Category: Tax

Never assume your business interests will avoid Inheritance Tax. Many major shareholders and business owners are oblivious to the traps surrounding Business Relief, some of which can leave their estate at risk of a very large and unexpected Inheritance Tax (IHT) bill. Business Relief (BR), formerly – known as Business Property Relief, is much like … Continued

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

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

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

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 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

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

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 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

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