Hospitality and Tourism VAT Rate Increases to 12.5%
VAT for pubs, restaurants, holiday accommodation and entry to certain attractions increased from 5% to 12.5% last month, following the end of a tax break. A temporary cut first introduced on 8 July 2020 saw the standard rate of VAT for struggling businesses in the hospitality and tourism sectors fall from 20% to 5%.That short-term […]
2020/21 Income Tax Returns & the SEISS
Three grants worth up to £21,570 are taxable. A chunk of time has passed since the self-employed income support scheme (SEISS) was launched in May 2020, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first taxable grant, worth up to £7,500 in total, was paid out in August 2020. That was followed by a second […]
Accounting for Charities & Non-Profits
How the third sector is assessed for tax. Anyone who’s involved in operating a charity knows how it differs from running a business, both in terms of motives and objectives. HMRC treats non-profit organisations and charities very differently to businesses, offering some unique tax breaks in the process. If a charity is recognised by the […]
Capital Gains Tax Receipts Climb 3% to Record-High
HMRC collected a record of £9.9 billion from capital gains tax receipts in 2019/20, according to official statistics published last month. The tax authority said this was 3% up on the previous tax year’s receipts, but the number of taxpayers paying tax on their gains fell 6% to around 265,000. Most of the liabilities collected […]
1 in 5 UK Employers Consider Making Redundancies
A minority of UK employers could be about to cut jobs, due to the withdrawal of the furlough scheme and rising costs. The scheme, which has protected around 11.6 million jobs since the start of the pandemic, will close on 30 September 2021. The Government currently pays 60% of a furloughed worker’s wages and employers […]
National Insurance Contributions Rates ‘Poised to Increase’
The Government could be set to raise National Insurance contributions (NICs) by 1% for both employers and employees, a report has claimed. The Times claimed senior ministers have agreed to increase rates to raise an extra £10 billion a year for the National Insurance Fund. This would initially be used to reduce NHS waiting lists, before […]
Deadline Approaches for Fifth and Final Self-Employed Grant
The self-employed have until the end of the month to apply for the final grant available via the self-employed income support scheme (SEISS). Everyone who is eligible for the last SEISS grant should have received a personal start date from HMRC in recent months. These gave self-employed taxpayers a date from which they can apply for […]
What Does Your PAYE Tax Code Mean?
We all have one, it is the corner stone of your pay slip, and it dictates what deductions are taken from your hard earned salary – we refer, of course, to your tax code. But do you know exactly what your tax code means, or do you simply take it for granted that it’ll do […]
Tax Planning for Residential Landlords
Tax Planning for Residential Landlords Planning to take advantage of low interest rates? After a challenging year for the UK’s residential landlords, you might have read about improvements to the buy-to-let mortgage market in recent weeks. In the three months to 31 May 2021, the average interest rates for residential landlords had declined. A two-year […]
The Pro’s and Con’s of a Company Electric Car
The Pros & Cons of a Company Electric Car Should employers shift towards greener vehicles? Despite the potentially high personal tax charge, many employees still enjoy and prefer the convenience of being offered the use of a company car by their employer. Those employers familiar with the benefit-in-kind tax rules will be aware the tax […]
