Viewing HMRC online forms before completion

31 October, 2022

HMRC has developed a new service which allows HMRC online gForms to be viewed in full before completion.

A common frustration reported to us when completing HMRC online forms is that it is not possible to see the entire form before completing it. Members have reported to us that they often will use dummy data to get through a form to the end, in order to check they have all the necesssary information before completing the form for real. This is clearly time consuming and frustrating.

HMRC has now launched a new service for their gForms which will allow the user to see the whole of the form before completing it. The process is as follows, with the list of gForms where the service is active and the required text set out below.

To view the whole of an HMRC gForm prior to completion, it is a case of finding the form on one of the lists below and either following the link directly, or adding the text given to https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-INSERT-TEXT-HERE. For example, https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-send-details-to-support-r-and-d-tax-relief-claim-for-sme gives access to a dummy version of the form Send details to support R&D tax relief claim for SME.

One of the reasons that HMRC has always been reluctant to provide paper equivalents to gForms is that the forms are dynamic. The exact information required - and thus the screens that you see - is dependent on answers given earlier in the completion of the form. In the links below, it is possible to see what is effect a specimen form in which most screens are shown, but you may find when going through the form for real that not all the information requested in the specimen is required.

The new service doesn't cover all of HMRC's forms as not all have been migrated to the latest gForm standard. HMRC started migrating its forms to gForms in March 2018 but due to the sheer number of forms (in the hundreds) and resource pressures, this work is still ongoing. In general, gForms have save and retrieve functionality and allow agents to work on multiple versions at once. Older forms may be iForms which do not have this functionality. There are still a few HMRC forms which must be done on paper, or online via a webpage without logging in via a Government Gateway.

The a list of common gForms with direct links to the new specimen forms is set out below, grouped by tax. Further down the page is a full list of the currently available live journeys in alphabetical order. If you are looking to see if there is a specimen form for a form you are trying to complete use 'ctrl-F' to search this page.

Update 2 November - if the first screen asks if you want to carry on with a saved form, it may be necessary to answer yes or no before pressing continue. There after it should be possible to move through the screens without entering any data.

VAT

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-claim-VAT-refund-if-not-VAT-registered-VAT126

Corporation tax

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-register-non-resident-company-for-corporation-tax

Mid-sized business help

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-get-help-with-tax-issue-as-mid-sized-business

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-request-growth-support-for-mid-sized-business

Alternative dispute resolution

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-apply-for-alternative-dispute-resolution-to-settle-tax-dispute

R&D tax claims

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-send-details-to-support-r-and-d-tax-relief-claim-for-sme

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-send-details-to-support-r-and-d-expenditure-credit-claim

Corporate criminal offence

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/specimen-tell-hmrc-your-organisation-failed-to-prevent-the-facilitation-of-tax-evasion