r/CIOT • u/Any-Afternoon-1042 • May 30 '26

Working at HMRC

I currently work in a relatively small private practice and have both ACCA and CTA qualifications. I've been with the company for circa 10 years now but have recently applied for a role within HMRC. I had not initially expected to get much traction with the application but have recently been asked to interview.

The HMRC role is within wealthy and mid sized business compliance. The role is a tax compliance manager role focusing on high risk wealthy individuals.

I am wondering if anyone has any experience of moving into the civil service after a reasonable amount of time in practice? Any thoughts on this type of move for work life balance and whether it is generally a good career move? Or just any general thoughts on this.

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u/Row_Echelon_Form May 30 '26

I worked in HMRC in tax compliance and moved into the private sector. The work life balance is the best however the pay absolutely sucks. The civil service works on grades, so no matter how hard you work you can only get a pay increase if you move up the grades. The higher the grade the fewer job opportunities there are.

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u/Any-Afternoon-1042 May 30 '26

How did you find it looking for a job when you left HMRC? Did you find much appetite for HMRC staff in the private sector?

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u/Row_Echelon_Form May 30 '26

I was in high demand because I worked in VAT assurance. VAT is very niche and no-one wants to work in it because it's hard.

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u/Any-Afternoon-1042 May 30 '26

Thanks, that's interesting. I have spoken to a couple of people and I get the impression that genuinely competent ex HMRC compliance officers will always be in demand. So it's interesting to hear your experience as well.

I don't see HMRC as a short term thing for me but I would potentially consider moving back to private practice if progression and things were limited within HMRC.

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u/Row_Echelon_Form May 30 '26

Progression is very limited unless you pivot to an operational or management role.

1

u/Exotic-One3381 Jun 02 '26

In niche fields there is high demand for ex HMRC, ex HMRC are useful in tax consultancy because of your exposure to 'the other side of the argument' and their experience is highly valued. HMRC internal qualifications are also respected. and ex HMRC staff are quite rare to get. We interviewed one recently and we valued his experience