Research and development (R&D) tax credit claims by small businesses climbed to £1.345 billion in 2015/16, according to HMRC. The revenue recently released R&D data for the previous financial year that shows claims increased from £1 billion in 2014/15 to hit another record high last year. The total number of claims for R&D credits in…

What are the best ways to assess your firm’s performance? Changing market conditions make it more important than ever to measure your business’ performance on a regular basis. The impact caused by recent events, such as the vote to leave the EU in June 2016 and the snap general election, have added to the uncertainty…

Reducing corporation tax due on patent income. The patent box regime applies a reduced rate of corporation tax to profits attributable to qualifying patents and similar intellectual property (IP). Unincorporated businesses can’t qualify for the patent box. The patent box tax rate has gradually been reduced to 10% since the introduction of the regime in…

Almost a quarter (23%) of businesses paying the apprenticeship levy has no understanding of how it works – six months after its introduction. 56% of more than 1,400 firms surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) did not expect to recover their payment, despite receiving an annual allowance to offset against the bill. As…

Businesses are in no rush to make investments amid the ongoing uncertainty of Brexit, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). More than one in four businesses are delaying investment decisions as the government continues negotiations with the EU. As a result of their collective cautiousness, 61% of those firms…

Two-thirds (66%) of small businesses are feeling the effects of clients who fail to pay their bills on time, research shows. Banking group Close Brothers polled 900 small business owners and found the problem was particularly serious for 87% of SMEs in Northern Ireland, 73% in London and 72% in the South West. Late payments…

Workers under the age of 25 are missing out on more than £6,000 a year because they are not entitled to the national living wage (NLW). Charity group Young Women’s Trust polled 4,010 people aged between 18 and 30, finding the average young worker is paid £3.45 an hour less for doing the same work…

Once you’ve been running auto-enrolment for three years you’ll need to re-enrol workers. Over the last five years there has been a seismic shift in attitudes towards retirement saving. Auto-enrolment means workplace pensions are now regarded by many employees as a normal part of working life. Although detractors argue that minimum contributions lull people into…

The government has published Finance Bill 2017-19, containing a number of changes that will affect both savers and investors. Many of the measures in the Bill were expected in April 2017 but were withdrawn due to the snap general election, which took place on 8 June 2017. Most of them have now been reinstated with…

Nearly half (41%) of self-employed people struggle to save any money each month, leaving them exposed to financial problems. Insurer LV= surveyed 9,495 self-employed workers and found one in three could not survive for more than three months if they lost their income. Nearly two thirds (62%) of respondents said monthly bills eat up the…

Landlords are increasing rent prices due to the recent introduction of buy-to-let tax regulations, according to a study. Estate agent Your Move analysed rental prices on around 20,000 properties and found the average rent in England and Wales rose by 3.1% in the past year to £874. The rise in rental prices can be attributed…

The deadline to submit your self-assessment paper tax return for the 2016/17 tax year is 31 October 2017. All income received during the tax year running from 6 April to 5 April must be accounted for in your tax return. To report your income, claim tax reliefs or any outstanding repayments, you need to complete…

A guide for employers on topical payroll issues. Employers need to keep an eye on changes affecting payroll so all employees have the right amount of tax deducted under PAYE. This is a round-up of the latest payroll-related developments. Dynamic coding In July 2017, PAYE tax codes became more refined. Under the new system, known…

Individuals will be able to legally ask businesses to delete certain personal data under new proposals outlined in the Data Protection Bill. The Bill forms part of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is due to come into effect on 25 May 2018. The legislation will allow individuals greater control over their personal…

Recruiters are finding it difficult to hire new staff due to increasing competition for highly skilled employees, a study has found. Of 400 recruitment agencies surveyed by IHS Markit for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), 40% found the availability of temporary staff had got worse in July 2017 compared to the previous month (35%).…