Category: Tax

A major change to the way VAT is collected in the building and construction industry comes into force on 1 October 2020 The domestic reverse charge VAT for construction services will put the onus on the customer receiving a service to pay the VAT element to HMRC, instead of paying the supplier. It will apply … Continued

The government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will be extended, giving more security to individuals whose livelihoods are adversely affected by coronavirus in the coming months, the Chancellor announced on 29 May 2020. Rishi Sunak announces Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will be extended – with those eligible able to claim a second and final grant capped … Continued

HMRC has relaxed rules that usually restrict reimbursement for spending on office equipment for the rest of 2020/21. This should help employees avoid receiving a tax bill relating to working from home during the coronavirus lockdown. Since the lockdown restrictions were imposed in the UK on 23 March 2020, homeworking has effectively become the norm … Continued

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme is now open for claims. If you’re eligible, you’ll be given a date when you can claim between 13 and 18 May. You can check your claim date online: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme It’s important that you make this claim yourself, although you can ask your accountant or tax agent to help you. … Continued

A petition calling on the Government to relax the criteria for self-employed people to access income support during the coronavirus crisis has received more than 300,000 signatures. Though at first given a cautious welcome, the coronavirus self-employment income support scheme (SEISS) announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on 26 March soon came under fire for allowing … Continued

HMRC has deferred rolling out the second phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for 12 months due to the coronavirus. Phase one of MTD kicked in for VAT return periods starting on or after 1 April 2019, with what HMRC described as a soft-landing period. This included the use of basic bridging software and waiving … Continued

HMRC intends to contact millions of people eligible for the self-employed income support scheme by the middle this month. Those workers who have lost profits due to COVID-19 will be invited to submit online claims for payments, which will be made by early June. The scheme provides taxable grants worth 80% of a self-employed worker’s … Continued

VAT rules for food and drink in the UK are “overly complex” and in need of reform, the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) has claimed. Chancellor Rishi Sunak used his Spring Budget to scrap the so-called ‘tampon tax’ when the Brexit transition period ends on 1 January 2021. The ATT hopes the decision to abolish … Continued

The point at which tapering of the annual pension allowance kicks in will increase by £90,000 for both threshold income and adjusted income in 2020/21. The move, which was announced in last month’s Spring Budget, means the taper will not affect anyone with income of less than £200,000. It brings to an end a long-running … Continued

Finance Act 2019 (s. 30) introduced a new Structural Buildings Allowance. Although this legislation has now been around for nearly 16 months (it was available from 29 October 2018), it remains an unfamiliar area. The Capital Allowances Act 2001 did not give any provision for relief to be claimed on the vast majority of structures … Continued