Insights
A busy April ahead .. key dates for businesses and individual taxes
April is very busy month of tax and accountancy front so here is a reminder of key dates:- Businesses 1 April New minimum wage rates kick in – details here Corporation tax main rate increases to 25% and a small profits rate of 19%. More details are here. Substantial changes to R&D tax relief claims
CIC v LTD
Community Interest Companies (CICs) v Limited Companies (LTD) A Community Interest Company is a non-charitable company which purpose is of benefit to a community or a social cause. A limited company, which is one of the most popular forms of business structure, is generally owned by shareholders and the business run with a view to
Top 5 ways to help your team with the cost of living, tax free!
Our top tips of how you can help out your team with managing their cash with these tax free benefits. Here are our top 5! Remember any cash given to employees is taxable (treated as earnings) unless its reimbursement of eligible costs incurred on behalf of the business. Trivial Benefits ‘Trivial benefits’ are tax free
Our top tips to minimising capital gains tax in light of the changes ahead
From 6 April 2023 the capital gains tax allowance is reduced. Currently the rate is £12,300 for individuals – this means that the first £12,300 of capital gains are not subject to tax. This will be reduced to: 6 April 2023 £6,000 allowance 6 April 2024 £3,000 allowance A quick reminder of what what capital
Changes to Corporation Tax from 1 April 2023
From 1 April 2023 the main rate of corporation tax increases from 19% to 25% for those companies whose profits are £250,000 or over. If a company’s profits are £50,000 or less there is a small profits rate of 19% (the same as the current rate). So what rate of corporation tax is paid if
Potentially reduce your tax bill by £252!
Marriage Allowance Tax Allowance Couples who are married or in a civil partnership can claim the marriage tax allowance relief where one spouse earns less than the personal allowance (£12,570) before tax or has no income and the higher earning spouse has basic rate income of up to £50,270. In other words, one of you
‘Killing Yourself for Work’
This is slightly different post for us – trying to attain that mysterious and much sought after ‘work life balance’. Thoughts of one of our team, Claire ‘The strange period of on/off lockdown was a time for many that they learnt two new languages; become an online sales millionaire with their side hustle; or decided
PAYE & NIC Cap – R&D Tax Credits
From 1 April 2021, introduced a cap on SME R&D tax credits, being:- 300% of combined PAYE & NIC liabilities of employees and directors plus £20,000 These caps are for businesses which are claiming R&D tax credits – ie are not paying corporation tax (where they get a reduction from their corporation tax and therefore
Help for your team
As the cost of living hits hard for employees; salaries increasing and recruitment becoming harder for small business owners. Here’s a few top tips to help your team and you as a business owner to support them:- Trivial Benefits ‘Trivial benefits’ are tax free benefits you can pass on to your team and yourself as
Change in entitlement to £125 wfh tax relief
During the pandemic, HMRC relaxed the rules on being able to claim up to £125 in tax relief for working from home. This tax relief was: Basic rate tax payer: 20% of £6 = £1.20 tax relief a week (max £62.40) Higher rate tax payer: 40% of £6 = £2.40 tax relief a week (max
Reimbursing team expenses – when they become taxable!
Reimbursing your team for expenses they have incurred as part of the role working for you is not a taxable benefit. Usually these are such things are train tickets; coffee for the office; hotel costs; etc. However, BEWARE that these reimbursements can become TAXABLE for both you as an employer and your employees if you
The last hoorah for those R&D ads?
R&D Ads HMRC have just announced changes to R&D claims for SME claims which they are proposing take effect from April 2023. The proposed changes (see below) have been brought about due to fraudulent and more dubious claims that have been appearing in recent years. As someone that has been advising on R&D claims
VAT – Flat Rate Scheme – it can save you £££s
VAT – Flat Rate Scheme Choosing the Flat Rate Scheme for VAT is ideal for helping to reduce your VAT bill and therefore increase cashflow. So, how is this different to the normal VAT scheme. Under FRS, you charge your customer, as usual 20% VAT on sales, but you pay over a lower % of
START-UPs: 10 Reasons to hire an accountant for your new business NOW!
10 reasons an accountant can help your start-up business Help increase profitability Help you manage your cash flow You pay the right amount of tax We help minimise your tax bill Getting the right business structure in place We ensure you claim all the appropriate allowances Ensure that reporting and compliance deadlines are met Help
Disbursements or Recharges?
Disbursements or Recharges? When incurring expenses on behalf of a customer or client we have to be sure that the VAT treatment is correct when passing on those charges. Essentially, it comes down to whether an expense incurred is a disbursement or a recharge. What are disbursements? Disbursements are passed on at cost and are outside
Personal Tax Returns and Making Tax Digital
Personal Tax Returns and Making Tax Digital From 6 April 2023 (UPDATE: it has been announced that MTD for income tax self assessment (MTD ITSA) will be postponed to April 2024) all individuals who have a trading business and/or have property income over £10,000 for the year shall be moving to submit their tax returns via
Extracting Funds out of your Company
As we start a new personal tax year, here’s a reminder how business owners can extract funds from their own company:- Salary – a minimal salary of £8,840 per year (2021/22) can be taken which is enough to trigger your NI credits for your state pension, but low enough that no National Insurance contributions are
Have we achieved what we wanted to in the last year?
In the spirit of transparency and honesty (one of our values), we’ve measured what is important to us as a company over the last year, so here is our Impact Report 2020 which we’ve shared with all our clients and team. We’ve seen more and more corporate companies sharing their targets and impact their organisations
VAT Payment Deferral – Helping your cashflow
If your business deferred VAT payments during the period 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 and have still not caught up on those payments, you have a few options available to you:- Pay the full amount outstanding before 31 March 2021; Join the new VAT deferral payment scheme (see below) – opens 23 February;
Self Employed help: Lockdown 2
In light of the Government’s decision to impose a second lockdown, thankfully they have now reviewed and made revisions financial assistance for those who are self employed and businesses suffering due to COVID-19. Per our previous blog, this was significantly reduced, however the scheme shall now pay up to 80% of profits for November, and
Help for SMEs: furlough scheme extended for November 2020
We are very much hoping that this second lockdown does indeed just last the month. The impact already on SMEs is already very worrying, The Government’s help has been revised as follows Furlough Scheme extended for November 2020 As confirmed by the PM on Saturday evening, the original furlough scheme (Corona Virus Job Retention Scheme)
COVID 19 Business Support Update: Self Employed Grant Scheme Extension
Our update on the Self Employed Grant Scheme (round 3?) This extension of the existing scheme covers the period 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021. The grant will be made in two instalments for three months each. One covering the period November through to the end of January and one for February through until
Please no more forced networking, I can’t handle it…
What skills make a good networker? A question I have been asked recently on the back of being referred to as the ‘queen of networking’ (thanks Claire). Looking back over my career, I have always had sociable jobs. This was the thought that sparked my questions regarding my networking success. Are my past jobs the
Making Tax Digital Update
What is MTD? The idea is that all businesses, with a few exceptions, will submit and file their tax returns digitally with HMRC, along with keeping digital records. This will also include individuals who are self-assessed with business and/or property income. Currently MTD only applies to businesses who submit VAT returns with a turnover of
Stamp Duty Land Tax Holiday
Rishi announced a Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday for properties worth between £125,001 and £500,000 last week, which will run until 31 March 2021. If you are buying a property worth £500,000 that will be a tax saving of £15,000!! Remember that the 3% SDLT surcharge still applies for additional residential properties bought, although there
10 Tax Free Benefits for Employees
10 Tax Free Benefits for Employees Work Place Parking – not only on site but also a season ticket at a public car park close to the office Award Schemes – such as a staff suggestion scheme are tax exempt capped at £5000! Reimbursement of relocation expenses – capped at £8000 – including:- Legal fees
Changes to furlough pay from July 2020
For those businesses who have furloughed some of their employees, here is a summary of the scheme changes from July 2020. The scheme ceases on 31 October 2020. July 2020 Employers can bring back employees anytime to work any hours, whilst still being able to claim for furlough up to 80% of the salary (capped
What do Virtual Assistants do and how they can help YOU?
What do Virtual Assistants do and how can they help YOU? “So, what is it that you actually do?” This is a question I get asked quite regularly, and it’s totally fair enough, as the term “virtual assistant” is rather broad! In a nutshell, Virtual Assistants are there to make your (the business owner) life
Working From Home Expenses
Working from Home Tax Relief As many of us are currently working from home all day, here’s a list of what tax free expenses and tax reducers are available, to both employees and self employed: Self Employed/Partnerships Under the simplified expenses rules, if you are self employed you can claim a flat rate deduction to
Business Bounce Back Loan
Here’s a quick overview on the new Business Bounce Back Loan which the Chancellor announced yesterday (27 April). To quote the Chancellor ‘this is a simple, quick and easy solution…” Business Bounce Back Loan This is aimed at supporting smaller businesses who can claim for up to £50,000 (capped at 25% of turnover). This may
Government Support for Self Employed
Details about the Government’s scheme to help those of us who are self employed or a member of a partnership, who have lost income due to COVID-19. Self Employment Income Support Scheme The Scheme shall pay out 80% of average trading profits for the last three years, capped at a maximum of £2,500 per month,
Furnished Holiday Lets/Cottages & Covid-19
If you own a holiday cottage/rental in the UK or EEA, you’ll be aware that yon need to meet certain criteria for this to qualify as a Furnished Holiday Let. However, due to the Covid-19 you may well be experiencing cancellations or alternatively requests for long stay bookings, which can have adverse effects on the
Top tips for making a little cash go a long way
Top tips for making a little cash go a long way Speak to your creditors to arrange extended terms or monthly payment plans Contact your debtors and arrange payment plans for payment of outstanding monies if they cannot pay now Carry out a costs reduction exercise, lose any “nice to haves” Negotiate better terms on
Government support for employers
Looking at the information we can find so far on the Government’s help to employers during these difficult and unpredictable times ….. Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ‘All UK employers will be able to access support to continue to paying part of employees salaries for those that would have otherwise been laid off’. In other words,
Government business support for SMEs
Having gone through the information which is out there with regard to the Government’s COVID 19 business interruption loans and assistance for SMEs this is as much detail as we’ve been able to find. Please bear in mind that the time this was posted, this is the state of play. We’ll keep updating. Small Business
What is IR35 and why may it impact your business?
This term relates to the piece of legislation which deals with a sub-contractor/consultant who has in place a limited company (personal services company) to engage with contracts with their clients, to determine whether they should really be classed as an “employee” for tax purposes. The test being if the limited company (PSC) did not exist,
Guest Blog: Employment Law Changes April 2020
Employment Law Changes from April 2020 – Claire Rolston, CLR Law This Spring not only heralds the daffodils, but also a raft of new employment law legislation. Most of this legislation comes into force as part of the Good Work Plan and is designed to improve the employment rights of casual workers and those working
Reporting and paying capital gains tax on UK residential property
Changes to reporting Capital Gains Tax on UK residential properties from 6 April 2020 If you sell a UK residential property which generates a capital gains tax liability you must report your liability to HMRC within 30 days of completion. In addition, you also are required to pay any tax due within the same 30
10 Very Good Reasons to Use Xero
Are you still using excel spreadsheets, or even worse a shoe box for paper receipts? Below are ten very good reasons why you should make that change to Xero: Automate invoices and reminders for payment Collect payments from customers/clients via direct debit Bank account automatically feeds into Xero Automated cost allocation Dashboard for an easy
5 reasons to invest in management accounts
Management accounts are taken up by the majority of our clients’ businesses. Whether monthly or quarterly, they are absolutely worthwhile. Here’s five reasons why it makes sense:- Give a real-time, accurate overview of the profitability of the business; Tie in with your company’s KPIs and targets; Help forecasting for the financial year; Help support any
UN Sustainable Development Goals and Harris21
Although we may be a small business, we take our corporate responsibilities seriously. Therefore, our core values are intrinsically entwined with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and giving back to the community. We have signed up to the UN Sustainable Development Goals for: Gender equality; Zero hunger; and Responsible consumption and production How do we