Category: Tax

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

The deadline to submit your self-assessment paper tax return for the 2015/16 tax year is 31 October 2016. Tax returns must account for all income received during each tax year running from 6 April to 5 April. The form to complete is SA100. This should include: income from self-employment employment income dividends income and expenses … Continued

Businesses paid £44.4 billion in corporation tax in 2015/16, according to figures from HMRC. This is an increase of 3% from the £43 billion collected in 2014/15, and is the highest since 2007/08. The figure reflects increases in tax from the manufacturing, distribution, financial services and commercial sectors. North Sea oil and gas sector receipts … Continued

As a result of the new restrictions on Pension contributions and the potential suspension of contributions under fixed protection (2016), financial advisors are seeing a marked increase in enquiries relating to Venture Capital Trusts (VCT’s). VCT’s are a popular way of investing into smaller UK Companies and specialists firms can assist in selecting a portfolio … Continued