Archive:December 2020

Please find below all the articles from December 2020.

Gift Aid tax relief

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

This year, many charities have been heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and have struggled to raise funds. Highlighting the prospects of tax reliefs on donations is one way to encourage gifts.

Broadly, the government’s Gift Aid scheme is designed to help maximise the value of a gift made to a charity by allowing most UK taxpayers to claim tax relief on the gift.

Under the Gift Aid scheme, individuals can claim tax relief on making one-off or regular gifts to charity. No lower or upper limit applies on donations…

Directors’ loans – a reminder of the tax charge

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Cash transactions between a director and a personal or family company are recorded through the director’s account. At the end of an accounting period, if the director owes the company money (ie the account is considered overdrawn), and the company is close (broadly, one that is controlled by five or fewer shareholders (participators)), there will be tax consequences to consider.

The s 455 charge

A tax charge will arise under the Corporation Tax Act 2009, s 455 where a director’s loan account is overdrawn at the end of the accounting…

HMRC encourage businesses to register for the Trader Support Service

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

The Government is urging businesses to sign up to the Trader Support Service (TSS) before the end of the Brexit transition period.

The new service provides a free-to-use digital platform to help businesses and traders of all sizes navigate the upcoming changes to the way goods moved under the Northern Ireland Protocol from 1 January 2021.

The service launched at the end of September and by the middle of November more than 7,000 businesses had signed up. HMRC are however, encouraging more businesses to follow suit.

The TSS contact centre, which…

Finance Bill 2021 and other changes

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Although there is no official Budget statement this Autumn, HMRC have published details of a series of measures affecting tax. Some of the changes will take place straight away or from April 2021, others are to be consulted on and included in draft Finance Bill 2021. The key announcements are summarised in the following paragraphs.

Capital allowances AIA extended

The Government has announced that it is extending the current temporary level of the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) of £1,000,000 by one year covering 1 January to 31 December 2021.

This extension…