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Government scheme "deliberately" excludes thousands from support
Government scheme "deliberately" excludes thousands from support An accountant has warned that the Government has deliberately excluded thousands of directors from benefiting from its furlough scheme. Annual payroll schemes are used where an employee (typically a director) would …
Making Tax Digital (MTD) update
Making Tax Digital (MTD) update HMRC announced on 31st January the outcome of a 6 month long consultation on its MTD implementation plans. During the consultation process a number of objections were raised including cost and complexity for businesses, the turnover thre…
Tax-Free Childcare
Tax-free childcare Way back in 2013 the government proposed tax free childcare for working parents. It’s been an extended gestation period for this tax break, but after numerous amendments and a legal challenge the scheme is on the verge of being launched. The sch…
5 Reasons to do your tax return early this year
5 Reasons to do your tax return early this year Across Britain there’s more than 11 million people required to submit a self-assessment tax return, and as many as 400,000 file their online self-assessment tax return on deadline day. For many of those people 31st January …
Autumn Statement Summary
Autumn Statement Summary In his first Autumn Statement Philip Hammond announced that it would also be the last. The budget will be moved to the Autumn, replacing the Autumn statement, and in the budget’s place will be a Spring statement. Confused? L…
Marriage Allowance
Marriage Allowance Questions for couples: Are you married or in a civil partnership? Is your income less than £11,000 per year Is your partner’s income between £11,001 and £43,000 per year? If you answered yes to all three questions then y…
Changes to reclaiming VAT on entertaining
Changes to reclaiming VAT on entertaining As a general rule input VAT cannot be reclaimed on entertaining customers; the VAT element of entertaining can only be claimed when it relates to staff. However following a European Court of Justice case (Just in case …
Separating a business for VAT purposes
A question that is sometimes asked is that where an individual has two distinct trades within their business then is it possible to split the business into two? Often this question is borne from commercial reasons, such as a desire to accurately see how much profit each trade i…
Changes to diesel advisory fuel rates
For the quarter that commenced 1 September 2016 HMRC announced changes to the advisory fuel rates for some diesel cars; there was a 1p per mile increase for diesel car with an engine size over 1600cc. Advisory fuel rates can be used to calculate the fuel element of business mil…
Making Tax Digital - Update
In our June blog we told you about HMRC’s plans for Making Tax digital (MTD), the Government’s plan to have all businesses and individuals subject to self-assessment submitting their income and expenses electronically and quarterly by 2020. We prom…
The Brexit Effect
As the UK comes to terms with the implications of a vote to leave the EU we look at how it might affect your tax bills. Note the emphasis on might, it’s too early to comment with any certainty on post Brexit Britain’s economic future. In the run up …
Class 2 NIC Payments
Are you wondering why your class 2 NIC payments have stopped? Self-employed people who are liable to pay national insurance have to pay Class 2 National Insurance Contributions. In 2015/16 HMRC collected these payments by monthly or quarterly direct debits equating to …
Employment allowances changes
The employment allowance was introduced in April 2014 by the government to reduce employer national insurance burdens for employers. The allowance was originally worth up to £2,000, and was increased to £3,000 from 6 April 2016. However the government announce…
Dividend Tax Payments On Account
Dividend tax payments on account Owners of limited company’s beware, there may be an extra tax bill to plan for in 2018. Director/shareholders of limited companies fall under self-assessment and have to submit a self-assessment tax return every year. A c…
HMRC Digital Tax Accounts
HMRC digital tax accounts From 2016 HMRC has started implementation of its ‘Making Tax Digital’ initiative. HMRC’s objective is to have moved to a fully digital tax system by 2020 where users can interact with HMRC in real time, and ultimately an end …
Private Prosecution
This month we have a guest blog written by Steve Williams of Forrest Wiliams Solicitors based at The Mansfield i-Centre. Private Prosecution More and more companies are becoming victims of fraud, whether it is from a former employee or a cyber attack these crimes can have a devastating…
Inheritance Tax Explained
Inheritance tax explained Inheritance Tax is a tax on an individual’s estate (their property, money and possessions) where it is valued at more than £325,000 when they die. This is known as the ‘Inheritance Tax threshold’. Typically Inheri…
Flat rate VAT
Flat rate VAT For VAT registered businesses one of the schemes available as an alternative to standard VAT accounting. Under standard VAT accounting businesses apply VAT to standard rated sales, and can reclaim VAT on standard rated and reduced rated purchases. T…
Benefit in kind on classic cars
Benefit in kind on classic cars Normal benefit in kind rules on cars apply a percentage based on CO2 emissions to the car’s list price; the tax is then calculated at the taxpayers prevailing tax rate. This can mean that benefit in kind tax on cars with high CO2 e…
Budget Update
What you may have missed in the budget Hiding away in the depths of the chancellors red briefcase, buried under his headline grabbing sugar tax, were some less well reported items that could have important consequences: Lifetime ISAs - From April 2017 those …
Landlord Incorporations
Landlord Incorporations In our last newsletter we talked about the upcoming tax changes for buy-to-let landlords, and forecast a rise in landlords buying properties through limited companies. A study of Companies House and Office for National Statistics data shows 4,560 property com…
Changes to Pay for Employees
Changes to pay for employees From 1 April 2016 workers in the UK aged over 25 earning the minimum rate of £6.70 per hour will see a 50p increase; the government is calling this the National Living Wage. With a few limited exceptions, the National Minimum Wage wil…
CEO Impersonation Fraud
A guest blog post from Ken Feast of RBS Invoice Finance CEO Impersonation Fraud We are currently seeing more and more attempts by sophisticated fraudsters to trick clients into sending their money out of their accounts on the back of emails that on the face o…
Buy to Let Tax Changes
As the end of the 2015/16 tax year approaches landlords are reflecting on the changes announced in the 2015 budget, and what this could mean for their profits and tax bills in the future. The changes were aimed at higher-rate taxpayers, particularly those recei…
Capital Gains Tax for Accidental Landlords
It’s not uncommon for people to find themselves as accidental landlords, whether it’s couples moving in together or being left a property in a will. Whilst the property is being let out income and expenses will be reported on an annual self-assessment tax return, and income…
Claiming VAT on Mileage
Reclaiming VAT on Mileage A question that often comes up is ‘can I reclaim VAT on mileage’? The short answer is yes. An employee can use their own vehicle for business mileage and claim an allowance (without incurring further tax implications) up to HMRC’s a…
Dividend Tax Update
The pain of payments on account From 6th April 2016 a new tax on dividends is due to take effect. I’ve written in previous blogs about the operation of this tax, so I’ll only introduce it in brief; instead of the current 10% tax credit system, a £5,000 tax free divid…
Autumn Statement Update
George, what about the….. Much has been reported on the Government’s surprise decision to U-turn on cuts to tax credits in the Autumn Statement. But what about George’s other policies from the summer budget 2015? Here’s a couple likely to affect businesses…
Cycling to Work
Wheely tyred of walking to work? Whether you’re a keen cyclist or cycling newbie, biking to work can be a great way to integrate exercise into your working day. And the good news is that a company bicycle is also tax efficient. The company can claim capital allowances on th…
Pension Pot Options
Is commercial property hot for your pension pot? In 2014 commercial property values rose by 19% (source: Investment Property Databank). Whilst property prices fluctuate, commercial property has historically been a relatively stable investment; research suggests that between 1981 and 201…
Company Car Tax
Emissions admissions In the wake of Volkswagen’s admissions on the emissions of its vehicles the UK is to launch its own investigation into vehicle emissions testing. The Vehicle Certification Agency plans to work with car makers to re-run tests previously carried out and will then comp…
Research and Development
R&D isn’t just for nutty professors If your company carries out research and development (R&D) then you could qualify for R&D tax credits that may reduce your company’s corporation tax liability. Because of size most companies will claim relief within the small or medi…
Becoming a Company
The limits of liability In the summer budget the government proposed changes to dividend taxation for 2016/17, aimed at taxing the owners of companies who are currently paid a small salary (say around £10,000 per annum to utilise their personal allowance) and the remainder of their remunerati…
Auto Enrolment
Plan to relieve your pension tension! Automatic enrolment is a Government initiative to help more people save for later life through a pension scheme at work. In the past, many workers missed out on valuable pension benefits, because their employer didn't offer them a pension, or t…
Company Vehicles
When is a van not a van? When it’s turned into a side road......... Having a company van instead of a company car can be tax efficient, with low benefit in kind rates on private usage, VAT reclaimable on the purchase and subsequent running costs, and annual investment allowance …
Commercial Property
To tax or not to tax, that is the question.... When buying a commercial property the legislation can seem like a bamboozling quagmire of contradictory information. One question that often comes up is “what is an Option to Tax?”. Non-domestic and commercial property is exempt from…
Dividends
There was an unexpected announcement within George Osborne’s budget; from April 2016 the way in which dividends are taxed is changing. Currently gross dividends taken within the basic rate of tax are effectively tax free (taxed at 10% but with a 10% tax credit). From April 2016 t…
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