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Financial news and updates for small business owners
HMRC helpline changes on hold
HMRC has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown on plans to close the Self-Assessment, VAT and PAYE helplines from early April until September this year. HMRC has now confirmed that these helpline changes have been abandoned following feedback
What are the off-payroll working rules?
The rules for individuals providing services via an intermediary such as a personal service company (PSC) are complex. The rules apply if the worker who provides services to a client through their own intermediary would have been an employee if they
HMRC to accept service of legal proceedings by email
HMRC has issued an updated ‘news story’ to confirm that, where possible, new legal proceedings and pre-action letters can be served on the department using email instead of post. This measure was originally introduced in April 2020 in response to the
We are unpaid tax collectors
Clients often refer to the VAT added to supplier invoices as if it were a cost to their business regardless of their VAT position.
This is true if you are not registered for VAT, you do not have to add VAT to your sales and you cannot recover any
Time to rethink the credit you offer your customers
Most business owners are driven by sales targets and to meet these targets they may be tempted to offer extended payment terms.
For example, if your business grants a customer time to pay – say 60 days – after the services or goods supplied have
Declare a beneficial interests in joint property
The usual tax position for couples who live together with their spouse or civil partners is that property income held in joint names is divided 50:50. This is regardless of the actual ownership structure. However, where there is unequal ownership and
Tax-free child care
HMRC is reminding parents that they may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) to help pay for Easter school holidays childcare costs.
The TFC scheme can help parents of children aged up to 11 years old (17 for those with certain disabilities).
Invest and save tax
The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is a generous tax relief that allows for the total amount of qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery to be deducted from your profits before tax.
The AIA can be claimed by an individual, partnership or
Workplace pension responsibilities
Automatic enrolment for workplace pensions has helped many employees make provision for their retirement, with employers and government also contributing to make a larger pension pot.
The law states that employers must automatically enrol workers
Factsheets
We also have a range of factsheets on different topics which you can browse and download.