Check your tax calculation Each year HMRC undertake a PAYE reconciliation for employed individuals who are not required to submit a tax return to check that the correct amount of tax has been paid. Where it has not, HMRC will send out either a P800 tax calculation or a PA302 … [Read more...]

Closing a business – when a member’s voluntary liquidation is beneficial Although it is possible to strike off a company and for distributions made prior to dissolution to be treated as capital rather than as a dividend, this is not an option where the amount of the distributions … [Read more...]

Calculating Business Profits - Common Errors HMRC produce a range of toolkits, which highlight errors commonly made in returns. The business profits toolkit provides guidance on errors that are found in relation to business profits for small and medium sized businesses. They are … [Read more...]

Penalties for late self-assessment returns The normal due date for a self-assessment return where filed online is 31 January after the end of the tax year to which it relates. This means that the self-assessment returns for 2018/19 must be filed online by midnight on 31 January … [Read more...]

Tax free mobile phones Mobile phones are subject to a tax exemption which enables employees to enjoy a mobile phone provided by their employer without suffering a benefit in kind tax charge. However, as with all exemptions there are conditions to be met for the exemption to … [Read more...]

Electricity for electric cars – a tax free benefit The Government is keen to encourage drivers to make environmentally friendly choices when it comes to choosing a car. As far as the company car tax market is concerned, tax policy is used to drive behaviour, rewarding drivers … [Read more...]

Tax relief for charitable donations Individuals who make charitable donations can do so tax free. There are various ways of making tax relieved gifts to charity – the way in which the relief works depends on whether the donation is made via Gift Aid, as a deduction from wages or … [Read more...]

Travel expenses and the 24 month rule As a general rule, employees are denied a tax deduction for the cost of travel between home and work. Likewise, subject to a few limited exceptions, if the employer meets the cost of home to work travel, the employee is taxed on it. One of … [Read more...]

Voluntary National Insurance Contributions – should you pay? The payment of National Insurance Contributions provides the mechanism by which an individual builds up their entitlement to the state pension and certain contributory benefits. Different classes of contribution provide … [Read more...]

Are you paying the national minimum wage? The National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) increased from 1 April 2019. From that date, the NLW, payable to workers aged 25 and over, is set at £8.21 per hour. Workers under the age of 25 and over school leaving age … [Read more...]