News

Employing staff for the first time?
16/05/2024 - More...
There are a number of rules and regulations that you must be aware of when you employ staff for the first time. HMRC’s guidance sets out some important issues to be aware of when becoming an employer. Decide how much to pay someone - you must pay your employee at least the National Minimum Wage. Check if someone has the legal right

Register an overseas company
16/05/2024 - More...
An overseas company must register with Companies House if they want to set up a place of business in the UK. This would mean that the overseas company has a physical presence in the UK through which it carries on business. If an overseas company does not have a physical presence in the UK, they are not usually required to register with

Beneficial tax-exempt loans
16/05/2024 - More...
An employee can obtain a benefit when provided with an employment-related cheap or interest-free loan. The benefit is the difference between the interest the employee pays, if any, and the commercial rate the employee would have to pay on a loan obtained elsewhere. These types of loans are referred to as beneficial loans. There are a

Closing a limited company
16/05/2024 - More...
There are a number of reasons why you may need to close your limited company. This could be because the company structure no longer suits your needs, your business is no longer active, or the company is insolvent. You will usually need the agreement of all the company’s directors and shareholders to close down a company. The method for

Check a VAT number
16/05/2024 - More...
The Check a UK VAT number service is available at: www.gov.uk/check-uk-vat-number. This service allows users to check: if a UK VAT registration number is valid; and the name and address of the registered business. The service also allows UK taxpayers to obtain a certificate to prove that they checked that a VAT registration number

Deferring National Insurance payments
16/05/2024 - More...
Employees with more than one job may be able to defer or delay paying Class 1 National Insurance in certain circumstances. This deferment can be considered when any of the following apply: You pay Class 1 National Insurance with more than one employer. You earn £967 or more per week from one job over the tax year. You earn £1,209 or

Customs declaration deadline
13/05/2024 - More...
A reminder that businesses must submit all export declarations through the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) by 4 June. Businesses exporting goods have less than one month left to move across to the CDS, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced today. Export declarations must be submitted through CDS from 4 June this year, when it

Company names – new regulations
13/05/2024 - More...
A recent post by Companies House confirmed that they are now using new powers to challenge the registration of certain company names. Extracts from their recent blog post is reproduced below: “New powers to challenge company names These new measures build on existing controls on company names. Names cannot be the same as or too

Time to renew tax credits
09/05/2024 - More...
HMRC is currently sending the annual tax credit renewal packs to the 730,000 tax credit claimants and is encouraging recipients to renew their tax credits claim online. HMRC started writing to taxpayers on 2 May and expects all packs to be with recipients by the 19 June 2024. Renewal packs with a black stripe across the front page are

Act now to claim dormant funds
09/05/2024 - More...
The Ministry of Justice has published an urgent warning for anyone with unclaimed dormant funds held by the Courts Funds Office (CFO). Recent changes in legislation have changed the rules for individuals or entities with dormant funds held by the CFO. The new rules come into effect from 1 June 2024 and mean that any account that has been

Check if HMRC contact is genuine
09/05/2024 - More...
HMRC’s published guidance titled ‘Check genuine HMRC contact that uses more than one communication method’ has been updated. The list is intended to help taxpayers check if recent contacts purporting to be from HMRC are actually a scam. The guidance contains a list of emails, phone calls, letters and text messages recently issued by HMRC

How to claim R&D expenditure credit
09/05/2024 - More...
In the Autumn Statement last year, it was announced that the existing R&D Expenditure Credit and Small and Medium Enterprise Scheme would be merged from April 2024. The merged scheme R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) and enhanced R&D intensive support (ERIS) became effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April

Do you need to register for Economic Crime Levy?
09/05/2024 - More...
The Economic Crime Levy is a levy that applies to businesses that are already regulated for anti-money laundering purposes. Your business must register if your UK revenue is £10.2 million or more in a financial year and: Your business is already regulated by HMRC for anti-money laundering purposes. Your business is regulated by a

Lifetime transfers and liability to IHT
09/05/2024 - More...
There are special rules concerning the liability to IHT of a transfer made during a lifetime. For example, most gifts made during a person's life are not subject to tax at the time of the gift. These lifetime transfers are known as 'potentially exempt transfers' or 'PETs'. These gifts or transfers achieve their potential of becoming

Tax Diary June/July 2024
07/05/2024 - More...
1 June 2024 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 31 August 2023. 19 June 2024 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 June 2024. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 June 2024). 19 June 2024 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 June 2024. 19 June 2024 - CIS

Cyber protection laws introduced
07/05/2024 - More...
New consumer protections against hacking and cyber-attacks came into force at the end of April 2024. All internet connected smart devices will be required by law to meet minimum-security standards. Manufacturers will be legally required to protect consumers from hackers and cyber criminals from accessing devices with internet or network

New Companies House powers
07/05/2024 - More...
The recently introduced Economic Crime and Transparency Act has gifted Companies House a range of new powers aimed at reducing exploitation by corporate entities to pursue illegal enterprise. The aim of the new reforms are: Introducing identity verification for all new and existing registered company directors, People with Significant

VAT boost to charitable donations
02/05/2024 - More...
The government is looking to introduce a new relief that would provide a VAT boost to charitable donations. The new VAT relief would be designed to encourage businesses to donate everyday items to charities without creating a VAT liability. A 12-week consultation on the proposed changes will be launched before 23 July 2024. Under the

New tips guidance published
02/05/2024 - More...
New rules that stop employers from withholding tips from people working in the hospitality, leisure and services sectors are a step closer following the publication of a new Code of Practice on tipping. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 colloquially known as the Tipping Act received Royal Assent on 2 May 2023. However, the

Self-employed tax basis period reform
02/05/2024 - More...
The self-employed tax basis period reform has changed the way trading income is allocated to tax years. Under the reforms, the tax basis period has changed from a ‘current year basis’ to a ‘tax year basis’. This means that all sole trader and partnership businesses must now report their profits on a tax year basis, beginning with the

Directors who are liable for unpaid tax
02/05/2024 - More...
HMRC has the power to make directors personally liable for paying the tax debts of companies they have been involved in under certain limited circumstances. This can also apply to certain other individuals associated with a company. A joint and several liability notice tells the recipient that they are personally responsible, along with

Business rates relief in England
02/05/2024 - More...
Business rates are a tax on non-domestic premises, including most commercial properties such as shops, offices, pubs, warehouses and factories. The money raised through business rates is used to help fund local services like the police, fire and rescue services. Business rates are generally calculated by multiplying the rateable value of

Hiring customs agents
02/05/2024 - More...
Customs declarations can be difficult and time consuming to complete. Businesses can make their own custom's declarations; however, this is complex and requires specialist skills and software. Most businesses use a specialist such as a customs agent, broker, freight forwarder or fast parcel operator to submit import and export customs

Free management course for SMEs
30/04/2024 - More...
The government has launched the new Help to Grow: Management Essentials course; a short online course with practical tips and resources for small business leaders. It is based on the 12-week Help to Grow: Management Course and is suited for leaders of newer or smaller SMEs, or those who are looking to explore the principles of business