Category: Tax

The National Insurance Contributions Bill was published on 18 July 2014. It will introduce legislation (which was consulted on last year) to reform the collection of Class 2 NICs by enabling the self-employed to pay their Class 2 contributions through self-assessment alongside their income tax and Class 4 NICs. Liability for Class 2 NICs will … Continued

Following a recent case in front of the Upper Tier Tax Tribunal involving a doctor with a private practice (Dr Samadian), HMRC are applying the rules for business travel much more strictly. The “wholly and exclusive” principle states that where there is both a business and a personal reason or benefit in meeting an expense, … Continued

Many employees and employers find the current tax rules for dealing with travelling and subsistence claims difficult to understand. This is an area that the Office of Tax Simplification is seeking to make more comprehensible.  Consequently, the treasury are consulting on possible changes to the rules, and the way that such expenses are reported. The … Continued

Anyone with an open enquiry (or appeal) concerning a tax avoidance scheme may be issued with follower notices and accelerated payment notices under new legislation in Finance Act 2014. It is understood that 43,000 payment notices will be issued by HMRC (33,000 to individuals and 10,000 to corporates) and will cover about £7.1 billion of … Continued

More than a third (38%) of people don’t have enough money to save every month, according to research by Lloyds Bank. Lloyds Bank’s latest survey of more than 3,500 people found that 24% will either stop saving or save less during the next 12 months. The research found: 34% of respondents have less than their … Continued

From 6 April 2014 the standard lifetime allowance will be reduced from £1.5 million to £1.25 million. Individual Protection 2014 will give individuals a protected lifetime allowance equal to the value of their pension savings on 5 April 2014, subject to an overall maximum of £1.5 million. You will not lose Individual Protection 2014 by … Continued

The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is a 100 per cent allowance for plant, machinery and equipment capped at an annual amount. This means that all expenditure within this capped amount can be written off against the taxable profits for the same period. Expenditure over that amount is subject to the normal writing down allowances for … Continued

HMRC carry out compliance checks into business records, returns or other documents to make sure that the right amount of tax is being paid at the right time. What happens during a compliance check  HMRC will always tell you what they are checking and if they find that they need to extend the scope of … Continued

Measures introduced last year limit the deductions which can be made in certain circumstances when calculating the chargeable value of an individual’s estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes. The new rules are designed to stop individuals creating debts in order to reduce their IHT liabilities. IHT is charged on the net value of an individual’s … Continued

HMRC has begun testing the value of publishing ‘benchmarks’, in an effort to improve voluntary compliance and behaviour in various trade sectors. By drawing attention to the benchmarks, HMRC hopes to reduce the scope for errors being made by the businesses falling within the targeted trade sectors, both before and after their Tax Returns have … Continued