HMRC’s Childcare account can be used to claim free childcare (if eligible) or pay for Tax-Free Childcare. HMRC’s sign in page for the account states that in order ‘…to keep getting free childcare or Tax-Free Childcare, you must sign in every 3 months and confirm your details are up to date’.
There are various eligibility rules that must be met to claim free childcare via the Childcare Account. As ... read more There is useful guidance published on GOV.UK that explains the do’s and don’ts for Standard Visitors to the UK. Visitors to the UK who are classed as a ‘Standard Visitor’ are allowed in the UK for tourism, business, study (courses up to 6 months) and other permitted activities.
Permitted activities include the following:
for tourism, for example on a holiday or vacation;
to see your family or ... read more The Cycle to Work scheme allows employers to provide bicycles and cyclists’ safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The scheme must be offered to all employees and the bike must be used mainly for qualifying journeys i.e., between home and work. However, private use of the bike is also allowed. Where the scheme conditions are satisfied employees can benefit from a significant tax and ... read more In general, there is no Capital Gains Tax (CGT) liability created when a property used as the main family residence is sold. An investment property which has never been used as a home will not qualify. This relief from CGT is commonly known as private residence relief.
Taxpayers are entitled to full relief from CGT when all of the following conditions are met:
The family home has been the ... read more The Inheritance Tax residence nil rate band (RNRB) is a transferable allowance for married couples and civil partners (per person) when their main residence is passed down to a direct descendent such as children or grandchildren after their death.
The allowance increased to the present maximum level of £175,000 from 6 April 2020. The allowance is available to the deceased person’s children or ... read more There is an online service available on HMRC to check your National Insurance Contributions (NIC) record online. The service is available at https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record
In order to use this service, you will need to have a Government Gateway account. If you do not have an account, you can apply to set one up online.
By signing in to the 'Check your National Insurance ... read more The government’s Tipping Act is a step closer to coming into force, as the Code of Practice is published and laid before Parliament. The new Code of Practice will protect the tips of more than 2 million workers giving them a fair share of the tips received by a company.
Millions of UK workers are set to take home an estimated £200 million more of their hard-earned cash, as landmark legislation on ... read more In a recent press release, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero confirmed that consumers are set to benefit from cheaper and more convenient energy deals as part of new measures to create a smart, flexible electricity system to help save money on bills. They said:
“New proposals set out in a recent consultation will introduce minimum requirements for cyber security and grid ... read more Employers can register on a voluntary basis (before the start of the tax year) to report and account for tax on certain benefits and expenses via the RTI system. This is known as payrolling and removes the requirement to complete a P11D for the selected benefits at the tax year end.
Registration is now open to payroll your benefits from 6 April 2024. Effective 6 April 2023, HMRC ceased accepting ... read more A reminder of the changes to Scottish Income Tax rates for the 2024-25 tax year. It was announced as part of the Scottish Budget measures that a new tax band called the advanced rate band will apply a 45% tax rate on annual income between £75,000 and £125,140 and would come into effect from 6 April 2024.
In addition, 1p was added to the top rate of tax and the starter and basic rate bands were ... read more From April 2026, the government will mandate the reporting and paying of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance Contributions on benefits in kind via payroll software. This represents a significant change to the current system and should reduce the administrative requirements and simplify the tax system for both employers and employees.
This means that the 2025-26 tax year will be the last ... read more A UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account can be used by eligible users to view and prove their immigration status online. This may be required to provide proof of your status to employers or higher education providers.
The service can also be used to update personal details or to check what rights you have in the UK, for example the right to work, rent or claim benefits.
You will have a UKVI if ... read more A Post Transaction Valuation Check (PTVC) can be requested from HMRC for an individual to work out a capital gains tax liability or for companies to calculate corporation tax liability on chargeable gains. The request for a PTVC should be made using the CG34 form. HMRC’s guidance says the form must be completed and sent to the address on the form at least three months before the relevant tax ... read more Most self-employed people are required to pay Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) if their profits are £12,570 or more a year.
Class 4 NIC rates for the tax year 2024-25 are 6% (2023-24: 9%) for chargeable profits between £12,570 and £50,270 plus 2% on any profits over £50,270.
A number of categories of people are exempt from paying Class 4 NICs, these include:
People under the ... read more 1 May 2024 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 July 2023.
19 May 2024 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 May 2024. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 May 2024).
19 May 2024 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 May 2024.
19 May 2024 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 May 2023 is payable by today.
31 ... read more The Insolvency Service has recently published information confirming that a total of 831 company directors were banned in 2023-24 for Covid support scheme abuse, up more than 80% on the previous year, and that the average length of director disqualification for Covid misconduct in 2023-24 was almost 10 years.
The Covid Bounce Back Loan Scheme was introduced at the start of the pandemic in 2020. ... read more Business owners that are in dispute with their energy suppliers will be interested in the free support on offer from the Energy Ombudsman.
In a recent press release the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero confirmed the following:
“Businesses will get free support to resolve issues with their energy contracts, as part of government and Ofgem changes to tackle cowboy practices like ... read more HMRC’s free tax app is available to download from the App Store for iOS and from the Google Play Store for Android. The latest version of the app includes updated functionality.
The app can be used to see:
your tax code and National Insurance number;
your income and benefits;
your income from work in the previous 5 years;
how much you will receive in tax credits and when they will be ... read more Employers that take on a new employee need to work out which tax code and starter declaration to use in their payroll software. Incorrect tax codes can lead to a new employee paying more tax than is due.
Employers will require certain information from their new employee in order to ensure that the correct tax code and starter declaration information is entered on the payroll software. In most ... read more HMRC has, for many years, looked to target businesses that deliberately undertake electronic sales suppression (ESS). ESS happens where a business deliberately manipulates its electronic sales records in order to hide or reduce the value of individual transactions.
This type of fraud is hard to spot as it tries to reduce the recorded turnover of the business and the corresponding tax liabilities ... read more The tax treatment of termination payments has changed significantly over recent years. The changes have aligned the rules for tax and secondary National Insurance contributions (employer (NICs)) by making an employer liable to pay NICs on termination payments they make to their employees.
HMRC has announced that it is aligning its approach to providing advance assurance on certain termination ... read more VAT retail schemes are a special set of schemes used by retail businesses to account for VAT. The schemes are used by businesses that sell a significant amount of low value and/or small quantity items to the public with different VAT liabilities.
The use of the schemes can save businesses a significant amount of time in calculating the amount of VAT due to HMRC on each sale. In many ... read more There are special procedures for moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, all Northern Ireland businesses continue to have access to the whole UK market.
There is specific guidance published by HMRC that should be followed for goods that are received into Northern Ireland from a supplier in the EU.
If you are registered for VAT in the UK and receive ... read more New legislation, including three Government backed cross party Acts, came into force from 6 April 2024.
Pregnant women and new parents will now receive special treatment in a redundancy situation, as a suite of new laws are introduced - delivering the Government’s plan to support families and back hardworking Brits.
New laws will protect workers by strengthening existing redundancy protections ... read more When most business owners refer to business profits, they are likely to mean the difference between sales and costs, and more concisely, that sales exceed costs.
However, the word “profits” can prove to be a moveable feast as HMRC, banks and traders will likely have a different interpretation.
For example, do costs include:
intangible overheads like depreciation;
the write-off of ... read more In the recent Spring Budget, the VAT registration threshold was raised to £90,000 (previously £85,000) which means that smaller businesses that did not want to register for VAT, now have an additional £5,000 of turnover they can make each year without needing to register for VAT.
Obviously, if you sell goods or services to other businesses, and they are likely to be registered for VAT, if you are ... read more In a recent press release the government confirmed the following policies to support household incomes from 1 April 2024.
The National Living Wage has officially risen from £10.42 an hour to £11.44. This marks a £1,800 annual boost to full-time workers’ pay packets. This means nobody over 21 will earn less than two-thirds of the average hourly wage increase - putting more money in the pockets ... read more The letters in an employee’s tax code signify their entitlement (or not) to the annual tax free personal allowance. The tax codes are updated annually and help employer’s work out how much tax to deduct from an employee’s pay packet.
The basic personal allowance for the tax year starting 6 April 2024 is £12,570 and the tax code for an employee entitled to the standard tax-free Personal Allowance ... read more You can usually claim tax relief on private pension contributions worth up to 100% of your annual earnings, subject to the overriding limits. Tax relief is paid on pension contributions at the highest rate of income tax paid.
This means that if you are:
A basic rate taxpayer, you get 20% pension tax relief.
A higher rate taxpayer, you can claim 40% pension tax relief.
An additional rate ... read more If you are an employee who is working from home, you may be able to claim tax relief for part of your household bills that are related to your work. If your expenses or allowances are not paid by your employer, you can claim tax relief directly from HMRC.
You can claim tax relief if you have to work from home, for example because:
your job requires you to live far away from your office; ... read more HMRC must be informed when a non-trading or dormant company starts trading and becomes active for Corporation Tax purposes. Companies can use HMRC Online Services to supply the relevant information.
When a company has previously traded and then stops it would normally be considered as dormant. A company can stay dormant indefinitely, however, there are costs associated with doing this and ... read more HMRC has a useful online tool to help UK business owners check how to import or export goods. This online tool can be used by businesses, the self-employed and agents acting on behalf of a business.
Using the online tool you can obtain information on:
the commodity codes (reference numbers) you need to classify goods for import and export declarations;
paying the right VAT and duties for your ... read more If you use your own vehicle for business journeys you may be able to claim a tax-free allowance from your employer known as a Mileage Allowance Payment or MAP. The allowance is paid when employees use their own car, van, motorcycle or bike for work purposes. It is important to note that this tax-free allowance is not available for journeys to and from work but is available where employees use ... read more HMRC has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown on plans to close the Self-Assessment, VAT and PAYE helplines from early April until September this year. HMRC has now confirmed that these helpline changes have been abandoned following feedback from many concerned stakeholders, including MPs, accountants and members of the public. This means that the helplines will remain open as usual for the ... read more Earlier this month, saw the 10th anniversary of the StepChange Debt Charity’s annual Debt Awareness Week. This is designed to shine a spotlight on the causes of problem debt.
The focus on this year's campaign is looking at the main barriers to getting debt advice. This includes understanding that many people can take too long to get the help they need because they:
Don’t understand what debt ... read more The rules for individuals providing services via an intermediary such as a personal service company (PSC) are complex. The rules apply if the worker who provides services to a client through their own intermediary would have been an employee if they were providing their services directly to that client.
The off-payroll working rules usually shift the responsibility for deciding whether the ... read more HMRC has issued an updated ‘news story’ to confirm that, where possible, new legal proceedings and pre-action letters can be served on the department using email instead of post. This measure was originally introduced in April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The update confirms that this is a permanent change and not just limited to COVID-19 arrangements.
New legal proceedings in ... read more The rent-a-room scheme is a set of special rules designed to help homeowners who rent-a-room in their home to create a valuable tax free income stream. If you are using this scheme, you should ensure that rents received from lodgers during the current tax year do no exceed £7,500. The tax exemption is automatic if you earn less than £7,500 and there are no specific tax reporting requirements. ... read more Carer’s credit is a National Insurance credit that can help carers to fill gaps in their National Insurance record. Carers who don’t qualify for Carer’s Allowance may qualify for Carer’s Credit. This may also help carers increase their State Pension entitlement.
The Carer’s Credit is available to qualifying applicants caring for one or more people for at least 20 hours per week. A carer’s income, ... read more Clients often refer to the VAT added to supplier invoices as if it were a cost to their business regardless of their VAT position.
This is true if you are not registered for VAT, you do not have to add VAT to your sales and you cannot recover any VAT you pay on purchases. Under these circumstances, VAT is a cost.
If you are registered for VAT, cash you collect from your customers will include ... read more Most business owners are driven by sales targets and to meet these targets they may be tempted to offer extended payment terms.
For example, if your business grants a customer time to pay - say 60 days - after the services or goods supplied have been delivered, effectively, your money stays in their bank account for 60 days.
Further, if you have incurred costs regarding a sale, which have to be ... read more HMRC is reminding parents that they may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) to help pay for school holiday childcare costs.
The TFC scheme can help parents of children aged up to 11 years old (17 for those with certain disabilities). The TFC scheme helps support working families with their childcare costs. There are many registered childcare providers including childminders, breakfast and ... read more The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is a generous tax relief that allows for the total amount of qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery to be deducted from your profits before tax.
The AIA can be claimed by an individual, partnership or company carrying on a trade, profession or vocation, a UK non-residential property business or a furnished holiday let. Only partnerships or trusts with ... read more There is an online service available on HMRC to check your National Insurance Contributions (NIC) record online. The service is available at https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record
In order to use this service, you will need to have a Government Gateway account. If you do not have an account, you can apply to set one up online.
By signing in to the 'Check your National Insurance ... read more Automatic enrolment for workplace pensions has helped many employees make provision for their retirement, with employers and government also contributing to make a larger pension pot.
The law states that employers must automatically enrol workers into a workplace pension if they are aged between 22 and State Pension Age, earning more than the minimum earning threshold. The minimum threshold is ... read more The usual tax position for couples who live together with their spouse or civil partners is that property income held in joint names is divided 50:50. This is regardless of the actual ownership structure. However, where there is unequal ownership and the couple want the income taxed on that basis a notification must be sent to HMRC together with proof that the beneficial interests in the property ... read more The letters in your tax code signify your entitlement (or not) to the annual tax free personal allowance. The tax codes are updated periodically and help employer’s work out how much tax to deduct from an employee’s pay packet.
The basic personal allowance for the current (and next) tax year is £12,570. The corresponding tax code for an employee entitled to the standard tax-free Personal ... read more All businesses can now move their export declarations to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), HMRC has confirmed.
Businesses who have yet to move their export declarations to CDS will have a transition period to move across, until 4 June 2024. After this date, customs declarations cannot be submitted through the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) service.
CDS is replacing ... read more From the start of April 2024, the government will increase the amount of funding that employers who are paying the apprenticeship levy can pass onto other businesses. Apprenticeships can currently be funded by a levy paying employer transferring up to 25% of their unused levy to a different employer.
Under the new measures, large employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will be able to transfer ... read more 1 April 2024 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 June 2023.
19 April 2024 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 April 2024. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 April 2024).
19 April 2024 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 April 2024.
19 April 2024 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 April 2024 is payable ... read more As well as filing accounts with Companies House, there is an important requirement to check that the information Companies House has about your company is correct every year. This is facilitated by the filing of an annual company confirmation statement. Companies House can prosecute a company and its officers for failing to file a confirmation statement and the company can be struck off. ... read more There is still time to register for the marriage allowance before the current tax year ends on 5 April 2024. The marriage allowance applies to married couples and those in a civil partnership where a spouse or civil partner does not pay tax or does not pay tax above the basic rate threshold for Income Tax (i.e., one of the couples must currently earn less than the £12,570 personal allowance for ... read more If you have taxable income of less than £17,570 in 2023-24 you will have no tax to pay on interest received. This figure is calculated by adding the £5,000 starting rate limit for savings (where 0% of the interest is taxable) to the current £12,570 personal allowance. In addition, there is also a Personal Savings Allowance (PSA). This allowance ensures that for basic-rate taxpayers the first ... read more The Register of Overseas Entities came into force in the UK on 1 August 2022. The register is held by Companies House and requires overseas entities that own land or property in the UK to declare their beneficial owners and / or managing officers.
HMRC has recently published an updated list of the UK-regulated agents who have an agent assurance code and can complete verification checks on ... read more There are special rules which limit the ability to change your company’s accounting year end date. A company’s year end date is also known as its ‘accounting reference date’ and is historically set by reference to the date the company was incorporated. Under certain circumstances it is possible to make a change to the accounting year end and for some businesses this can have trading and / or tax ... read more The replacement of domestic items relief enables landlords to claim tax relief when they replace movable furniture, furnishings, household appliances and kitchenware in a rental property. The allowance is available based on the cost of domestic items such as free-standing wardrobes, curtains, carpets, televisions, fridges and crockery.
In order for relief to be given, four conditions must be ... read more In a recent announcement by the Treasury, it was announced that plans are afoot to deliver up to £1.8bn of productivity benefits by 2029.
The aim is to improve public sector productivity, including releasing police time for more frontline work.
The Chancellor is promoting increases in public sector productivity as an alternative to accepting an ever-increasing bill for public services as the ... read more Leaders from top comparison sites, RAC and The AA will be among those meeting the Energy Affordability Minister to help share new fuel price data and keep costs down for motorists.
Price comparison sites and map apps will have access to this new data as part of the government’s PumpWatch initiative, which aims to drive down prices at the pumps. The scheme will look to make fuel prices, updated ... read more As had been widely expected, the Chancellor announced further changes to National Insurance contributions (NIC) rates for employees and the self-employed.
There will be a further 2% cut in the main rate of Employee National Insurance from 6 April 2024. This will see Class 1 NICs reduced by 2% from 10% to 8%. This is on top of the earlier reduction, announced as part of the Autumn Statement ... read more The taxable turnover threshold that determines whether businesses should be registered for VAT increased to £90,000 from 1 April 2024. The previous limit was £85,000. The taxable turnover threshold that determines whether businesses can apply for deregistration was also increased from £83,000 to £88,000 on the same date. It had been previously announced that the rates would be frozen until 31 ... read more The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) came into force January 2013 and has applied to taxpayers whose income exceeds £50,000 in a tax year and who are in receipt of child benefit. It was announced as part of the Spring Budget measures that the income threshold at which HICBC starts to be charged will be increased from £50,000 to £60,000 effective from 6 April 2024.
The HICBC is charged at ... read more As part of the Spring Budget measures, the Chancellor announced that the duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits would be frozen at the current rates from 1 August 2024 until 1 February 2025. This is an extension to the previous alcohol duty freeze announced in last year’s Autumn Statement that took effect on 1 February 2024 and was scheduled to last for 6 months until 1 August 2024. The ... read more A higher rate of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) applies to gains on the disposal of residential property if the gain falls into the higher rate band. In the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced a reduction in the higher rate that exists for residential property from the current rate of 28% to 24% from 6 April 2024. These rates apply to higher rate taxpayers as well as to trustees and personal ... read more In a move that may partly have been prompted by seeking to mirror a longstanding policy of the Labour party, the Chancellor has announced that the generous non-dom rules are to be axed.
From April 2025, the government plans to abolish the remittance basis of taxation for non-UK domiciled individuals and replace it with a simpler residence-based regime. Individuals who opt into the regime will not ... read more In the Spring Budget, the Chancellor extended the fuel duty cut for a further 12 months to help support households and businesses at a time of high oil prices. The Chancellor acknowledged that the rising price of fuel places a huge burden on families and businesses.
The government was under considerable pressure from consumer and business groups to try and alleviate the pain of high fuel prices. ... read more As expected, the Chancellor has found wriggle room in his fiscal rules that have allowed him to please his fellow Conservatives by reducing the impact of taxation. Not an unfamiliar tactic for a government in a general election year.
The impact of tax changes announced are summarised below.
Impact on personal finances
Further fall in employee National Insurance contributions (NIC)
As expected, ... read more The Chancellor announced pension fund reforms as a further step in the government’s plan to boost British business and increase returns for savers. This includes requirements for Defined Contribution (DC) pension funds to publicly disclosure their level of investment in the UK.
Under the plans:
By 2027 DC pension funds across the market will disclose their levels of investment in British ... read more The first measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCT Act) came into force on Monday 4 March 2024.
Changes introduced include:
greater powers to query information and request supporting evidence;
stronger checks on company names;
new rules for registered office addresses (all companies must have an appropriate address at all times - they will not be able to ... read more HMRC have reversed a previous decision (originally published 12 February 2024) on the tax status of Double Cab Pick Ups (DCPUs), following an earlier 2020 Court of Appeal judgment. The earlier decision, now reversed, had announced that effective from 1 July 2024, DCPUs with a payload of one tonne or more would be treated as cars rather than goods vehicles for both capital allowances and ... read more Companies House has announced that some of their fees will be changing from 1 May 2024. The last change in fees was April 2016.
The fees have been calculated on a ‘cost recovery’ basis meaning that the fees are calculated based on what it costs to provide the services in question. Companies House state that they do not make a profit on their fees.
As The Economic Crime and Corporate ... read more The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is a set of special rules for tax and National Insurance for those working in the construction industry. Businesses in the construction industry are known as 'contractors' and 'subcontractors' and should be aware of the tax implications of the scheme.
Under the scheme, contractors are required to deduct money from a subcontractor’s payments and pass it to ... read more If a company has stopped trading and has no other income, then the company is usually classed as dormant for Corporation Tax purposes.
A company is usually dormant for Corporation Tax if it:
has stopped trading and has no other income, for example investments;
is a new limited company that hasn’t started trading;
is an unincorporated association or club owing less than £100 Corporation Tax; ... read more It is not unusual for taxpayers to find themselves in a position where they disagree with a tax decision issued by HMRC. There are a number of different options open to taxpayers seeking to use the review and appeals process.
Note, that there is a separate procedure to be followed by taxpayers that make a complaint about HMRC for issues such as unreasonable delays, mistakes and poor treatment by ... read more The furnished holiday let (FHL) rules allow holiday lettings of properties that meet certain conditions to be treated as a trade for tax purposes.
In order to qualify as a furnished holiday letting, the following criteria need to be met:
The property must be let on a commercial basis with a view to the realisation of profits. Second homes or properties that are only let occasionally or to ... read more The Government has announced action to tackle the use of controversial 'fire and rehire' practices. In a press release issued 19 February 2024 they said:
“Action against unscrupulous employers to tackle the use of controversial ‘fire and rehire’ practices will be rolled out by the Government today [19 February].
Dismissal and re-engagement, also known as ‘fire and rehire’, refers to when ... read more An experienced entrepreneur has taken up a key role to promote the needs of small businesses to government and ensure suppliers seize the benefits of the Procurement Act.
Shirley Cooper OBE, former chair and president of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, met Parliamentary Secretary Alex Burghart for the first time as Crown Representative for small businesses earlier this month. ... read more HMRC continues to warn of the ever-present problem of fraudulent phishing emails, suspicious phone calls and texts. These unwanted emails, phone calls and texts are being sent from around the world as HMRC and other agencies continue to combat the problem.
These messages aim to obtain taxpayers personal and or financial information such as passwords, credit card or bank account details. The ... read more The Cost of Living support package has been designed to help over 8 million households in receipt of means tested benefits. The details of Cost of Living Payments due in the 2023-24 tax year were published in 2023 and have recently been updated with details of the final payment.
Eligible recipients will receive up to 3 Cost of Living Payments of £301, £300 and £299 during the course of the ... read more Self-employed taxpayers should notify HMRC as soon as practicable when they begin working for themselves. HMRC must be officially notified by 5 October following the end of the tax year so that a self-assessment return can be issued on time and to avoid any unnecessary penalties.
HMRC’s guidance says that you are probably self-employed if you:
run your business for yourself and take ... read more A limited company is a company ‘limited by shares’ or ‘limited by guarantee’.
Limited by shares
This is the most common limited company structure. A limited by shares company is a separate legal entity owned by its shareholders and managed by its directors. In smaller limited companies, shareholders and directors are the same persons. Directors are employed by their company; they are not ... read more Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) applies to the sale of a business, shares in a trading company or an individual’s interest in a trading partnership. Where this relief is available sellers can benefit from a 10% tax charge on exit from their business if BADR is available. When the relief is available Capital Gains Tax (CGT) of 10% is payable in place of the standard rate.
There are a number ... read more In general, there is no Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on a property which has been used as the family's main residence. This relief from CGT is commonly known as Private Residence Relief or PRR. However, where part of the home has been let out the entitlement to relief may be affected. Homeowners that let out part of their house may not benefit from the full PRR but can benefit from letting relief. ... read more Most small business owners are happy, from a financial point of view, if sales are in line with expectations. And there are obvious grounds for this conclusion, after all, if sales dry up there are no funds feeding into cashflow.
Unfortunately, top-line sales are just one aspect of a business that measure bottom-line profitability.
To keep an eye on profitability traders must also monitor costs, ... read more If you are considering selling or buying to or from companies based outside the UK, you may well be overawed by the plethora of regulation you are required to be familiar.
As a first step, you could make use of the GOV.UK website and access HMRC’s “digital assistant”. You could use this to find out about:
getting an EORI number
importing your personal belongings
looking up ... read more A reminder for our readers that the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates will increase with effect from 1 April 2024.
The increase will see the NLW rate increased to £11.44 per hour, an increase of over £1 over the current rate of £10.42. This means the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW will see an increase of up to £1,800 next year.
It was also ... read more The furnished holiday let (FHL) rules allow holiday lettings of properties that meet certain conditions to be treated as a trade for tax purposes.
In order to qualify as a furnished holiday letting, the following criteria need to be met:
The property must be let on a commercial basis with a view to the realisation of profits. Second homes or properties that are only let occasionally or to ... read more The VAT Flat Rate scheme is open to VAT registered businesses that expect their taxable turnover in the next 12 months to be no more than £150,000, excluding VAT. The annual taxable turnover limit is the total of everything that a business sells during the year that is not VAT exempt.
Under the scheme rules, businesses pay VAT as a fixed percentage of their VAT inclusive turnover. The actual ... read more Private pensions can be an efficient way to pass on wealth, but it is important to consider what, if any, tax will be payable on a private pension you inherit. The person who died will usually have nominated you by telling their pension provider that you should inherit any monies left in their pension pot. If the nominated person can’t be found or has since died, the pension provider may make ... read more Class 1A NICs are paid by employers in respect of most benefits in kind provided to employees such as a company car. Class 1A NICs are also due on charge on termination awards above a £30,000 threshold that have not already been subjected to Class 1 NICs deductions. There’s no employee contribution payable for Class 1A NICs.
Class 1A NICs are due in respect of most benefits provided ... read more The government published the Autumn Finance Bill 2023 on 29 November 2023. The Bill is officially known as Finance Bill 2023-24. The Bill contains the legislation for many of the tax measures announced in the recent Autumn Statement.
The Bill has now completed its passage through the House of Commons and the 1st reading at the House of Lords. This stage signals the start of the Bill's journey ... read more The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is writing to some owners of self-catering holiday lets that are assessed for business rates. They are doing this because they need further information about the income and expenditure of these properties.
Last year, the VOA wrote to most self-catering holiday let owners in England and Wales to ask them to provide letting information about their property.
This ... read more As an employer, the tax and employment responsibilities you have for your staff will depend on the type of contract you give them and their employment status.
Contract types include:
full-time and part-time contracts
fixed-term contracts
agency staff
freelancers, consultants, contractors
zero-hours contracts
There are also special rules for employing family members, young people and ... read more 1 March 2024 - Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 May 2023.
2 March 2024 - Self-Assessment tax for 2022-23 paid after this date will incur a 5% surcharge unless liabilities are cleared by 1 April 2024, or an agreement has been reached with HMRC under their time to pay facility by the same date.
19 March 2024 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 March 2024 (If you ... read more As part of the Autumn Statement measures the Chancellor announced that the duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits would be frozen at the current rates until 1 August 2024. This change took effect from 1 February 2024 and will last for 6 months.
The alcohol duty freeze will mean that more than 38,000 pubs will benefit. Not increasing alcohol duty in line with inflation will create an ... read more HMRC has confirmed that more than 11.5 million people submitted their 2022-23 self-assessment tax returns by the 31 January deadline. This included over 778,000 taxpayers who left their filing until the final day and almost 33,000 that filed in the last hour (between 23:00 and 23:59) before the deadline!
Whilst this was the highest ever number of filings, there are still an estimated 600,000 ... read more There are rules that businesses must follow when they are reporting employee changes. These changes must be sent to HMRC using a Full Payment Submission (FPS). The FPS is a submission that is required every time you pay your employees and must be submitted on or before the usual date you pay your employees. The information provided on an FPS helps HMRC ensure that they have the up-to-date ... read more Landlords are able to claim for allowable expenses as a deduction from their rental income when calculating taxable rental profits to declare to HMRC. The expenses must relate wholly and exclusively for the purposes of renting out the property.
There is also a range of other types of expenses that can be claimed as a deduction when paid for by the landlord. This includes general maintenance and ... read more HMRC has published new guidance for taxpayers that regularly sell goods or services through an online marketplace. The guidance makes it clear that this activity could be treated as a ‘trade’ for UK tax purposes. If this is the case taxpayers may need to pay tax on income they earn from buying and selling goods as a trade or business using online marketplaces such as eBay.
If taxpayers are just ... read more If you are an employee and use your own money to buy things you need for your job you can sometimes claim tax relief for the associated costs. Usually, it is only possible to claim tax relief for the cost of items used solely for your work.
You may also be able to claim tax relief for using your own vehicle, be it a car, van, motorcycle or bike. As a general rule, there is no tax relief for ... read more The government department active in the promotion of electric vehicles has published guidance regarding the costs, charging issues and infrastructure. We have extracted a few comments and reproduced them in this post.
Buying an electric vehicle
While a new electric vehicle (EV) costs more to buy up front, today most drivers in the UK (around 80%) will buy their cars on the used market. Industry ... read more
Childcare Account chores
Do’s and don’ts for Standard Visitors to the UK
Bikes for employees
Tax-free home sales
Transferring unused nil rate band for IHT
Checking your National Insurance records
Tipping boost
Smart energy
Payrolling employee expenses and benefits
Changes to Scottish Income Tax rates 2024-25
Taxable employment benefits from April 2026
View and prove your immigration status
Post Transaction Valuation Checks
Class 4 NICs who is liable?
Tax Diary May/June 2024
COVID Bounce Back abuse
Settling energy disputes
Accessing the HMRC mobile APP
Using the starter PAYE checklist
HMRC continues to target till fraud
Termination payment clearance process
VAT retail schemes
Paying VAT on goods from EU to Northern Ireland
New employment protections
What do we mean by profit?
To register or not to register
Measures to support household budgets from 1 April
More about emergency tax codes
Claim tax relief on pension contributions
Claim tax relief if working from home
Restarting a dormant or non-trading company
Online check how to import or export goods
Tax-free mileage expenses
HMRC helpline changes on hold
Assistance with debt management
What are the off-payroll working rules?
HMRC to accept service of legal proceedings by email
Rent a Room Scheme – another income stream
Entitlement to carer’s allowance
We are unpaid tax collectors
Time to rethink the credit you offer your customers
Tax-free child care
Invest and save tax
Check your National Insurance record
Workplace pension responsibilities
Declare a beneficial interests in joint property
What a tax code means
Customs Declaration Service open for business
Apprenticeships boost
Tax Diary April/May 2024
Company confirmation statement changes
Still time to register for the Marriage Allowance
Tax on savings interest
Register of Overseas Entities
Changing a company’s accounting year end
Eligibility for replacement of domestic items relief
Public sector productivity
Tech companies assist with fuel price transparency
Spring Budget 2024 – NIC changes
Spring Budget 2024 - VAT registration threshold changes
Spring Budget 2024 – High Income Child Benefit Charge
Spring Budget 2024 - Alcohol and Tobacco Duty
Spring Budget 2024 - CGT on disposals of residential property
Spring Budget 2024 – non-dom changes
Spring Budget 2024 - Fuel Duty rates
Budget summary 6 March 2024
Pension fund reforms
Companies House rolls-out new powers
Update on the tax status of Double Cab Pick Ups
Companies House filing fees increase
Contractors and CIS
Advise HMRC if company is dormant
Appeals against tax penalties
Holiday Lets averaging election
Crack down on ‘fire and rehire’ practices
A new champion for small businesses appointed
Beware fake tax rebate offers
Cost of living final payment 2023-24
Are you self-employed?
Types of limited companies
Entitlement to Business asset disposal relief
Letting part of your home
Top-line, bottom-line?
Importing or exporting for the first time?
A reminder that NLW and NMW rates are increasing
Checking Furnished Holiday Let property occupancy
Eligibility for the VAT Flat Rate Scheme
Tax on inherited private pensions
What is Class 1A NIC?
Autumn Finance Bill 2023 update
The Valuation Office Agency tackles holiday lets
Full-time and part-time contracts
Tax Diary March/April 2024
Alcohol duty freeze takes effect
Record number of taxpayers file on time
Reporting employee changes to HMRC
Landlords - claiming maintenance and repairs costs
Should you pay tax on selling goods online?
Using your own vehicles for work-related journeys
Government promotes electric vehicles