Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said that there is little scope for further tax cuts in the Spring Budget. In last year’s Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced various tax breaks, including a cut to the main rate of National Insurance from 12% to 10%. In January, he suggested that he intended to reduce taxes in the … Continued
HMRC clamps down on undeclared dividend earnings
Starting on 4 February 2024, HMRC is writing to company owners regarding the potential under declaration of dividend income. The correspondence is prompted by a decrease in company reserves despite reported profits, hinting at undisclosed dividend payouts. Recipients are urged to acknowledge the letter by either disclosing any unreported dividend income or confirming no additional … Continued
HMRC enforces tighter rules on ‘side hustle tax’
In a bid to tighten tax regulations and combat tax evasion, HMRC is implementing measures affecting sellers on platforms such as eBay, Vinted, Airbnb and Etsy. Effective from 1 January, many digital platforms are now mandated to collect under new international rules adopted by the UK through the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). … Continued
HMRC launches cryptoassest tax disclosure service
HMRC has rolled out a new initiative enabling taxpayers to voluntarily disclose unpaid tax on cryptoassets covering exchange tokens, non-fungible tokens, and utility tokens. The tax authority has initiated contact with selected taxpayers engaged in cryptoasset transactions who may not have fulfilled their tax obligations. Taxpayers must report transactions incurring capital gains during the 2022/23 … Continued
HMRC reopens self-assessment helpline
HMRC has reopened the self-assessment tax helpline from 4 September after it was closed for three months over the summer. Between 12 June and 3 September, callers were redirected to digital services to give HMRC staff time to deal with other phone enquiries and handle the postal backlog. This was not the first time HMRC … Continued
One million more pulled into tax on savings
Rising interest rates and frozen thresholds will force over one million more taxpayers to pay taxes on their savings interest this tax year, new data reveals. Over 2.7 million individuals will pay tax on cash interest in the 2023/24 tax year, up by a million in a single year as more savers breach the personal … Continued
HMRC has ‘enormous amount of work’ to deliver MTD on time
In evidence submitted to the Public Accounts Committee’s Progress with Making Tax Digital inquiry, contributors from across the accounting profession handed down a blistering verdict on the project, and HMRC’s ability to deliver on its new timeline. The written submissions criticised HMRC’s failure to consult with and listen to taxpayers, agents, professional bodies and software … Continued
Call wait times to be included on HMRC helplines
After “a successful trial period”, HMRC has decided to extend its call time information messages to more of its helplines in a bid to give taxpayers and agents a better understanding of how long they can expect to be waiting on the phone. According to HMRC’s most recent stakeholder digest, the extension, which came into … Continued
R&D tax relief crackdown ‘deterring genuine claims’
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is warning that HMRC’s efforts to tackle abuse of the R&D tax relief system are resulting in them rejecting legitimate claims and stone-walling others. In a letter to HMRC, the CIOT wrote that the ‘volume compliance’ approach adopted by the tax authority since the second half of 2022 does … Continued
LITRG warns of ineffective tax refund companies
Tax specialists at the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) have warned taxpayers who use third-party companies to claim tax refunds from HMRC to do so cautiously. Although taxpayers can apply for a refund directly from the Government, some prefer to use agents to do so on their behalf. If HMRC decides at a later … Continued