Category: Tax

Retired household income up 13% since 2008 Median income for retired households rose by 3.1% between 2014/15 and 2015/16, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The latest disposable income and inequality statistics show that median income for retired households at the end of 2015/16 was £21,800. This is an increase of 13% (around … Continued

Self-assessment reminder The deadline to submit your online tax return for 2015/16 is no later than midnight on 31 January 2017. Here are the 5 step guide necessary to complete self-assessment on time. 1.    Information you need You’ll need your most up to date records at hand, including: business expenses PAYE records (if applicable) VAT … Continued

Changes to the VAT flat rate scheme could have significant effects on the tax liability of small businesses that currently make use of the scheme. The flat rate scheme simplifies the process of calculating how much VAT a business needs to pay or claim back from HMRC. It introduces a fixed rate of VAT and … Continued

A number of tax and finance changes are set to take place in 2017. It is important to start planning ahead of time so that you take advantage of any opportunities available. Some of the changes are in the process of being legislated through parliament and may be subject to change. Salary sacrifice schemes Income … Continued

The first major economic statement since the EU referendum focused on measures to “prepare our economy to be resilient as we exit the EU”. Unsurprisingly, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts for growth have changed since the last figures were published in March. The prediction for 2016 is 2.1%, slightly higher than the 2% … Continued

What is changing and why? 1 – Proposal to increase the turnover limit for the cash accounting basis Cash based accounting is a simple method of calculating taxable profits for trading businesses with straight forward tax affairs. With cash based accounting, businesses only need to keep records of their income and expenditure, with profit before tax … Continued

HMRC are considering introducing an optional cash based accounting scheme for landlords to give them the choice of using the simplified accounting method. What is changing? Currently property businesses are required to follow the accountancy rules set out by Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) that recognise income earned and expenses incurred in the period, whether … Continued

The pension reforms introduced by George Osborne could cost £5 billion and push house prices up in the long term, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The report examined the projected economic effects of a range of the ex-chancellor’s reforms, including the pension freedoms and savings products such as the Help to Buy … Continued

The government is concerned that many small companies are missing out on generous R&D tax credits. For the last year HMRC have been offering companies an advance assurance scheme to check whether or not their activities qualify before they make a claim. So far over 200 applications for advance assurance have been made. There is … Continued

Where a married couple hold savings accounts and other investments in joint names, the income from those investments is split 50:50 for tax purposes, unless there is an election to allocate the income in accordance with their beneficial interests. This is particularly important where the couples’ marginal tax rates are different now that there are … Continued