Uncategorised

Please find below all the articles that have been categorised as 'Uncategorised'.

Property CGT – avoid reporting traps

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Since April 2020, UK-resident taxpayers have been required to report gains on residential property, and make a payment on account of the tax due, within 30 days of completion. One of the key features of the reporting regime is that this 30-day reporting is only required where tax is due. If a gain is covered by the available annual exempt amount, or by losses that have crystallised before the completion date (but not later losses – even from the same tax year), no special return is needed. In…

P11Ds for 2020/21 – COVID19 considerations

Thursday, July 1, 2021

The P11D filing deadline for 2020/21 is 6 July 2021. Usually, this is a routine exercise in most cases. However, due to COVID19, some additional consideration may be required this time round. HMRC have published guidance regarding certain items that need some thought because of the pandemic.

COVID19 testing

Any COVID19 tests provided by the government as part of its national testing scheme, for example for healthcare workers and other frontline staff, are not treated as a benefit in kind.

For other employers, the cost…

Latest news round up

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Finance Act 2021

The Finance Bill that was published on 11 March 2021 received Royal Assent on 10 June and can be viewed online here.

COVID19

From 1 July the level of government support for the furlough scheme will reduce. The government contribution will fall to 70%, subject to a cap of £2,187.50 per month. The employer will now be required to make a contribution of at least 10% (up to £312.50) to maintain the 80% employees were previously entitled to. Employers can…

VAT group registration

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Reference is usually made to a VAT-registered business. However, this is not quite correct as it is the person, either real or legal, that is actually registered. For example, where sole trader has a number of different business activities it is not possible to register them separately. Is the sole trader themselves that the VAT number relates to.

In the case of companies, all activities carried out by the company will come under the company’s VAT registration number. However, where there are a number of companies, they will usually…

Gift aid problems

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Most people give to charity in one form or another at some point. This could be by donating unwanted clothes, books, and so on to the local charity shop. They can also be a cash donation via a site like Just Giving, or they may be ongoing payments by direct debit – commonly for qualifying memberships such as the National Trust, or English Heritage etc.

In light of the impact of Covid-19 on finances it is a good idea to review these arrangements now in order to…

Non-resident SDLT surcharge now in effect

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Since 1 April 2021, any non-UK resident purchasing UK residential property are liable to a 2% surcharge where the property is located in England or Northern Ireland, and cost more than £40,000. This applies to both individuals and companies.

The definition of “non-UK resident” for the purposes of the surcharge has a different meaning than for income tax and CGT, both of which are determined by the statutory residence test (SRT). For SDLT purposes, an individual will be non-UK resident if they were not present in the UK for…

Latest news round up

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Finance Bill amendments

Following the Budget in early March, the current Finance Bill was published on 11 March 2021. Since that date, a number of amendments have been made. Of the most significant, the following stand out in particular.

A clause in Schedule 2 that explicitly included furnished holiday lettings in the provisions for the temporary extension to loss relief has been deleted. When the bill was first published, some commentators pointed out that further changes to the law would be required because FHL businesses are not eligible to use…

Making Tax Digital

Saturday, May 1, 2021

From 1 April 2021, all compulsorily VAT-registered businesses that submit electronic VAT returns are required to digitally link the business records to their VAT returns. This must be done by using HMRC approved bookkeeping software. This can include spreadsheets prepared in Microsoft Excel, or similar software, but the key point is that the data must flow automatically from the initial manual input to the VAT return. HMRC does not accept that the use of cut-and-paste or copy-and-paste to move information between software programs, or within different parts of…

Debt factoring and VAT

Saturday, May 1, 2021

Due to the coronavirus, many businesses are experiencing cash flow issues as their customers struggle to make payments in good time. A range of banks offer debt factoring as a way of improving the cash flow position. However, there are VAT considerations that should not be overlooked.

Debt factoring is the term used for any one of a number of arrangements that involve transferring the right to payment of invoices to a third party, e.g. a bank. The business invoices its customer in the usual way, the bank then…

Student loans for 2021-22

Saturday, May 1, 2021

Starting from 6 April 2021, there is a new type of undergraduate student loan that employers need to be aware of when operating payroll – the Plan 4 loan (SLP4). The new plan type has been necessary due to the Scottish government amending certain details regarding repayment, including the increase of the earnings threshold. SLP4 will apply to all new and existing Scottish borrowers. This means that Scottish borrowers that were in repayment before 6 April 2021 using the Plan 1 (SLP1) arrangements will need to be moved…