Uncategorised

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

National minimum wage increases announced

Friday, April 1, 2016

Following recommendations made by the Low Pay commission, the government has announced increases in the national minimum wage (NMW), which will take effect from October 2016.

The new rates will be as follows:

– The rate for 21- to 24-year-olds will rise by 3.7% to £6.95 an hour.
– The rate for 18- to 20-year-olds will rise by 4.7% to £5.55 an hour.
– The rate for 16- to 17-year-olds will rise by 3.4% to £4.00 an hour.
– The apprentice rate will rise by 3% to £3.40 an hour.

For further information, see…

Close alignment of income tax and NICS

Friday, April 1, 2016

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has published its recommendations on closer alignment of income tax and national insurance contributions. The report contains some bold recommendations for what would be a major reform of the UK’s tax rules.

At summer Budget 2015, the government asked the OTS to look at options for aligning Income Tax (IT) and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). This followed on from recommendations made by the OTS as far back at 2011, and the latest report builds on earlier work of the OTS including the…

OTS recommends simplifications for small companies

Friday, April 1, 2016

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has unveiled a package of recommendations aimed at making the tax system simpler and easier to use for small companies. The report, entitled Small company taxation review contains a mix of long range structural change ideas and simpler short term administrative improvements.

The recommended administrative changes include:

– aligning filing and payment dates, e.g. VAT and PAYE, and annual returns and corporation tax;
– HMRC providing extra support at weekends and evenings when more small company owners deal with their tax affairs;
– stopping companies…

The Budget 2016 – Download our free guide (PDF)

Thursday, March 17, 2016

In this analysis we have mainly concentrated on the tax measures that will directly affect individuals, employers and small businesses.

We are committed to ensuring all our clients don’t pay a penny more in tax than is necessary.

If you have any questions or would like one-to-one advice tailored to your needs, please call us on 01792 466 428 or email [email protected].

March Questions and Answers

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Q. What are the implications of selling my Scottish home? I own and live in a property in Scotland. What are the implications of me selling the house to a relative, who will buy it using a buy-to-let mortgage, and allow me to stay in it and pay rent to her as a tenant?

A. If the house has always been your main residence, there should be no capital gains tax implications for you. Depending on the purchase price, your relative may have to pay the Scottish land and…

Practical implications of the dividend tax allowance

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

The new rules governing the taxation of dividends are set to take effect in relation to dividends received after 5 April 2016. The changes include:

– a £5,000 dividend nil rate (also known as the ‘dividend tax allowance’ (DTA)), which will effectively tax at the nil rate, the first £5,000 of taxable dividend income (i.e. after deducting the personal allowance, but treating dividends as the top slice of income, so the personal allowance is used last against dividends). Any dividends above the first £5,000 will be taxed as if…

March Key Tax Dates

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

19/22 – PAYE/NIC, student loan and CIS deductions due for month to 5/3/2016

31 – Last minute tax planning for the 2015/16 tax year. Ensure you use up all exemptions to which you are entitled

Employee bonus schemes in the spotlight

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

HMRC have recently published the latest addition to their tax avoidance guidance series, entitled Employee Bonus Schemes: Growth Securities Ownership Plan and other avoidance schemes based on contracts for difference (Spotlight 28). The Spotlight guidance confirms that, in HMRC’s opinion, growth securities ownership plan schemes do not work and any payment made by an employer to an employee on the maturity of the contract for difference should be taxed as employment income and subject to PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs).

Broadly, under this type of arrangement,…

Landlords’ replacement wear and tear allowance

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Capital allowances are not available for expenditure on furniture and furnishings for use in dwelling houses. However, until 5 April 2016 (1 April 2016 for corporation tax) a deduction for wear and tear may be claimed (known as a ‘wear and tear allowance election’), equal to 10% of the ‘net rents’ from furnished lettings (ie after deducting payments that would normally be borne by the tenant, such as water rates). In addition, a deduction may be claimed for replacing fixtures that are an integral part of a building…

Personal savings allowance update

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

From 6 April 2016, the personal savings allowance (PSA) will allow basic rate taxpayers to receive up to £1,000 of savings income tax-free. For higher rate taxpayers, this limit will be £500. HMRC have published guidance setting out details of what counts as savings income and how the allowance will be calculated, including some useful examples.

Savings income includes account interest from:

– bank and building society accounts;
– accounts with providers like credit unions or National Savings and Investments.

It also includes:

– interest distributions (but not dividend distributions) from authorised unit…