What you’ll study


The Foundation Qualifications are ideal for anyone looking to take the first step to a formal and prestigious tax qualification, which can be furthered later with the full ATT Qualification.

Subjects examined within the Foundation Qualifications include:

Foundation in Personal Tax
  • Understanding the income tax calculation
  • Self-Assessment with returns, payment and penalties
  • Different sources of income including interest, dividends, trust income, property income and employment income
  • National Insurance Contributions for employment
  • Pensions including tax relief for contributions going in, annual allowance and the taxation of pension income received
  • Capital gains tax with losses and chattel rules
  • Principal Private Residence Relief
  • EIS from an income tax and Capital Gains Tax perspective
Foundation in Business Tax
  • Introduction to different types of business: sole traders, partnerships and companies
  • Adjustments to profit
  • Capital allowances
  • Sole trader loss reliefs
  • Partnerships and their loss reliefs
  • Flat rate expenses and cash basis for small businesses
  • National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed
  • Understanding the corporation tax calculation including long periods of account
  • Corporation Tax Self Assessment with returns, payments and penalties
  • Loan relationships for a company
  • Company trading loss reliefs
  • VAT registration, time of supply and VAT returns
Foundation in VAT Compliance
  • General principles of VAT
  • Liability, value and time of supply
  • Partial exemption
  • Accounting for VAT including penalties and HMRC powers
  • Bad debt relief
  • VAT on land and buildings
  • Overseas aspects of sales and purchases of goods and services
  • Capital goods scheme
  • Transfer of a going concern
  • VAT Groups
  • VAT schemes
Foundation in Transfer Pricing
  • Fundamental concepts, the arms’ length principle and comparability
  • Associated enterprises
  • Transfer pricing methods
  • Functional analysis
  • Entity characterisation
  • Transfer pricing implications of specific transactions including:  intra-group services; loans; intangible property; and business restructuring
  • Permanent establishments and attribution of profits
  • Adjustments
  • Non-recognition issues
  • Advance pricing agreements
  • Compliance issues

What you’ll study


The Foundation Qualifications are ideal for anyone looking to take the first step to a formal and prestigious tax qualification, which can be furthered later with the full ATT Qualification.

Subjects examined within the Foundation Qualifications include:

Foundation in Personal Tax

  • Understanding the income tax calculation
  • Self-Assessment with returns, payment and penalties
  • Different sources of income including interest, dividends, trust income, property income and employment income
  • National Insurance Contributions for employment
  • Pensions including tax relief for contributions going in, annual allowance and the taxation of pension income received
  • Capital gains tax with losses and chattel rules
  • Principal Private Residence Relief
  • EIS from an income tax and Capital Gains Tax perspective

Foundation in Business Tax

  • Introduction to different types of business: sole traders, partnerships and companies
  • Adjustments to profit
  • Capital allowances
  • Sole trader loss reliefs
  • Partnerships and their loss reliefs
  • Flat rate expenses and cash basis for small businesses
  • National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed
  • Understanding the corporation tax calculation including long periods of account
  • Corporation Tax Self Assessment with returns, payments and penalties
  • Loan relationships for a company
  • Company trading loss reliefs
  • VAT registration, time of supply and VAT returns

Foundation in VAT Compliance

  • General principles of VAT
  • Liability, value and time of supply
  • Partial exemption
  • Accounting for VAT including penalties and HMRC powers
  • Bad debt relief
  • VAT on land and buildings
  • Overseas aspects of sales and purchases of goods and services
  • Capital goods scheme
  • Transfer of a going concern
  • VAT Groups
  • VAT schemes

Foundation in Transfer Pricing

  • Fundamental concepts, the arms’ length principle and comparability
  • Associated enterprises
  • Transfer pricing methods
  • Functional analysis
  • Entity characterisation
  • Transfer pricing implications of specific transactions including:  intra-group services; loans; intangible property; and business restructuring
  • Permanent establishments and attribution of profits
  • Adjustments
  • Non-recognition issues
  • Advance pricing agreements
  • Compliance issues