The deadline for submitting your 2010-11 tax return to H.M. Revenue and Customs online is midnight on Tuesday 31st January 2012. (The deadline for paper returns passed at the end of October 2011). Failure to submit your...

Only a few years ago, the lowest tax rate paid by most people was 10%, with the basic rate at 20%, and the highest rate at 40%.  Today, very few people get any advantage from the 10% rate and the highest rate charged on income is now 50% -...

The reduction in the level of AIA from £100,000 to £25,000 per year from 1 April 2012 for companies and 6 April 2012 for sole traders and partnerships, means that the timing of expenditure has become even more important.  Care...

HMRC are at it again!  In a recent case the taxpayer won the right to appeal against a  demand for underpaid tax, which had arisen because he had been allocated a personal allowance twice against two different pensions.  Despite...

Some of the key changes announced in the March Budget have been confirmed in the Finance Bill. Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts the rate of income tax relief given under the Enterprise...

It is fairly widely know that the banks intend to withdraw the facility to make and receive payments by cheque in October 2018.  However, their decision to withdraw the cheque guarantee card facility as soon as 30 June 2011, has not been...

Plumbing and Heating Engineers are currently being targeted by HMRC and a "tax amnesty" is available!   Please get in touch to see if this affects you.   2 March 2011

With tuition fees set to rise, the cost of attending university is causing obvious consternation to sixth formers and their parents across the country. However, one lucky group of students is set to benefit from expert advice. During February...

HMRC have announced they are no longer going to provide annual PAYE updates in the form of the CD-ROM, which has been issued to all employers in recent years. From September 2010 employers have to download the updates for the CD-ROM from...

As part of the service we offer clients for whom we complete tax returns, we check Notices of Coding issued by HMRC in respect of employment income and pensions. This is particularly important where there is more than one source of such income...

HMRC is telling debt–ridden companies to pay their tax bill by credit card rather than allowing them to defer their tax under the “Time to pay” scheme! This is bad news for the taxpayer as HMRC charges a fee of 1.25% of the...

H M Revenue and Customs are to withdraw agents’ copies of some self assessment and PAYE forms.  The forms affected are P2 PAYE coding notices, P800 tax calculation, SA250 and SA251.  Details of the changes can be found on...

Here are a few points, in brief,  that you may find interesting: STUDENT LOANS The method of collecting student loans through the self assessment system can result in over payment.  There are ways of...

There were a lot of stories in the press and on the news earlier in the year about the latest HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) initiative regarding under or overpayment of tax for people with jobs. The Revenue has discovered what we in the...

Tricia has become aware that certain organisations are approaching businesses in the construction industry and offering ways to ensure that all your “workers” – employees, sub-contractors, ex-agency operatives – are...

With the main holiday season of the year well and truly at an end and we are urging farm-based self-catering businesses to make sure that they are fully aware of the proposed rule changes which may affect them next year. Holiday...

George Osborne opened his very own Pandora's Box with the emergency budget statement. We now have a clearer idea of his public expenditure cuts and tax changes. This update provides an initial summary of some of the tax changes. We will provide...

YES!!!! These are still doing the rounds - we received one this morning (26th July 2010)   Since 2008 we have been reporting about scam emails, seemingly from HMRC, advising of a tax refund. These are becoming more...

The new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition released a short document setting out their main tax proposals.  It included a clear statement that they are planning to use increased capital gains tax revenues to...

From a fairly unexciting Budget (at first glance) two bits of good news: Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) went up to £100,000 a year from 5 April 2010 for individuals, 1 April 2010 for companies – but we...

So how will December's Pre-Budget Statement affect you? In the short term, the answer is probably 'very little' because, against a background of low or even negative inflation, income tax rates and allowances have been frozen for 2010/11...

February 2010 As previously announced, the standard rate of VAT reverted to 17.5% from 1 January 2010. Traders using the Flat Rate Scheme for Small Businesses should note that, as part of the Pre-Budget package, HMRC have published...

Most company car drivers will find that their benefit-in-kind charge rises slightly - the benefit is charged as a percentage of the list price of the car, the percentage varying between 10% and 35% depending on the vehicle's CO2 emissions. As...

Capital gains tax Before the Chancellor made his Pre-Budget Statement, there was speculation in the newspapers that he would increase capital gains tax from 18% to 25%. In the event, no such announcement was made. It is...

Although, for 2010/11, there will be no change in the 'Earnings Threshold' (the point at which National Insurance contributions become payable by employers and employees), the 'Lower Earnings Limit' will rise from £95 to £97 a week....

A feature of the self-assessment system is that it imposes a surcharge on income tax paid more than 28 days late - for example, if the final payment for 2008/09, due on 31 January 2010, is not paid by 28 February 2010. HMRC's current...

Two, unrelated, points are worth bringing to your attention.  Firstly, on 6 April 2010 the minimum age at which an individual may begin to draw his or her retirement pension, under a company pension scheme, a personal pension plan or any...

In order to reduce their own costs, HMRC is gradually moving from encouraging, to requiring, traders to submit Tax Returns online. Firstly, all employers will be required to submit their annual PAYE Returns for 2009/10 and later years...

Tricia Arnold and George F White were delighted and proud to be handing over two substantial cheques to Macmillan Cancer Support and Tynedale Community...

One of our clients recently received a letter giving one week’s notice of a VAT compliance visit. Fortunately, the client had taken out our Taxation Protection Insurance and, under the comprehensive terms of that insurance, were able to...

You may have seen the recent article in the Hexham Courant ,...

There has been a significant take up of the government's initiative to assist companies with emerging cash flow problems by allowing them to defer payments to HMRC for PAYE and VAT. It is reported that currently 135,000 companies have deferred...

You may have heard Tricia talking to Jon Harle on Radio Newcastle's Jon and Anne Show at around 5:25pm    on Thursday 9th July. She was telling him about the...

As you may well be aware, the Chancellor made some significant changes in the 2009 Budget, some of which he mentioned in his speech and some of which were hidden away in the detailed notices. I have identified what I believe are the main...

Temporary First Year Allowance The Finance Bill 2009 will include a temporary 40% first year allowance (FYA) for expenditure on plant and machinery that would normally be allocated to the main  capital allowance...

Landlords with income from furnished holiday accommodation in the UK are currently treated as if they are trading for tax purposes, as long as they satisfy certain tests under the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) rules. Landlords with...

HMRC Compliance Checks From 1 April 2009 HMRC have one set of powers to visit business premises which covers all business taxes – corporation tax, income tax, capital gains tax, PAYE, CIS and VAT. They can inspect...

IR 35- Contracting issues A recent tax case (Dragonfly Consulting Ltd V HMRC) has shown that HMRC is still pursuing IR35 through the courts. The determination in favour of HMRC was for PAYE and NIC totalling...

PAYE - new penalties for late filing of returns and late payment The new penalty rules will affect almost all taxes and the submission of relevant returns and payment of taxes. They will treat late payment and late filed...

In April 2007 HMRC announced that investors with offshore accounts were able to disclose income and gains not previously included in their tax returns with only a 10% fixed penalty being imposed. This followed a ruling against a number of...

From 2011/12 once an individual’s taxable income reaches £150,000, higher rate relief on personal pension contributions will be restricted. Only basic rate relief will be available unless the individual is able to demonstrate a...

Where assets such as land and buildings used in the business are retained outside the company, the payment of rent by the company to the property owner is a means of extracting profit from the company. Although it is taxable, unlike salary,...

Working Tax Credits Directors of small companies claiming tax credits can run into problems if they have paid themselves a low salary topped up with dividends due to the interaction between the tax credit rules and the...

  Website: an aide memoire The following is the minimum information that must be on any company's website. The name, geographic address and email address of the service provider. The name of the organisation with...

The Revenue are now being sympathetic and flexible with their new “time to pay” arrangements. However clients will need to ask HMRC for this as they will not be automatically given time to pay. The Revenue will tend to give...