News
Do you qualify for the marriage allowance?
11/08/2022
HMRC is using the wedding season to issue a reminder to married couples and those in civil partnerships to sign up for marriage allowance if they are eligible and haven’t yet done so.
The marriage allowance applies to married couples and those in a
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Using the Customs Declaration Service
11/08/2022
The Customs Declaration Service (CDS) is a new customs IT platform that has been designed to modernise the process for completing customs declarations for businesses that import or export goods from the UK. A phased launch of the service started
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Reminder that the plug-in grant has ended
11/08/2022
The government plug-in grant was first introduced 11 years ago to help drivers make the move to owning an electric car. Since the scheme was introduced the amount of the grant available reduced significantly as did the range of cars to which the
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Reminder of compensation limits for bank deposits
11/08/2022
The bank deposit guarantee limit is the amount of money that is guaranteed for savers in UK banks and building societies should the institution become insolvent. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) guaranteed amount is currently £85,000
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Bona Vacantia – dissolved companies
11/08/2022
The final step in bringing a company to a legal end is dissolution. However, one of the important points to consider when doing so is that the dissolved company can no longer do or receive anything including receive a tax refund. It is the
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Termination payments
11/08/2022
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 employer liable to pay NICs on termination
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Duty free limits if you are travelling abroad
04/08/2022
Here is a reminder of any duty payable and tax-free allowances if travelling abroad this summer.
If you are travelling from outside the UK and arriving home in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), you are allowed to bring the following back
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Tax-free trivial benefits
04/08/2022
There is a benefit in kind (BiK) trivial exemption that applies to small non-cash benefits like a bottle of wine, or a bouquet of flowers given occasionally to employees or any other BiK classed as 'trivial' that falls within the exemption. By taking
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Using Advisory Fuel rates
04/08/2022
The easiest way to ensure that no car-fuel benefit charge (for private journeys in a company car) is payable, is to use the advisory fuel rates published by HMRC to repay any private fuel costs to your employer. The advisory fuel rates are intended
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Scope of Trade
04/08/2022
There is no statutory definition of ‘trade’. The only statutory reference to the term is that ‘trade’ includes a ‘venture in the nature of trade’. This absence of a formal definition decides if an activity is a trade more difficult. However, over
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Using the Annual Investment Allowance
04/08/2022
The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is a generous tax relief that was first introduced in 2008. The AIA allows for the total amount of qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery to be deducted from profits before tax.
The AIA can be claimed by
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Miscellaneous income
04/08/2022
There are special rules known as the miscellaneous income sweep-up provisions that seek to charge tax on certain income. This unusual provision, which is broad in scope, catches income that would not otherwise be charged under specific provisions to
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Gifts with reservation
28/07/2022
The majority of 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 exempt from
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Tax relief on replacement of domestic items
28/07/2022
The replacement of domestic items relief has been in place since April 2016. The relief allows landlords the ability to claim tax relief when they replace movable furniture, furnishings, household appliances and kitchenware in a rental property. The
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Business records if self-employed
28/07/2022
If you are self-employed as a sole trader or as a partner in a business partnership, then you must keep suitable business records as well as separate personal records of your income.
For tax purposes, the business records must be held for at least
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Construction services taxed at VAT zero or 5% rate
28/07/2022
Whilst most businesses in the UK charge VAT at the standard rate of 20%, there are a number of different VAT rates and exemptions that businesses should be aware of. In the UK, there are three separate VAT rates, the standard rate @ 20%, reduced rate
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Settlement legislation – non-trust settlements
28/07/2022
The settlement legislation seeks to ensure that where a settlor has retained an interest in property that the income arising is treated as the settlor’s income for all tax purposes. A settlor can be said to have retained an interest if the property
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Emergency tax codes
28/07/2022
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 how much tax to deduct from an employee’s pay packet.
The basic
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