Philip Hammond’s decision to abolish stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for most first-time buyers on all properties worth up to £300,000 saved homeowners £284 million in the first half of 2018. The chancellor scrapped SDLT in Autumn Budget 2017 for most people taking their first steps on the property ladder in England, Northern Ireland and…

HMRC has confirmed that digital reporting requirements will be relaxed during the first year of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT-registered businesses. From April 2019, businesses with annual taxable turnover of more than £85,000 will be required to maintain digital records for VAT and submit quarterly returns alongside the annual tax return. Under the requirements…

How can you reduce your capital gains tax bill in 2018/19? Whether you’re a buy-to-let landlord, a shareholder, an art dealer or you fall somewhere in between, the chances are you will be familiar with paying capital gains tax (CGT). CGT is payable when you ‘dispose’ of a certain item and make money from the…

How to make this tax break work for you. Millions of married couples and civil partners in the UK are eligible for the marriage allowance, but take-up has remained subdued since the tax break came into force on 6 April 2015. Almost half of the UK’s eligible couples failed to claim their slice of £1.3…

Over-40s in England should pay a new tax to help cover the costs of providing care for the elderly, MPs have said. Two influential House of Commons’ committees called for the introduction of a social care premium, which would also see retirees made to pay if they have lucrative pensions or investments. The money generated…

A contractor group has slammed HMRC for omitting mutuality of obligation in an online tool designed to assess an individual’s employment status. Mutuality of obligation requires employers to provide ongoing work for an employee, who then has an obligation to perform that work. In a self-employed relationship, there is no continuing obligation on either side…

Obligations from 1 April 2019 onwards. Although the Making Tax Digital (MTD) regime has suffered several setbacks and delays, MTD for VAT remains on course to take effect from its planned implementation date of 1 April 2019. Under the scheme, VAT-registered businesses are required to maintain digital records, complete the VAT return from the digital…

Working pensioners are on course to pay £8.6 billion in income tax in 2018/19, according to Aegon. The number of pensioner households containing at least one person working beyond their state pension age increased from 12% in 1997/98 to an estimated 17% in 2018/19. Aegon estimates there are around 12.8 million people living in 8.7…

The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) has called for the VAT threshold to be increased, in response to a government consultation. The current £85,000 threshold at which businesses must register for VAT has been frozen until 2020, while the government deliberates on its approach to the tax. Chancellor Philip Hammond considered lowering…

Pressure is mounting on the government to reform the apprenticeships system, following recent apprenticeship levy statistics. The Institute of Directors (IoD) has joined the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) in urging the government to address ongoing problems with the levy. Apprenticeship starts were down 25% for the seven months to February 2018 compared with the…

A brief guide to the tax implications of IR35. IR35 is the shorthand name for tax rules concerning the provision of personal services through intermediaries. These rules came into effect on 6 April 2000, but they were significantly amended from 6 April 2017 for contracts involving public sector bodies. There are now two different applications…

Your obligations for reporting travel expenses. Many employees need to travel as part of their job for various reasons, whether it’s acquiring new customers, working with current ones or attending conferences and events. The system of benefits and taxation surrounding this essential economic activity is classed as ‘travel and subsistence’ in the eyes of the…

Most employers are currently getting their houses in order when it comes to reporting employee benefits and expenses ahead of the 6 July 2018 deadline. At the end of the tax year, employers may need to inform HMRC if any taxable benefits were handed out to members of staff over the previous 12 months. These…

HMRC has delayed rolling out digital services for individuals, such as the simple assessment and dynamic coding changes. The move was announced in an email sent to stakeholders, which confirmed the delay was down to a shift in key priorities driven by the need to free up civil servants for Brexit. Jon Thompson, chief executive…