SAM101270 - Records: maintain taxpayer record: maintaining addresses
Source: gov.uk (2025-12-11)


This subject consists of the following

Types of address (#IDA4YIGG)Long address (#IDAE0IGG)Postcodes (#IDAM0IGG)Amending an address (#IDAY0IGG)Abroad signal (#IDAE3IGG)

You should decide, from the list of functions, which computer functions to use to amend the taxpayer record.

Types of address

There are four types of address that may appear on an SA record
- Capacity address - The address of a person or body acting in a capacity role. If a capacity is present, all correspondence will be sent to that address. The SA system can accept details for up to five persons or bodies currently acting in capacity. If more than one person is acting, the first entered will be treated as the main capacity, and correspondence sent to that address
- Communication address - The address to which, in the absence of a capacity, all correspondence will be sent by the computer. You need enter this address on the SA record only where it differs from the base address.Note: If the individual has requested output from the SA system in Braille, audio or large print the address will automatically be shown as C/o Visually Impaired Media Unit (VIMU) at the appropriate Accounts Office site. Advice on the VIMU can be found in Business Area ‘Manage Work’, Section ‘Customer Service’. Whilst the special output signal is set, the communication address cannot be changed.
- Base address - The base address differs for each type of taxpayer
- Business address - The address of any business for which a trade has been set up on the SA record. If the taxpayer has more than one trade there may be several separate business addresses. More than one business can operate from the same address
Note: The customer's base address is used to determine their UK tax residency status: it is therefore essential that the base address matches the customer's residency status. Users should take care to ensure the address matches the customer' residency status and utilise the other address types appropriately.

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Long address

Where the taxpayer’s address is too long to be held in full on the SA system you will have to abbreviate the address. That abbreviation will appear on printed output. There is no provision to issue correspondence manually using the full, unabbreviated, form of the address. You may, therefore, want to agree the abbreviation with the taxpayer.

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Postcodes

When a new address is notified it is important that the complete address including the postcode and the date the taxpayer moved to the address is entered on to the SA system.

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Amending an address

For ‘Individual’ type taxpayer records the address is amended using function AMEND TAXPAYER ADDRESS in the Taxpayer Business Service (TBS) or using NPS if an NPS record is held showing the customer’s UTR, to keep all related systems in line. For non resident company landlords and other taxpayer type records the address is amended in AMEND NAME AND ADDRESS.

When you amend an address, or set / remove the RLS signal, you must ensure that
- You amend the correct address
- All instances of that address, under any of the address types shown above, are amended. For example, if the same address is entered for the base address and business address, or two business sources have the same address
- You consider re-activating the record where it has been made dormant. Detailed advice is available in the Action Guide ‘Dormant Records’ - Re-activating A Dormant Record’ (SAM101093 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/self-assessment-manual/sam101093))
Where the address for the taxpayer is amended on the Citizen Identification (CID) framework, the responsible processing office will be automatically changed, with the following exceptions
- The record is linked to PAYE
- The record is a CPR / EXPAT case
- The taxpayer’s main source is trade or partnership
- A work item exists in the current office responsible for processing
- The Automatic Move signal is set to ‘N’
The technical and / or recovery responsibilities will be automatically moved if they are passive.

If the office responsibility is not automatically moved, a work item will be created on the ‘Potential Transfer Cases’ work list.

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Abroad signal

Where you enter an address on the SA system that is abroad, it is important that you set the Abroad signal against that address. When correspondence is issued by the system to that address, the signal identifies the need to separate that item from mail to be issued at the UK second class rate.

If you want to know which function(s) to use to amend an address
- Select ‘Index of Functions’ on the left of the screen