News
PAYE payment dates11/12/2019 - More...
We would like to remind employers about the electronic PAYE payment dates. The due date for electronic PAYE payments falls on the 22nd of the month and when a payment is made electronically; a payment on the day usually suffices. However, where the due date falls on a non-banking day (weekend or bank holidays) HMRC must have cleared
Capital Gains Tax reliefs for businesses
11/12/2019 - More...
If you are in business as a self-employed sole trader or as part of a partnership, then you will be liable to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) if you make a profit selling all or part of a business asset. CGT is normally charged at a flat rate of 20%. However, there are various reliefs available that can reduce the amount of CGT you are
Basic Income Tax reliefs
11/12/2019 - More...
As we are now almost three-quarters of the way through yet another tax year it can be useful to consider the benefits of basic Income Tax reliefs. This will help ensure that your tax liability is no higher than necessary. We have listed some of the main reliefs below: Pension contributions - Tax relief for contributions to pension
Basic Corporation Tax reliefs
11/12/2019 - More...
There are a significant number of reliefs that can reduce the amount of Corporation Tax your company needs to pay on profits made. Your company can also claim Capital Allowances for assets such as equipment, machinery and cars bought to use in your business. The basic Corporation Tax reliefs include the following: Research and
VAT Flat Rate Scheme capital expenditure
11/12/2019 - More...
The VAT Flat Rate scheme (FRS) has been designed to simplify the way a business accounts for VAT and accordingly, reducing the administration costs of complying with the VAT legislation. VAT is calculated under the FRS by applying a flat rate percentage to the flat rate turnover. The flat rate percentage varies from 4% to 16.5%. There
Inheritance Tax Agricultural Property Relief
11/12/2019 - More...
There are a number of reliefs available that can reduce liability to IHT. The most relevant for farmers is the Agricultural Property Relief (APR). Relief is available at a rate of 100% or 50% depending on who farms the land and how long the land has been owned. The APR can be claimed on assets including: farming land or pasture that
When National Insurance Credits can be claimed
11/12/2019 - More...
National Insurance credits can help qualifying applicants to fill gaps in their National Insurance record. This can assist taxpayers to build up the amount of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions and thus increase the amount of benefits a person is entitled to receive, for example, the State Pension. National Insurance
X-factor Charity single
11/12/2019 - More...
The Government will waive the VAT equivalent on the sales of this year’s X Factor Celebrity Christmas Charity single. All proceeds from the sale of the single are going to two children’s charities; Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Children’s Hospices. Both charities provide support for the families of children
Updated calculator on calculating holiday entitlement
05/12/2019 - More...
The Government has published a revised holiday entitlement calculator, intended as a temporary replacement while the original calculator “undergoes maintenance”, to enable workers to calculate the minimum statutory annual leave they should receive based on their time in employment. The calculator is accompanied by online
Shared parental leave entitlements
04/12/2019 - More...
The shared parental leave and pay rules offer working parents’ far greater choice as to how they share the care of their child and take time off work during the first year of their child’s life. The rules apply equally for children that have been adopted. There are various work and pay criteria that must be met in order to be
Child Benefit tax charge
04/12/2019 - More...
The High Income Child Benefit tax charge could apply to you or your partner if either of your individual taxable earnings 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
Loss of tax personal allowance
04/12/2019 - More...
If your income is expected to exceed £100,000 for the first time, we would like to remind you of the effects this can have on your personal allowance and marginal tax rate. If you earn over £100,000 in any tax year, your personal allowance is gradually reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over
New advisory fuel rates published
04/12/2019 - More...
Advisory fuel rates are intended to reflect actual average fuel costs and are updated quarterly. The rates can be used by employers who reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars or where employees are required to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel. HMRC accepts there is no taxable profit and no Class 1A
Accounting periods if company has two or more trades
04/12/2019 - More...
A tax accounting period for Corporation Tax purposes cannot exceed a 12 month period. If company accounts cover less than 12 months then the accounting period will normally end on the same day, and thus will be shorter than 12 months. This can happen if the company stops trading or shortens its company’s year-end: also known as its
Income excluded from property business
04/12/2019 - More...
HMRC publishes a list of income streams that are excluded from a UK property businesses' taxable income. The list includes fishing concerns, hotels and guest houses, tied premises, caravan sites, lodgers and tenants in your own home, extra services to tenants and letting surplus trade accommodation. In most cases the income from these
When Inheritance Tax applies to pensions
04/12/2019 - More...
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is levied on a person’s estate when they die and can also be payable during a person’s lifetime on certain trusts and gifts. The rate of Inheritance Tax payable is 40% on death and 20% on lifetime gifts. There is a nil-rate band, currently £325,000 below which no Inheritance Tax is payable. A
Tax Diary December 2019/January 2020
28/11/2019 - More...
1 December 2019 - Due date for Corporation Tax payable for the year ended 28 February 2019. 19 December 2019 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 December 2019. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 December 2019) 19 December 2019 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 December
Affected by the recent floods?
27/11/2019 - More...
The Government has put a number of emergency flood measures in place to help those affected by the recent devastating floods. This includes 100% council tax and business rates relief and emergency funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Affected taxpayers should also contact the Business Payment Support
Avoiding tax scams
27/11/2019 - More...
Fraudsters are continuing to target taxpayers with scam emails in advance of the 31 January deadline for submission of Self-Assessment returns. In fact, over the last year, HMRC received nearly 900,000 reports about suspicious HMRC contacts. A number of these scams purport to tell taxpayers they are due a rebate / refund of tax from
Using your own vehicle for work?
27/11/2019 - 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. It is usually 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 you own vehicle, be it a car, van, motorcycle
