Points of view – the Mansions Tax
The proposed council tax surcharge on high value homes, due from April 2028, has triggered a lively and sometimes sharp response across the press. While the headlines have focused on the “mansion tax” label, the underlying commentary has been more nuanced, splitting broadly into three camps: those who see it as a modest step towards […]
Recent changes to the bank guarantee scheme
From 1 December 2025 the UK deposit protection rules will shift in a way that will matter for many savers, especially those holding larger balances or receiving significant one-off payments. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is increasing the maximum protection for eligible deposits held with UK banks, building societies and credit unions. The long-standing limit […]
Do not Sack Your Spell Checker
Artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, have become extremely popular. They can create emails, write marketing content, and debug code quickly. Many people think these tools could replace traditional editing tools. A spell checker, once a key part of word processors, might seem unnecessary now that AI can rewrite a […]
Autumn Budget 2025 – Personal Tax changes
The chancellor Rachel Reeves announced as part of the Autumn Budget measures that the Income Tax thresholds will be maintained at their current levels for a further three years until April 2031. This will see the personal tax allowance frozen at £12,570 through to April 2031 across the UK. In addition, the higher rate threshold […]
Autumn Budget 2025 – Pension changes
The Chancellor has kept the main pension allowances unchanged but has confirmed a new cap on salary sacrifice arrangements that will apply from April 2029. There had been heated speculation that the Chancellor would change the pension rules to help the government raise taxes, but no changes were announced to the annual allowance (which remains at £60,000) […]
Autumn Budget 2025 – Minimum Wage increases
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves announced increases to the Minimum Wage rates on the eve of the Budget. The Chancellor confirmed that the government has accepted in full the proposals of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) for increasing minimum wage rates from 1 April 2026. The National Living Wage (NLW) rate will increase […]
What is a demerger?
A demerger involves splitting the trading activities of a single company or group into two or more independent entities. This can be facilitated by distributing the assets of a holding company to its shareholders. There are special statutory demerger provisions that are designed to make it easier to divide and put into separate corporate ownership the […]
Tax Diary December 2025/January 2026
1 December 2025 – Due date for Corporation Tax payable for the year ended 28 February 2025. 19 December 2025 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 December 2025. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 December 2025). 19 December 2025 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly […]
Seizing the Moment
The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, delivered on November 26, 2025, sets the stage for a period of considerable fiscal change over the coming years. While headline income tax rates on earned income remain unchanged for now, the extensions of existing tax threshold freezes, and the introduction of targeted tax increases elsewhere, amount to a significant tax-raising […]
Autumn Budget Report 2025
The degree of speculation about this year’s Budget announcements was further compounded when the Office of Budgetary Responsibility uploaded their report on Budget changes prior to Rachel Reeves announcements to Parliament. However, there are to be no changes to the main rates of Income Tax, NIC and VAT that affect wage earners across the UK, […]
