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Business owners who are minded to celebrate the forthcoming Christmas break with their staff are reminded that there is a tax-free allowance for the provision of an annual party or other event for the benefit of staff and their partners. The present limit to tax relief is £150 per head. If this amount is exceeded,…

Brexit. COVID-19. Cost of living. Energy prices. Number 10. Bank rates. Economic freefall. It’s fair to say businesses have faced an unprecedented number of challenges over the past two years and if you’ve felt like curling up under a blanket until it’s all gone away, then you are not alone. But there is an increasing…

1 November 2022 - Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 January 2022. 19 November 2022 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 November 2022. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 November 2022.) 19 November 2022 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly…

Criminals claiming to be from HMRC have targeted individuals by email, text and phone with their communications ranging from offering bogus tax rebates to threatening arrest for tax evasion. Contacts like these should sound alarm bells – HMRC would never call threatening arrest. Anyone contacted by someone claiming to be from HMRC in a way…

The way businesses register for VAT changed on 1 August 2022. A new VAT Registration Service (VRS) has been created to manage the process.  One of the key features of the new VRS is that every business will be automatically signed up to Making Tax Digital (MTD) VAT as part of registration. This removes the…

The tax reductions set out in the Kwarteng/Truss mini-budget of 22 September 2022 have been scrapped, apart from the cancellation of the NIC increase for 2022-23, the withdrawal of the Healthcare Levy from April 2023, the changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax and the increase in the Annual Investment Allowance. As we are presented with…

A rising number of businesses are failing as the Government’s pandemic support is withdrawn and banks push their credit score limits higher making it harder to borrow. The Office for National Statistics has reported that there were 5,600 registered company insolvencies from April to June this year, a 13 per cent increase from the first…

Homeowners looking to introduce energy efficiency measures into their homes will soon be able to take advantage of new green finance products. The Government has launched a fund to boost the choice of affordable products for homeowners to help them reduce energy consumption. Ministers are keen to scale up the green finance market and provide…

As families struggle to manage household finances with the cost-of-living crisis, parents are being reminded that there is cash available to help towards childcare costs. Up to £2,000 a year is available to help pay for half-term holiday clubs and wraparound care during school terms. Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Tax-Free…

Tens of thousands of pounds is sitting in bank accounts unclaimed by teenagers who may not even know it exists. The cash is from matured Child Trust Funds savings, a scheme set up for every child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. To encourage future saving and start the account, the Government…