Money that would have otherwise gone to the taxman can boost your retirement savings, but action is needed before your company’s financial year-end. Salaries reduce your profits and, in turn, your Corporation Tax bill, so this is the most obvious way to move cash out of your business. An alternative form of remuneration is dividend income. … Continued
National minimum and living wages rise from 1 April
The national living wage (NLW) is now £7.50 an hour. Most workers who are aged 25 and over and not in their first year of an apprenticeship are entitled to the new rate. The national minimum wage (NMW) rates for various ages have also increased. The following rates now apply: Age From 1 April 2017 … Continued
Pension planning – A slow start can be costly
According to a recent study, two in five pensioners regret retirement-planning mistakes which have left them struggling financially.1 Nearly one in five say that they didn’t save enough for retirement, and 15% regret not starting to save earlier in their working lives. If we’re serious about planning for the future, we need to put away surplus … Continued
Chancellor’s u-turn on National Insurance rise welcomed
In his Budget last week Mr Hammond proposed to increase Class 4 NICs for the self-employed from 9% to 10% in April 2018, and to 11% in 2019, to bring it closer to the 12% currently paid by employees. Thousands of self-employed people across the Liverpool city region are breathing a sigh of relief after … Continued
The Budget, Tax and the Self-Employed
The Budget, Tax and the Self-Employed In his first Budget on 8th March the new Chancellor Phillip Hammond announced that he would level the playing field between employees and the self-employed by increasing Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 9% to 10% from 6 April 2018 and then to 11% from 6 April 2019. … Continued
Spring Budget Report 2017
Chancellor Philip Hammond described his first and last Spring Budget as one that “takes forward our plan to prepare Britain for a brighter future”. The following report summarises the announcements made by Chancellor Philip Hammond during the Budget 2017 on 8 March 2017. For a copy of our full Spring Budget 2017 report please see our … Continued
Increase to probate fees
The government is to go ahead with plans to move from the current flat fee for applications for a grant of probate to a banded structure where fees increase in line with the value of the estate, up to a maximum of £20,000, Currently, a £215 flat fee applies if probate is applied for by … Continued
Firms prepare for Making Tax Digital
Firms prepare for Making Tax Digital Businesses will be given at least 12 months to prepare for the transition to digital tax accounts. Businesses, self-employed people and landlords will need to submit quarterly updates to HMRC and keep their records digitally by 2020, but this will be phased in. The current plan is to start … Continued
Landlords – Fee Protection Service
Fee Protection Service HMRC finds landlords an easy target to investigate because of the depth and variety of information it receives and gathers. When selecting a landlord for enquiry, HMRC can check: The Land Registry records to find out when a let property was bought and how much for. Voters List entries to confirm whether … Continued
SME’s – Fee Protection Service
Fee Protection Service Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are blamed for over half of the UK’s tax gap. The tax gap is the difference between the amount of money HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) actually collects and the amount it believes is due. HMRC believes the current tax gap is £36bn and SMEs are responsible … Continued