News
Statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental and sick pay to rise from April 202016/01/2020 - More...
According to proposals set out in a government policy paper, the revised rates for statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory adoption pay (SAP), statutory paternity pay (SPP), statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) and statutory sick pay (SSP) for tax year 2020/21 are to be as follows: the standard weekly rates of SMP, SAP, SPP and ShPP
Tax allowances you can claim for business cars
15/01/2020 - More...
Capital Allowances allow your business to secure tax relief for certain capital expenditure. Qualifying expenditure on cars must usually be allocated to one of two general pools of expenditure. Which pool is appropriate depends on the car’s CO2 emissions. Expenditure on cars with CO2 emissions over 110g/km will be dealt with in the
On your bike – tax free cycling
15/01/2020 - More...
There are special rules involving bicycles for work use, usually referred to as 'Cycle to Work' arrangements. The Cycle to Work scheme was introduced almost 20 years ago to help promote the use of healthy ways to commute to work using an environmentally friendly mode of transport. The scheme allows employers to provide bicycles
Public transport costs and tax
15/01/2020 - More...
There are certain tax rules that it is important to consider if you pay for the public transport costs of your employees. The provision of public transport costs includes season tickets provided for employees, season ticket costs reimbursed to employees, loans made to employees to buy season tickets and contributions to subsidised or free
Money laundering and terrorist financing
15/01/2020 - More...
The money laundering rules are designed to protect the UK financial system and put in place certain controls to prevent businesses being used for money laundering by criminals and terrorists. The money laundering and terrorist financing (amendment) regulations 2019 (MLRs) came into force on 10 January 2020. This updates the existing
What qualifies for First Year Allowances?
15/01/2020 - More...
Businesses can claim a 100% first-year allowance (FYA) on the purchase of certain qualifying Plant and Machinery (P&M). The cash-flow benefit of accelerated tax relief is designed to encourage businesses to invest in capital items which help reduce their carbon footprint by being energy and water efficient. The list of qualifying
VAT - what is a limited cost trader?
15/01/2020 - More...
The VAT Flat Rate Scheme (FRS) has been designed to simplify the way a business accounts for VAT and in so doing reduce the administration costs of complying with the VAT legislation. The scheme is open to businesses that expect their annual taxable turnover in the next 12 months to be no more than £150,000. The limited cost trader
Close down a company by striking it off the register
15/01/2020 - More...
There are a limited range of circumstances when a company can request to be removed from the register (known as being struck off). For example, a voluntary strike-off can be requested by a dormant or non-trading company. A limited company can be closed down by using this striking-off process, but only if it: hasn't traded or sold
Did you file your tax return on Christmas Day?
08/01/2020 - More...
A new press release by HMRC has highlighted the fact that 3,003 taxpayers took the time to file their tax return online on Christmas Day with a further 9,254 taxpayers completing their tax returns on Boxing Day. More than 11 million taxpayers are expected to complete a 2018-19 Self-Assessment tax return this year, on or before 31 January
Last reminder for parents with income in excess of £50,000
08/01/2020 - More...
Parents could be liable for the High Income Child Benefit tax charge if either partner's income exceeds £50,000 and you are in receipt of child benefit. The charge effectively claws back the financial benefit of receiving child benefit either by reducing or removing the benefit entirely. If you or your partner have exceeded the
Don’t forget to pay tax on or before 31 January 2020
08/01/2020 - More...
The 31 January 2020 is not just the final date for submission of your Self-Assessment tax return for 2018-19 but is also an important date for payment of tax due. This is the final payment deadline for any remaining tax due for the 2018-19 tax year. In addition, the 31 January 2020 is the payment date for any Capital Gains Tax due in
Carry forward unused pension tax allowance
08/01/2020 - More...
The annual allowance for tax relief on pensions is currently set at £40,000. The annual allowance is further reduced for high earners. If your income is in excess of £150,000 you will usually have your allowance tapered. This works by reducing your annual allowance by £1 for every £2 your income exceeds
Budget date announced
08/01/2020 - More...
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid has announced that he is planning to hold his first Budget on Wednesday, 11 March 2020. This announcement follows a turbulent period in Parliament that saw the Autumn 2019 Budget pencilled in for 6 November 2019 and then cancelled as Brexit was delayed. With Brexit now looking set for 31
Big changes following loan charge review
08/01/2020 - More...
The Government has revealed that a number of important changes will be made to the loan charge following the independent review of the disguised remuneration loan charge policy and its implementation by Sir Amyas Morse and his team. The review examined whether the loan charge is an appropriate way of dealing with loans schemes (also
New funding for farmers announced
08/01/2020 - More...
Over the Christmas and New Year break, the Chancellor announced that nearly £3 billion of funding is to be put in place to help support farmers once the UK leaves the EU. This cash injection will maintain the level of funding for direct payments to farmers at the same rate as 2019 and supplement the remaining EU funding that farmers
Getting clients ready for Brexit
08/01/2020 - More...
HMRC has published a useful list to help businesses be prepared to import goods from the EU to the UK as we count down to the 31 January 2020 Brexit date. We are then likely to see a fixed transition period until 31 December 2020 by the end of which the Government expects to have a trade deal in place with the EU. The six points of
CGT – Gift Hold-Over Relief
08/01/2020 - More...
Gift Hold-Over Relief is a relief that defers Capital Gains Tax (CGT) when assets are given away (including certain shares) or sold for less than they’re worth to the buyer. The relief means that any gain on the asset is 'Held-Over' until the recipient of the gift sells or disposes of the item. The person gifting a
Annual increases to the National Minimum Wage
02/01/2020 - More...
The government has accepted the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission in full and has announced that it will increase the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates from 1 April 2020 as follows: the NLW rate for workers aged 25 and over will increase from £8.21 to £8.72 per hour – this
Tax Diary January/February 2020
02/01/2020 - More...
1 January 2020 - Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 March 2019. 19 January 2020 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 January 2020. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 January 2020) 19 January 2020 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 January 2020. 19
Penalties for late filing of Self-Assessment tax returns
28/12/2019 - More...
The 31 January is not just the final date for submission of your Self-Assessment tax return but also an important date for paying tax. It is the final payment deadline for any remaining tax due for the 2018-19 tax year and any payment on account due for 2019-20. If you miss the filing deadline then you will be charged a £100 fixed
