Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,190 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner – if they earn more than you. This reduces their tax by up to £238 in the tax year. To benefit from this arrangement, you (as the…
News
Tax-free perks at Christmas time
This article is our usual reminder of the tax breaks available if you are organising a Christmas party for your staff. Many businesses take time out to provide their employees with a work based party or similar event. If you are concerned about the…
How understanding yourself can make you a better leader
Leaders all around the world are being trained to develop their emotional intelligence skills. But why? The reason may be viewed as simply that organisations now appreciate that the way that employees are treated significantly affects their bottom-line – profit. But it is more…
Passport issues if a "no-deal" Brexit
Guidance on the use of a British passport to travel abroad after 29 March 2019, if there is a “no-deal” Brexit, was issued by government last month. The pertinent facts are reproduced below: After 29 March 2019, if you’re a British passport holder (including…
Invoice discounting with larger customers
Suppliers who sell goods and services to larger concerns often find that the terms of their supply, limits or bans the process of factoring the debts to release funds into cash flow. Cynically, this could be seen as a method these larger customers have…
About-turn, you can use spreadsheets
HMRC has about-faced regarding the ban on using spreadsheets to work out your VAT return data from 1 April 2019, when the new requirement to file VAT returns using Making Tax Digital (MTD) format is introduced. Bowing to pressure from industry, the accountancy profession…
What is a reasonable excuse?
HMRC is still required to obtain certain returns from you even if there is no income or tax to declare. Failure to submit will likely trigger late filing penalties and unfortunately, pleading ignorance of your obligations to file “nil” returns is not a reasonable…
Grants available for food producers and suppliers
Up to £20 million is being made available to increase productivity and sustainability in crop and ruminant agriculture systems through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Innovate UK are looking for projects that improve productivity and sustainability in crop and ruminant agriculture. There is £20 million to…
Protect your home
A government think-tank, the Office for Tax Simplification (OTS), was briefed to consider a non-tax issue, a restricted form of limited liability for sole traders. At present, a sole trader’s personal assets (including their home) are vulnerable to a claim by business creditors if…
Buy-to-let mortgages
The gradual restriction of tax relief for buy-to-let mortgage interest has received much publicity since the process commenced 5 April 2017. From that date, tax relief is converted from a straight forward deduction against business profits into a basic rate tax deduction. If you…