Although there was little of substance to Philip Hammond’s budget last week, one particular issue caused some political controversy. It was the proposal to increase the National Insurance contributions for the self-employed from 9% to 11% over a two-year period starting April 2018. From this date, April 2018, the weekly Class 2 contributions will […]
A new strategy is calling on employers to boost the number of older workers and ensure they are not writing people off once they reach a certain age, helping to build a country that works for everyone. It’s estimated that by mid-2030s people aged 50 and over will comprise more than half of the UK […]
Personal Tax and miscellaneous matters Personal Tax allowance The personal allowances for 2017-18 is £11,500 (2016-17: £11,000). Transferrable allowances The maximum amount of free personal allowance that can be transferred between spouses is increased to £1,150 in 2017-18. Couples can only make a claim if one partner has spare personal tax allowance and the other […]
Today Philip Hammond will present his first budget to parliament; forecasting any changes he may be considering to the UK tax system is perhaps unwise. If he remains committed to austerity, anticipating any potential fall-out from the Brexit process and maintaining (or more likely slowing down) the repayment of national debt, it is difficult to […]
Although the financial impact of this allowance is relatively low, it is surprising that there has not been more uptake of the Marriage Allowance since its inception 6 April 2015. In fact, taxpayers that qualify can still backdate a claim for 2015-16 as well as make a claim for the current tax year, 2016-17. Marriage […]
Property business owners, particularly buy-to-let landlords, have been hit with a number of quite dramatic changes in their tax status. One of the most draconian is the gradual disallowance of tax relief for finance payments that starts April 2017. We have highlighted this issue in past articles posted to this newsletter. In essence, from […]
A search is underway to recruit the UK’s first Small Business Commissioner. The commissioner will be a high profile role supporting small businesses in payment disputes with their larger customers. The Commissioner appointment is an important measure in tackling late payment issues Expected to be based in Birmingham, the Commissioner will be a national champion […]
In no particular order changes already announced include: The personal tax allowance will increase to £11,500 and the higher rate threshold will rise to £45,000. The annual ISA limit will increase to £20,000. Both employers and employees will start paying NICs on weekly earnings above £157. The government will legislate for a new Income Tax […]
1 March 2017 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 May 2016. 2 March 2017 – Self Assessment tax for 2015/16 paid after this date will incur a 5% surcharge. 19 March 2017 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 March 2017. (If you pay your tax […]
We have now seen the response of HMRC to representations made by accountants and other interested parties to their Making Tax Digital (MTD) agenda. A reminder that MTD will result in the gradual digitisation of small business (including landlords) reporting to HMRC. The present proposals will oblige smaller businesses to upload quarterly data to HMRC […]