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£50m shot in the arm for the UK’s creative businesses
Film-makers and video-game developers will be among the creative firms that can benefit from a new £50 million pot. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced a multi-year UK global screen fund will open soon. That will provide £21m towards promoting UK films globally over the next three years, following a successful…
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Two million people missed self-assessment deadline
More than two million people missed a self-assessment tax return deadline on 31 January 2022, according to HMRC. The tax authority said more than 10.2 million returns were filed ahead of the original deadline, leaving 2.3 million still to file. Late-filers had until 28 February 2022 to file their 2020/21 tax returns online before being…
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Tax data card 2022/23
Tax Card 2022/23
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How to value your business in 2022
Is it only worth what the buyer wants to pay? The last year has been challenging for all of us, let alone business owners who’ve had to claim emergency support and battled hard to stay afloat. Having survived those choppy waters, maybe it’s time to get your business valued as thoughts drift towards an exit…
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Utilising your pension to cut inheritance tax
Pensions usually fall outside of your estate. Inheritance tax was thought to be ripe for reform in last year’s Autumn Budget but, as it happened, it was left untouched for another tax year. What that means is the £325,000 nil-rate band has been in place since 2009, while the 40% standard rate of tax that…
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Deadline looms for new hospitality and leisure grants
Eligible businesses in England have until the end of this month to apply for the new Omicron hospitality and leisure grants. The Treasury announced more support for hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses before Christmas last year. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said at that time the new grant scheme was part of a new support package worth…
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Treasury’s pensions tax relief bill soars past £42bn
The costs involved with providing pensions tax relief are predicted to have increased to £42.7 billion in 2020/21, according to HMRC. Forecasts for the 2020/21 tax year showed another steady annual rise, following estimates of £41.3bn in 2019/20 and £38.2bn in 2018/19. The 2020/21 figure of £42.7bn was split between £22.9bn in income tax and…
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Omicron-hit employers can reclaim statutory sick pay
Small and medium-sized employers can reclaim money from the Treasury to cover statutory sick pay (SSP) paid to employees with COVID-19. Chancellor Rishi Sunak reintroduced the SSP rebate scheme last month, after it initially closed on 30 September 2021. It forms part of a series of measures announced to support businesses affected by the new…
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HMRC waives penalties again for late self-assessment
Anyone who missed last month’s self-assessment deadline has until 28 February 2022 to file their tax returns online before being fined. HMRC said last month that fines would not be enforced on taxpayers who missed the 2020/21 deadline at midnight on 31 January 2022. The tax authority said COVID-19 had piled added pressure on individuals…
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Year-end tax guide 2021/22
Throughout 2021/22, COVID-19 has continued to dominate. Millions of employees and directors on payroll were furloughed, and the self-employed continued to rely on grants available via the income support schemes. Arranging your financial affairs as tax-efficiently as possible before the start of the new tax year on 6 April 2022 is arguably more important than…
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How to extract profits out of a company…..
Once you’ve set up an incorporated business and become a director, you have to be smart about how you extract profit to avoid paying more tax than you need to. There are three main routes for a director to extract profits from their own limited company – salary, dividends and pension contributions. Usually, combining these…
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How to structure your business….
If you’re looking to join the 4.3 million people in the UK who made the jump into self-employment, you might be wondering how to start your new business. Assuming you’ve weighed up the pros and cons involved and decided launching a startup is right for you, one of the first things to consider is how…
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Report sheds more light on changes to R&D regime
More details have emerged on upcoming changes to the UK’s research and development (R&D) regime, which will take effect from April 2023. The Treasury published a report on R&D following last year’s Autumn Budget, in which Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced several new measures. “If we want greater private-sector innovation, we need to make our R&D…
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More red tape for importers as new EU checks kick in
Most UK importers were unprepared for the recent introduction of import controls on EU goods, according to a report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Full customs declarations and controls took effect from 1 January 2022, although safety and security declarations are not required until 1 July 2022. Before 1 January 2022, full customs…
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One in four buy-to-let landlords ‘plan to sell up in 2022’
Almost a quarter of landlords plan to sell up over the next 12 months as buy-to-let becomes increasingly difficult to navigate, a report has claimed. Research from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) found that 23% of property investors intend to dispose of an additional residential property this year. Buy-to-let landlords said tougher tax rules,…
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HMRC is reminding taxpayers that the deadline to submit 2020/21 personal tax returns through self-assessment is on or before midnight on 31 January 2022.
HMRC issues last reminder for 2020/21 personal tax returns Some 407,510 startups were created during the 2020/21 tax year, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic. Those who are unincorporated require a unique taxpayer (UTR) code to file their first tax returns via self-assessment for the 2020/21 tax year. But the tax authority is experiencing…
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The construction industry scheme minefield…..
The construction industry remains one of the UK’s key sectors, which also helps to underpin the UK economy, despite experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2021, construction output grew by 1.3% on the previous month – placing the sector just 1% below its pre-pandemic level – and it’s still worth a decent…
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Everything you need to know before April 2024 about Making Tax Digital
Making Tax Digital for income tax (MTD for ITSA) looks certain to affect sole traders and landlords from April 2024, following the recent news of a one-year delay. This was the latest in a long line of delays and deferrals in the rollout of MTD, which was first proposed by then-Chancellor George Osborne in late…
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Sole traders and other unincorporated businesses reporting change
Reforms to the ways in which unincorporated businesses pay income tax – known as basis periods – will go ahead, one year later than planned. Proposals and draft legislation were published in July 2021, suggesting the new rules would commence from 6 April 2023. Instead, sole traders and most business partnerships will be subject to…
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Tax reporting deadline for additional property sales extends to 60 days
Buy-to-let landlords and second homeowners have twice the amount of time to report and pay capital gains tax after selling a residential property in the UK. The deadline to report and pay capital gains tax after completing the sale of additional UK residential property is now 60 days – up from 30 days. The change…
