific facts and circumstances. The requirements depend on where these individuals are travelling from and a number of other considerations which our experts would be delighted to discuss further with you.
Without accurate records, it’s difficult to confirm who is travelling to the UK and what the implications and obligations are for those business travellers. This raises the risk of non-compliance significantly. This is a hot topic for the UK tax authorities at the moment, so it’s best to get ahead of the curve and start tracking now.
Many organisations only begin to think about short-term business visitor compliance at the end of the tax year. By then, crucial information such as travel dates, cost allocations and the purpose of visits may be difficult to retrieve. This reactive approach often results in long hours, incomplete reporting and an unnecessary administrative burden.
Taking a proactive stance now can transform that experience. Setting up a tracking system early allows you to:
You’ll also gain clearer visibility over business travel patterns, cross-border costs and mobility trends within your organisation. Information that’s valuable for both compliance and strategic planning, all of which activpayroll’s Global Mobility team can support you with.
Effective STBV tracking goes beyond maintaining a basic list of names and travel dates. It should capture essential information such as:
This information should ideally be recorded as soon as travel is planned, rather than after the visit takes place.
Even if your organisation only receives a handful of overseas visitors each year, it’s important to act early. Establishing a clear process now allows time to test your systems, refine data collection and educate internal teams before next year’s reporting requirements take effect. Early preparation means fewer surprises and far less administrative pressure.
At activpayroll, we work with organisations across the globe to simplify the complex rules surrounding short-term business visitors to the UK. Our team can help you assess your current processes, design an effective tracking system and ensure you’re ready for the next reporting cycle. If this concept is new to you but you do have business travellers to the UK, we can also support with guidance and assistance with the relevant applications and reporting requirements.
Whether you need a practical framework to get started or comprehensive support with compliance and filings, we’ll help you put the right structure in place to ensure compliance with HMRC requirements. Please complete our Contact Us form, or reach out to Steph Smith, our Head of Global Mobility, and we will be delighted to discuss this further with you.