This April National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates will increase by at least 9.7% for most employees. A full time worker aged 23 or over on the National Living Wage will see an increase of £150 a month. From 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (for those aged 23 and over) and the…Read More
Important Update: the UK Government announced that Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) will now be mandated starting from April 2026, rather than from April 2024. (Announcement dated 19 December 2022.) ————————– HMRC has issued sets of guidance to help those taxpayers likely to be affected by the Making Tax Digital…Read More
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s announced the details of his Emergency Budget Statement today. In helping businesses and individuals tackle increased costs, significant reductions in tax were included. The key points within today’s mini-budget are: Tax & National Insurance The basic rate of income tax will be cut from 20p to 19p from April 2023. This cut…Read More
This week, MPs backed the government’s plan to raise taxes to fund spending on the NHS and social care. These changes aim to raise £12bn annually to help fund the NHS and social care in the UK. National Insurance contributions (NICs) will increase by 1.25% for one year only for employees, employers and the self-employed from April 2022.…Read More
The government has announced details of the fifth grant under the Self Employment Income Support Scheme. Eligible self employed individuals are able to claim from late July 2021 with guidance on how to claim available later this month. When claiming this grant you must declare that: you intend to continue trading, and you reasonably believe…Read More
It has come to our attention that HMRC has increased the number of investigations into Coronavirus job Retention Scheme claims. If you have furloughed any employees, from one person to several members of staff, your claim may be looked into by HMRC. Up to £3.5bn in Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme payments may have been claimed…Read More
VAT payments deferred between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 were due to be paid in full by 31 March 2021. The deferral option was made available as a way of supporting businesses at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses are receiving letters from HMRC reminding them that their outstanding deferred VAT payments…Read More
2020 has seen unprecedented levels of home working, for obvious reasons. Initial concerns over productivity, professionalism and technology have been allayed. When employers (directors, senior executives or business owners) were asked what unexpected benefits had been provided by working from home, 30 per cent reported that their teams have been more productive, while 35 per…Read More
Many business owners took advantage of deferred tax payments during 2020. Whilst offering valuable cash flow support last year, many of these delayed payments are now payable by 31 January 2021. Individuals who elected to defer payment now face a tax payment potentially comprising of: balancing income tax payment for 2019/20 second income tax payment…Read More
Do you trade with countries within the European Union? Are you aware of the changes that affect you from 1 January 2021? Data from the British Chamber of Commerce shows that just 38% of firms have completed a Brexit risk assessment in 2020. This compares to 57% in 2019 and 35% in 2018. Brexit will…Read More
Many employers are receiving letters from HMRC claiming that their CJRS claims are incorrect. The letters are alarming as they don’t explain the error or state which month’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claim is involved. HMRC states that 5% – 10% of claims are believed to be incorrect and therefore those claims have been made…Read More
A new temporary zero rate means that businesses and individuals purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) for protection from infection will not be charged VAT. This measure was introduced on 1 May 2020. It will last until 31 October 2020. The temporary VAT zero rate will apply to all supplies of PPE which are made between 1 May…Read More
Please be aware of a scam email that is being circulated. This email was received by a fellow accountant who kindly brought it to our attention. It could just have easily been sent to a client: Dear customer, Your recent Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme application has been rejected or recalled. Summary of reject justification: “the claimant…Read More
Payments on account that were due on the 31 July 2020 will now be payable by the 31 January 2021. This is an automatic offer with no applications required. No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period. However, at the weekend Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to declare that…Read More
The next quarter of VAT payments will be deferred, meaning businesses will not need to make VAT payments until the end of June 2020. Businesses will then have until the end of the 2020-21 tax year to settle any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. The deferral applies automatically and businesses do not…Read More
