Latest Thinking

Copyright protects your work and stops others from using it without your permission. You get copyright protection automatically – you don’t have to apply or pay a fee. There isn’t...

National Insurance credits can help qualifying applicants fill gaps in their National Insurance record. This can assist taxpayers in building up the number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions...

As with the Income Tax personal allowances, taxpayers have an annual exempt amount for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) which is forfeited if not used. The annual exemption for individuals in...

National Insurance credits can help qualifying applicants fill gaps in their National Insurance record. This can assist taxpayers to build up the number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions...

As a general rule, if you are resident in the UK, you are liable to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) when you sell (or dispose of) an overseas property at...

The marriage allowance is available to married couples and those in a civil partnership where a spouse or civil partner does not pay tax or does not pay tax above...

The Inheritance Tax residence nil rate band (RNRB) is a transferable allowance for married couples and civil partners (per person) when their main residence is passed down to a direct...

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met on 21 June 2023 and voted 7-2 in favour of raising interest rates by 50 basis points to 5% to continue...

Having the right type of intellectual property protection helps you stop people stealing or copying: the names of your products or brands; your inventions; the design or look of your...

Gift Hold-Over Relief is a tax relief that results in a deferral of Capital Gains Tax (CGT). The relief can be claimed when assets are given away (including certain shares)...

The Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) are designed to protect the UK financial system and put in place certain controls to prevent businesses being used for money laundering by criminals and...

In certain circumstances it can be beneficial to make voluntary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to increase your entitlement to benefits, including the State or New State Pension. Usually, HMRC allow...

HMRC is currently writing to UK residents who were named in the leaked Pandora Papers and offering them the chance to regularise their tax affairs. The letters are being sent...

A business that incurs expenditure on taxable and exempt business activities is partially exempt for VAT purposes. This means that the business is required to make an apportionment between the...

HMRC’s Self-Assessment helpline closed on 12 June 2023 and will re-open on 4 September 2023. This closure is part of a trial to direct Self-Assessment queries from the helpline to...

From 14 June 2023, the latest set of changes mandated by the Charities Acts 2022 came into force. Changes now in place include simplified legal requirements that charities must comply...

A recent investigation by the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, in connection with the UK passport office, has found that hundreds of thousands of applicants faced unacceptable delays...

The settlement legislation is intended to prevent an individual from gaining a tax advantage by diverting his or her income to another person who is liable at a lower rate...

HMRC has a useful online tool to help agents and taxpayers know when they can expect to receive a reply from HMRC regarding a query or request that they have...

The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has announced a new £650 million package of measures to help boost UK life sciences. The new ‘Life Sci for Growth’ package brings together 10 different...

The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) allows qualifying charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) to claim a top-up equivalent to Gift Aid on small donations of money made...

The GOV.UK website offers the following guidance if you are considering a patent application. A UK patent may help if you want to take legal action against someone who uses...

There does seem to be a trend to replace human interactions with automated AI systems. This is especially evident in the management of our tax system. There was a time,...

If your personal details change you may be required to notify HMRC as this can affect your entitlement to certain tax breaks and or benefits. For example, you need to...

HMRC has issued an updated version of their online guidance entitled ‘Check if a text message you’ve received from HMRC is genuine’. The guidance provides a current list of genuine...

Fraudsters often try to take advantage of the 31 July deadline for submitting tax credits renewal information. The fraudulent emails, texts or calls claim to be from HMRC and often...

If you sell an asset for less than you paid for it, you would make a capital loss. As a general rule if the asset would have been liable to...

There are a number of reliefs available that can reduce liability to IHT. Of most interest to farmers is the Agricultural Property Relief (APR). Relief is available at a rate...

HMRC is reminding parents that they may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) to help pay for childcare costs. The scheme was used by almost 650,000 families during the 2022-23...

1 July 2023 – Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 September 2022. 6 July 2023 – Complete and submit forms P11D return of benefits and...