UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak this afternoon announced his Spring 2022 Statement from the UK Government. Within this announcement, The Chancellor affirmed the Government’s commitment to stand behind businesses in the UK. Boosting productivity and productivity within the UK is key to the Spring Statement, as are the plans to incentivise …
Payment period on residential CGT is doubled
The government has doubled the payment period for capital gains tax (CGT) on residential property from 30 days to 60 days. Although the measure was not announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the recent Autumn Budget, it was included in HM Treasury’s Budget publication. The change applies from 27 October …
HMRC’s additional Amazon VAT registration requests and how to navigate them
The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped e-commerce landscapes in dramatic but often positive ways. In the UK, retail e-commerce saw a massive boost, particularly in categories like food and household goods. In 2020 alone, the market saw 46.5% year-over-year growth, and that trend has only continued. By 2025, experts expect e-commerce to …
Deadline for 2020/21 self assessment tax returns approaching
HMRC has reminded self assessment taxpayers that the deadlines for filing 2020/21 tax returns are now approaching. The deadline for 2020/21 tax returns is 31 October 2021 for those completed on paper forms and 31 January 2022 for online returns. HMRC has already seen thousands of people filing their returns …
IoD urges government to introduce tax super-deduction for investment in retraining
The Institute of Directors (IoD) has called on the government to introduce a tax super-deduction to plug an investment gap in retraining. The IoD also outlined other measures to ‘help the UK reorientate to a higher skill economy’, including reintroducing lifelong personalised training budgets to be used on accredited vocational …
Working Tax Credit customers must report changes to working hours
HMRC is urging Working Tax Credit (WTC) customers to check if they need to update their working hours if these have reduced because of the pandemic. During the pandemic, WTC customers have not needed to tell HMRC about temporary short-term reductions in their working hours due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). …
IoD urges government to reduce planned level of business tax rises
The Institute of Directors (IoD) is urging the government to use the upcoming Budget to reduce the planned level of business tax rises. The IoD believes that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will revise its GDP growth forecasts up for 2021, potentially resulting in stronger tax receipts. It stated …
OTS says changing date of tax year end would be beneficial
Adopting a tax year which is either aligned with the calendar year or with a calendar month-end would have clear benefits, according to a review from the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS). The review considers the high-level implications of moving the tax year end date to 31 December, and a …
Thousands of teenagers missing out on Child Trust Fund cash
HMRC is urging young people to check if they have a Child Trust Fund (CTF) account. It is now one year since the first account holders started turning 18 and around 55,000 CTFs mature every month. This means their owners can withdraw funds or transfer savings into an adult ISA. …
Tax-Free Childcare can ease the cost of the return to school, says HMRC
Families may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) to help pay for breakfast clubs and after school clubs as their children go back to school, HMRC has said. Eligible families can save money on their childcare and benefit from a government top-up worth up to £2,000 every year, or up …
Drop proposed basis period reform, urges ICAEW
Pushing through proposals to change basis periods ahead of the expansion of Making Tax Digital (MTD) will cause as many problems as it solves, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has warned. HMRC recently began a consultation outlining proposals to align basis periods with the tax …
HMRC urges taxpayers to stay alert to digital scams
HMRC has urged taxpayers to stay alert to the threat of digital scams and scammers claiming to represent HMRC. Research published by HMRC revealed that the number of tax-related scams has doubled in the past 12 months. In the past year HMRC has received more than one million referrals from …
HMRC outlines changes to late payment penalty regime
HMRC has published a paper outlining the changes to the late payment penalty regime for taxpayers. The government intends to reform sanctions for late submission and late payments to make them ‘fairer and more consistent across taxes’. Initially the changes will apply to VAT and income tax self assessment (ITSA). …
Deadline looms for parents to update Child Benefit for 16-year-olds
HMRC has reminded parents and carers that they have until 31 August 2021 to confirm whether their teenagers are staying in full-time education or training beyond 16. If they do decide to continue their full-time education or training, parents and carers will be eligible to continue receiving Child Benefit payments …
HMRC publishes list of excuses given by employers for not paying minimum wage
HMRC has published a list of the most absurd excuses given by employers for not paying their employees the National Minimum Wage (NMW). HMRC noted that while the majority of employers pay their employees at least the NMW, it had received bizarre excuses for not paying the legal minimum. Some …
Staying safe from scams
Scammers and fraudsters thrive on confusion and instability, so the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and ongoing economic repercussions of Brexit have created opportunities for them to attack businesses, taxpayers and savers. Online scams rose 15-fold last year as criminals exploited national events, according to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). It …
Over 280,000 families now using Tax-Free Childcare
More than 282,000 working families used a Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) account during March, according to figures from HMRC. HMRC said that it is the highest recorded number of families in any one month since the scheme was launched in April 2017. These families received a share of more than £33 …
800,000 claim tax relief for working from home
Almost 800,000 employees who have been working from home during the pandemic have already claimed tax relief on household related costs, HMRC has confirmed. The saving is worth up to £125 per year for each employee, and eligible workers can claim the full year’s entitlement if they have been told …