Foundation Qualifications

The ATT are proud to have launched, in partnership with Tolley Exam Training, the new online Foundation Qualifications in:

  • Personal Taxation
  • Business Taxation
  • VAT Compliance
  • Transfer Pricing

Each Foundation is split into four modules of learning and testing, followed by a final certificate examination. You can work through these at your own pace.

When you have passed the final certificate examination, you will be sent your Foundation certificate, which will demonstrate a level of competence.

Register

You can register as a Foundation student in any of the four subjects, here.

You can register to sit the Final Certificate Examination here.

Online training

Online training is available from Tolley Exam Training. 

Fees for 2017

Registration fee – £50.00

Final Examination fee – £100.00

For information about the cost of training, please click here.  

The online Foundation Qualifications are ideal for those that:

Work in tax:

  • Invest in junior members of staff to extend their knowledge and broaden the work they can do, knowing that the Qualification will be of the high standard set by the ATT.

  • Bookkeepers and other professional staff providing tax services. 

  • Anyone looking for the first step to a formal and prestigious tax qualification, which can be furthered later with the full ATT Qualification.

Work in accountancy:

  • Accountants who wish to enable cross-department secondments to help the tax team during busy seasonal periods, thereby reducing client backlogs, improve fee recovery and improve the audit/accounts-tax handover integration or simply wish to start the move over to tax.

Work in related professions:

  • Lawyers in private client and dealing with High Net Worth Individuals can extend professional and personal knowledge to enhance advice, efficiencies or save on potential outsource costs

  • Surveyors who require an overview of tax knowledge including Capital Allowances

Subjects examined within the Foundation Qualifications include:

Foundation in Personal Taxation (FPT)

  • 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 Taxation (FBT)

  • 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 (FVC)

  • Introduction to registration
  • Definition of supplies
  • Deemed supplies and self-supplies
  • Value and time of the supply
  • Input tax and when to recover
  • Partial exemption
  • VAT records and return
  • Accounting for VAT
  • Penalties
  • Refunds, repayment supplement and interest
  • Land and buildings

Foundation in Transfer Pricing

  • Concepts and Sources
  • The Arm’s Length Principle
  • Associated Enterprises
  • Comparability and Comparability Analysis
  • Transfer Pricing Methods
  • Functional Analysis
  • Entity Characterisation 
  • Specific Transactions: Intra-group Services
  • Specific Transactions: Loans and Other Financial Transactions
  • Specific Transactions: Intangible Property
  • Specific Transactions: Business Restructuring
  • Permanent Establishments and Attribution of Profits 
  • Adjustments
  • Non-Recognition Issues
  • Advance Pricing Arrangements
  • Compliance Issues 

How does it work?

Each Foundation Qualification is split into four manageable modules relating to that specific qualification. The qualification is studied and examined in these four distinct sections, followed by a final examination.  Tolley Online Academy provides training and the Online Exam Centre platforms allow you to work through the qualification to match your pace and other commitments that you may have.

More information?

For more information on the materials to prepare for the Foundation Qualifications, please click here.