ACCA Applied Skills · Paper TX
ACCA Applied Skills Taxation (UK) TX Exam Guide
ACCA Taxation (UK), or TX, tests UK income tax, national insurance, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax and VAT, plus tax administration. It is a three-hour computer-based exam, out of 100 marks, with a 50% pass mark. You pass by learning the computation layouts, practising them under time, and using the rates ACCA provides.
TX is a computational paper built on UK tax law as ACCA examines it, under Finance Act 2025 for the June 2026 to June 2027 sittings. It is a three-hour computer-based exam, out of 100 marks, and all questions are compulsory. Section A has 15 two-mark objective test questions. Section B has three OT cases, each a scenario with five two-mark questions. Section C has 40 marks of constructed response: one 10-mark question and two 15-mark questions. So 60 marks are objective and 40 are written or calculated.
The syllabus covers the UK tax system and its administration, income tax and national insurance, capital gains tax and inheritance tax for individuals, corporation tax for companies and groups, and VAT. Administration topics such as returns, time limits, compliance checks and penalties are tested mainly through objective questions. The big computations usually sit in Section C, but the same rules appear in the OT questions too.
Students usually score well when they know the standard layouts cold and apply them calmly. Marks are lost in two main places. One is weak recall of dates, limits and conditions, which costs all-or-nothing objective marks. The other is messy computations that hide the method. Objective questions give no partial marks, so each one needs a careful, exact answer. In Section C, a clear layout earns method marks even when a figure is wrong. Rates, allowances and thresholds are provided in the exam tax tables, so your job is to know when and how to use them, not to memorise every number.
Taxation (UK): chapters and topics
The UK tax system and its administration
The overall function and purpose of taxation in a modern economy
The UK tax system and its administration
Principal sources of revenue law and practice
The UK tax system and its administration
The systems for self-assessment and the making of returns
The UK tax system and its administration
The time limits for the submission of information, claims and payment of tax, including payments on account
- Income Tax Filing Deadlines and Payments on Account
- Interest and Penalties for Late Payment and Filing
- Corporation Tax Returns, Payment Dates and Quarterly Instalments
- Claims, Elections and Record Keeping Time Limits
- Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax Payment and Reporting Dates
- VAT Returns, Payment Deadlines and Default Penalties
The UK tax system and its administration
The procedures relating to compliance checks, appeals and disputes
The UK tax system and its administration
Penalties for non-compliance
Income tax and NIC liabilities
The scope of income tax
Income tax and NIC liabilities
Income from employment
Income tax and NIC liabilities
Income from self-employment
- Badges of Trade and Trading Income
- Adjustment of Profits for Tax Purposes
- Capital Allowances: AIA, WDA and FYA
- Basis of Assessment and Opening Years Rules
- Closing Year Rules and Cessation of Trade
- Trading Losses for Sole Traders
- Partnerships and Profit Sharing
- Class 4 and Class 2 National Insurance Contributions
Income tax and NIC liabilities
Property and investment income
Income tax and NIC liabilities
The comprehensive computation of taxable income and income tax liability
- Income Tax Computation Format and Types of Income
- Personal Allowance and Its Restriction
- Income Tax Rates, Bands and Order of Taxation
- Gift Aid, Pension Contributions and Band Extension
- Cap on Income Tax Reliefs and Loss Relief Deductions
- Child Benefit Income Tax Charge
- Marriage Allowance, Married Couples and Tax Reducers
- Tax Payable, Payments on Account and Interest
Income tax and NIC liabilities
National insurance contributions for employed and self-employed persons
Income tax and NIC liabilities
The use of exemptions and reliefs in deferring and minimising income tax liabilities
- Tax Planning Principles: Avoidance vs Evasion
- Making Full Use of Personal Allowance and Income Tax Bands
- Child Benefit Income Tax Charge
- Pension Contributions and Annual Allowance
- Tax-Efficient Investments: ISAs, EIS, SEIS and VCT
- Cap on Income Tax Reliefs
- Trading Loss Relief and Choosing the Best Relief
- Tax Planning for Business Owners and Inheritance Tax Reliefs
Chargeable gains for individuals
The scope of the taxation of capital gains
Chargeable gains for individuals
The basic principles of computing gains and losses
Chargeable gains for individuals
Gains and losses on the disposal of movable and immovable property
Chargeable gains for individuals
Gains and losses on the disposal of shares and securities
- Share Matching Rules for Individuals
- Section 104 Share Pool Calculations
- Bonus Issues and Rights Issues
- Gilt-Edged Securities and Qualifying Corporate Bonds
- Takeovers and Reorganisations of Share Capital
- Business Asset Disposal Relief and Investors' Relief on Shares
- Losses on Shares and Negligible Value Claims
Chargeable gains for individuals
The computation of capital gains tax
Chargeable gains for individuals
The use of exemptions and reliefs in deferring and minimising tax liabilities arising on the disposal of capital assets
- Exempt Assets and the Annual Exempt Amount
- Principal Private Residence Relief
- Business Asset Disposal Relief and Investors' Relief
- Gift Holdover Relief
- Rollover Relief on Replacement of Business Assets
- Incorporation Relief and Share Reorganisations
- Capital Losses and Loss Relief Planning
- Tax Planning for Disposals: Spouses, Timing and Payment
Inheritance tax
The basic principles of computing transfers of value
Inheritance tax
The liabilities arising on chargeable lifetime transfers and on the death of an individual
- IHT Nil Rate Band and Tax Rates
- Residence Nil Rate Band and Transfer of Unused Bands
- Chargeable Lifetime Transfers and Lifetime IHT Calculation
- Potentially Exempt Transfers and Taper Relief
- IHT Calculation on Death and the Death Estate
- IHT Payment Dates and Who Is Liable to Pay
- Interaction of IHT with Capital Gains Tax and ISAs
Inheritance tax
The use of exemptions in deferring and minimising inheritance tax liabilities
Inheritance tax
Payment of inheritance tax
Corporation tax liabilities
The scope of corporation tax
Corporation tax liabilities
Taxable total profits
- Corporation Tax Basics and Chargeable Accounting Periods
- Adjusted Trading Profit and Capital Allowances
- Property Business, Interest and Other Income
- Chargeable Gains for Companies
- Qualifying Charitable Donations and Dividend Income
- Corporation Tax Rates and Marginal Relief
- Short Periods and Quarterly Instalment Payments
Corporation tax liabilities
Chargeable gains for companies
- Chargeable Gains for Companies: Basic Computation
- Indexation Allowance for Companies
- Chargeable Gains: Part Disposals and Chattels
- Chargeable Gains: Shares and Securities
- Chargeable Gains: Capital Losses and Reliefs
- Rollover Relief for Replacement of Business Assets
- Gains Within a Group of Companies
- Capital Allowances Interaction with Company Disposals
Corporation tax liabilities
The comprehensive computation of corporation tax liability
- Corporation Tax Computation Format and Chargeable Profits
- Accounting Periods and Long Periods of Account
- Loan Relationships and Qualifying Charitable Donations
- Dividends Received and Taxable Total Profits
- Corporation Tax Rates and Marginal Relief
- Associated Companies and Limit Adjustments
- Quarterly Instalment Payments for Large Companies
- Corporation Tax Payment Dates and Interest on Late Tax
Corporation tax liabilities
The effect of a group corporate structure for corporation tax purposes
Corporation tax liabilities
The use of exemptions and reliefs in deferring and minimising corporation tax liabilities
- Chargeable Gains for Companies and Indexation
- Substantial Shareholding Exemption
- Rollover Relief on Business Assets
- Capital Losses and Group Relief for Gains
- Trading Loss Reliefs for Companies
- Group Relief and Corporation Tax Groups
- Intangible Assets, R&D and Other Company Reliefs
- Planning to Defer and Minimise Corporation Tax
Value added tax (VAT)
The VAT registration requirements
Value added tax (VAT)
The computation of VAT liabilities
Value added tax (VAT)
The effect of special schemes
How to prepare Taxation (UK)
Plan for steady practice over several weeks. TX rewards repeated question work more than reading. Use the order below, and treat the exam tax tables as your reference from day one.
- Map the syllabus first. Group the 32 chapters into six blocks: the tax system and administration, income tax and NIC, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, and VAT. Give each block study time that matches how much you find it difficult.
- Learn the tax tables early. Open the rates and allowances ACCA provides and practise finding each figure. Do not memorise rates the exam gives you. Do memorise the rules for when each one applies.
- Build income tax first. Master the layout for employment, self-employment, property and investment income, then the full computation of taxable income and tax liability. Add NIC and the reliefs once the core layout feels automatic.
- Study capital gains tax next. Learn the basic gain computation, then the rules for property, shares and securities, then exemptions and reliefs. Practise the share matching rules until you can apply them without notes.
- Cover inheritance tax and then corporation tax. For IHT, practise lifetime transfers, death and payment dates. For corporation tax, practise taxable total profits, chargeable gains, group effects and reliefs. Write the layout from memory before each question.
- Cover VAT and administration. Learn registration rules, the VAT computation and the special schemes. Learn returns, time limits, compliance checks, appeals and penalties as short lists with exact conditions, since they are tested through objective questions.
- Practise objective questions by topic. Do timed sets of Section A style questions and OT cases. After each wrong answer, write down the exact rule you missed and revisit it within a few days.
- Finish with timed full mocks. Sit full three-hour papers on a computer. Mark them honestly, find your weakest topics, and rework those computations. Check ACCA's current exam guidance before your sitting, because June 2027 is the final sitting of the current session exams.
Time management in the exam
- Treat the paper as 100 marks in 180 minutes, so spend about 1.8 minutes per mark. A two-mark objective question gets about 3.5 minutes at most. A 15-mark question gets about 27 minutes.
- Do not leave all the objective work to the end. Because 60 marks are objective, a rushed finish costs many all-or-nothing marks. Pace Sections A and B steadily.
- If a question is stuck after the time it deserves, flag it and move on. Return to it with the time you saved. Never leave an answer blank, since a wrong answer is not penalised further.
- In Section C, start with the question you find easiest to build confidence and bank marks. Set a firm stop time for each question and keep to it.
- In computations, lay out the full format first and fill what you know. Show workings in a clear order so a marker can award method marks. Do not spend time polishing a figure that is only worth one mark.
- Reserve the last ten minutes or so to check flagged questions and sense-check your main figures, such as a tax rate that looks wrong or a total that cannot be right.
Mistakes that cost marks in Taxation (UK)
Treating TX as a memory exam and not practising computations
Fix: Do timed questions from the first week. After reading a topic, immediately work a computation on it and compare your layout with the model answer.
Using the wrong rate, band or allowance from the tax tables
Fix: Before using a figure, say what type of income or person it applies to. Practise tying each table entry to the rule that triggers it.
Losing objective marks through inexact rules, dates and conditions
Fix: Keep short comparison lists of limits, deadlines and conditions. Test yourself on them regularly and read every option before choosing.
Weak share matching and capital gains workings
Fix: Write the matching order at the top of each share question and work through it step by step. Use a checklist of exemptions and reliefs for every gain.
Ignoring group, associated company and period-length effects in corporation tax
Fix: Underline the company facts in the question first: group links, accounting period length and any losses. Then adjust limits and reliefs accordingly.
Poor layout and no workings in Section C
Fix: Use a standard format, label every line, and show each calculation. Keep workings in a clear order so partial credit is still available when one figure is wrong.
Taxation (UK): frequently asked questions
What does the ACCA TX exam test?
It tests UK taxation as ACCA examines it, under Finance Act 2025 for the current sittings. That covers income tax, national insurance, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, VAT and tax administration. You must compute liabilities and explain the rules.
How is the TX exam structured?
It is a three-hour computer-based exam out of 100 marks, and all questions are compulsory. Section A has 15 two-mark objective questions. Section B has three OT cases of five two-mark questions each. Section C has 40 marks: one 10-mark and two 15-mark constructed response questions.
What is the pass mark for Taxation (UK)?
The pass mark is 50%, as for every ACCA Applied Skills exam. Objective questions are marked all or nothing, so accuracy matters. Constructed response questions can earn partial marks for correct method.
Do I need to memorise tax rates for TX?
No. ACCA provides the tax rates and allowances in the exam. You need to know which rate, band or allowance applies in each situation and how to use it in a computation. Practise with the tables open so that finding them becomes quick.
When can I sit TX?
TX is a session exam held in March, June, September and December. Only limited variants are offered in March and September, while all variants run in June and December. Check ACCA's current information for your variant, and note that June 2027 is the final sitting of the current session exams.