Short-Term Business Visitors (STBVs): What UK Companies Need to Know

If someone who normally works overseas is coming to the UK for a short work trip, there are some UK tax rules you should be aware of. These people are called Short-Term Business Visitors (STBVs), and they may trigger PAYE (Pay As You Earn) reporting and tax obligations—even if they’re paid by a non-UK company.

✅ What Is a Short-Term Business Visitor?

A Short-Term Business Visitor is usually:

• An employee based overseas
• Coming to the UK temporarily to work
• Not a UK tax resident
• Still paid by their overseas employer

This could include staff from a US subsidiary of your UK company coming over for a few days or weeks.

🚩 When Do UK PAYE Rules Apply?

As a general rule, if someone is physically working in the UK, their earnings are taxable here—even if they’re paid abroad.

So technically, you may need to:

• Register as a UK employer
• Operate PAYE
• Deduct UK income tax and National Insurance

But… there's a simpler route available 👇

📘 The STBV Agreement: A Way to Avoid PAYE Hassle

HMRC allows UK companies to apply for a special agreement called an EP Appendix 4 Short-Term Business Visitor Arrangement.

If approved, this agreement lets you skip PAYE for overseas staff visiting the UK—as long as some basic conditions are met:

✅ STBV Agreement Conditions:

• The person is resident in a country that has a tax treaty with the UK (e.g. the US, most EU countries etc.)
• They will be in the UK for fewer than 183 days in any 12-month period
• They stay employed and paid by the overseas company
• The UK company isn’t paying or recharging their salary

If those boxes are ticked, you're likely covered by the STBV rules.

📝 Reporting STBVs to HMRC

Even with an agreement in place, you still have to:

• Keep a record of all short-term business visitors
• Submit an annual report to HMRC (called the Appendix 4 report)
• Send it in by 31 May following the end of the tax year (so for 2024/25, it's due 31 May 2025)

❌ When You Can’t Use the STBV Agreement

You can’t use the STBV agreement if:

• The visitor is from a country without a tax treaty with the UK
• They stay in the UK over 183 days
• The UK company pays or recharges their salary
• You haven’t applied for the STBV agreement in advance

In these cases, you’ll likely need to:

• Register for PAYE
• Deduct UK tax from the first day of work

🤔 Only Have One or Two Visitors?

If this is a rare situation for your company, you may be able to apply for a special “NT” (No Tax) code for each individual instead of doing the full STBV agreement.

This is more manual but could be easier for very occasional visitors.

📄 How to Set Up a STBV Agreement

To get started, your company must:

1. Apply to HMRC using the STBV (Appendix 4) agreement form
2. Once accepted, keep records of visitors and send HMRC the annual report each year
3. Make sure you monitor visits—especially if someone visits multiple times

✅ Summary: What You Need to Do