By Mel Hackney

The deadline for filing a self-assessment tax return is 31 January 2024.

If you aren’t sure whether you need to complete a return, or if you need a return but haven’t got round to it yet there is still time. Please just get in touch and we would be happy to help!

By Mel Hackney

If you have your own business and are self-employed rather than operating through a company, you may find a substantial change in the coming years. This is because the timing of when profit is recognised on your tax return is changing.

The new rules start from 2024/25, but we are already in the ‘transitional year’ to start making changes, so you may need to think about this soon. We are already in discussions with our clients affected by this and preparing projections for tax increases where applicable, plus putting measures in place from 2023/24.

It’s a really important time to be proactive, so if you have a business year end other than 31 March (where the new rules will not impact you) then get in touch with us for more information. It may help you avoid an unexpectedly high tax bill soon.

By Mel Hackney

From 1 April 2023, the rate of Corporation tax has gone up. This won’t hit all companies – if your company’s taxable profits are less than £50,000 and not part of a group, the business will still pay 19%.

However, this will have an impact on many businesses and so now is a great time to be thinking about mitigating corporation tax as far as possible and considering all tax planning and saving measures available.

If you would like to have a chat about how we can help, just give us a call! We have a wide range of different sizes of client, but many are smaller companies that, with a bit of tax planning, could potentially remain in the 19% bracket.  

By Mel Hackney

There have been some significant changes around the administrative side of research and Development (R&D) for companies.

R&D is a tax relief which allows companies (not sole traders) to claim extra tax deductions from their taxable profits (or increase a loss), and, depending on the scheme used, if loss making turn a loss into payable tax credit.

From 8 August 2023, it is necessary to complete and submit an additional information form (AIF) in advance of submitting the actual claim and corresponding corporation tax return. If this is not done, the claim will get rejected. 

Another important new change is that, for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2023, you must submit a claim notification form to HMRC if you are claiming R&D for the first time, or your last claim was made more than 3 years before the last date of the claim notification period. This must be done within 6 months after the end of the accounting period.

We have much experience in preparing and submitting successful R&D claims. We can also explore the option of applying for advance assurance if you prefer.  If you are not sure whether your company will qualify, please just get in touch and we would be happy to have a chat. We have a 100% success rate of claims being approved, and so we only work with clients in this area where we believe a claim is appropriate.

By Mel Hackney

The tree is up in the office at our lovely country base and looking fantastic! 

Office parties are starting, and gifts being given. If you aren’t up to date on the rules around employee benefits for Christmas and the rest of the year, we can help.

If  you have a December year end, it’s also worth considering whether there are any tax planning opportunities available to you before your new accounting period starts.

And of course, don’t forget that the personal tax return deadline is also fast approaching (31 January 2024).

Get in touch and we’d be happy to have a chat with you.

By Mel Hackney

The Autumn statement has been announced and perhaps the most surprising part for many was the fall in Employee National Insurance. It was anticipated that this would fall, but it has been cut more than some predicted; by 2% (from 12% to 10%).

This will be implemented from 1 January 2024 rather than from the beginning of next tax year.

This means that for employed higher rate taxpayers, National insurance contributions (NIC) will fall by approximately £750 per annum. Perhaps good news for some but combined with no change in income tax despite high inflation, the impact of this could feel quite small.

For those self-employed, a fall in rate also albeit smaller (from 9% to 8%), and no further class 2 NIC.

If you would like to discuss any of the tax impacts of the Autumn statement, or anything else, please just get in touch.

By Mel Hackney

With taxes on the rise, now is a really good time to be thinking about where savings can be made. An employer supplying an electric car (which can be through a salary sacrifice) can be really tax efficient, particularly for an owner managed business.

If the employee is going to use the company car for private use (as most people do), they pay tax on this. With an electric car, the tax on the employee is very small. Currently the taxable benefit is calculated at only 2% of the list price of the car and the 2% rate is frozen until 2025.

So, for example, if an employee is given the use of a car with a list price of £50,000 and is a 40% taxpayer, the tax which the employee with suffer on this is only £400 per annum.

Not only that, but the cost of providing charging points at home and work, the cost of the electricity to charge at work, the insurance, and servicing of the car are all tax exempt on the employee.

The employer saves tax too as costs to the employer are all deductible against taxable profit, and so saving corporation tax plus national insurance with a salary sacrifice arrangement. 

In addition to this, the government are currently offering eligible businesses grants towards the upfront costs of the purchase and installations of electric vehicle charge points to the employer. Details on this can be found here:

https://www.find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/

If you want to discuss further, give us a call!

By Mel Hackney

The tree is up, the jumpers are festive, and we are starting to turn our thoughts to Christmas once again!

There are many ways to reward employees in a tax efficient way, and even though some of these can be complex, there are other ways of providing tax efficient or tax-free benefits which are very simple.

Employees can receive small gifts tax free. There are various conditions in place which need to be met for these to be non-taxable; one of which is that the gift must be less than £50 and not cash or vouchers. HMRC gives some examples on their website of items such as gifts of chocolates and wine at Christmas.

Something for both employers and employees to watch out for are the tax rules that surround items such as the Christmas party. No tax on the party arises so long as the cost per head does not exceed £150, but if this is exceeded (and other staff functions also need to be considered when determining this), a taxable benefit and reporting requirements could arise.

There are many other ways of rewarding your employees in a tax efficient way throughout the year, and we can provide guidance to you of how you can achieve this, tailoring this advice to the nature and size of your organisation.

If you want to have a chat about any of these areas, just get in touch!

By Mel Hackney

The deadline for filing your 2021.22 is fast approaching. If you haven’t gotten round to completing it yet, we might be able to help!

Even if you don’t have any income other than employment income (and therefore do not normally complete a return), if you have allowable employment expenses you may be entitled to a refund of tax. For example, if you drive business mileage as part of your job, and your employer pays you less than the allowable amount you can claim the difference as a deduction against your taxable income, saving tax at up to 45%.

It is also possible to claim certain expenses as a result of working from home.

If you would like to have a chat, please don’t hesitate to give us a call and we can talk through how we can help.

By Mel Hackney

As we approach the end of January, the personal tax return self-assessment deadline is looming. However, for the 2020/21 return due on 31 January 2022, HMRC is waiving late filing and late payment penalties for one month. This means that penalties will not be triggered unless the return is filed, or payment made after 28 February 2022.

Interest is payable on any payments made in February rather than January, and therefore it is preferable still to pay the tax on time if you can.

If you haven’t had the chance to do your return yet for 2020/21, get in touch with us as we may be able to help!