Latest Thinking

A UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account can be used by eligible users to view and prove their immigration status online. This may be required to provide proof of your...

From April 2026, the government will mandate the reporting and paying of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance Contributions on benefits in kind via payroll software. This represents a...

A Post Transaction Valuation Check (PTVC) can be requested from HMRC for an individual to work out a capital gains tax liability or for companies to calculate corporation tax liability...

The Insolvency Service has recently published information confirming that a total of 831 company directors were banned in 2023-24 for Covid support scheme abuse, up more than 80% on the...

Business owners that are in dispute with their energy suppliers will be interested in the free support on offer from the Energy Ombudsman. In a recent press release the Department...

VAT retail schemes are a special set of schemes used by retail businesses to account for VAT. The schemes are used by businesses that sell a significant amount of low...

Employers that take on a new employee need to work out which tax code and starter declaration to use in their payroll software. Incorrect tax codes can lead to a...

There are special procedures for moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, all Northern Ireland businesses continue to have access to the whole UK...

The tax treatment of termination payments has changed significantly over recent years. The changes have aligned the rules for tax and secondary National Insurance contributions (employer (NICs)) by making an...

HMRC’s free tax app is available to download from the App Store for iOS and from the Google Play Store for Android. The latest version of the app includes updated...

HMRC has, for many years, looked to target businesses that deliberately undertake electronic sales suppression (ESS). ESS happens where a business deliberately manipulates its electronic sales records in order to...

When most business owners refer to business profits, they are likely to mean the difference between sales and costs, and more concisely, that sales exceed costs. However, the word “profits”...

New legislation, including three Government backed cross party Acts, came into force from 6 April 2024. Pregnant women and new parents will now receive special treatment in a redundancy situation,...

In a recent press release the government confirmed the following policies to support household incomes from 1 April 2024. The National Living Wage has officially risen from £10.42 an hour...

In the recent Spring Budget, the VAT registration threshold was raised to £90,000 (previously £85,000) which means that smaller businesses that did not want to register for VAT, now have...

HMRC must be informed when a non-trading or dormant company starts trading and becomes active for Corporation Tax purposes. Companies can use HMRC Online Services to supply the relevant information....

If you are an employee who is working from home, you may be able to claim tax relief for part of your household bills that are related to your work....

The letters in an employee’s tax code signify their entitlement (or not) to the annual tax free personal allowance. The tax codes are updated annually and help employer’s work out...

HMRC has a useful online tool to help UK business owners check how to import or export goods. This online tool can be used by businesses, the self-employed and agents...

Carer’s credit is a National Insurance credit that can help carers to fill gaps in their National Insurance record. Carers who don’t qualify for Carer’s Allowance may qualify for Carer’s...

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...

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...

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...

Earlier this month, saw the 10th anniversary of the StepChange Debt Charity’s annual Debt Awareness Week. This is designed to shine a spotlight on the causes of problem debt. The...

The rent-a-room scheme is a set of special rules designed to help homeowners who rent-a-room in their home to create a valuable tax free income stream. If you are using...

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...

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...

HMRC is reminding parents that they may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) to help pay for school holiday childcare costs. The TFC scheme can help parents of children aged...

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 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...