Most employers who are eligible will be aware that the furlough scheme (the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme) has been extended for five months – from 1 November 2020 to 31 March 2021. The general terms for the first quarter to 31 January 2021 are: Maximum claim per employee is 80% of hours not worked. Furlough claims will be capped at £2,500 per employee...
Trivial benefits are not so trivial
A reminder that It is possible to make small tax-free payments to employees, including directors, and this might be an appropriate time to make a small tax-free bonus in advance of the annual Christmas, New Year holidays. Employers and employees don’t have to pay tax on small benefits provided they comply with the following rules: it cost you £50 or less to...
Tax Diary December 2020/January 2021
1 December 2020 - Due date for Corporation Tax payable for the year ended 28 February 2020. 19 December 2020 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 December 2020. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 December 2020) 19 December 2020 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 December...
Self-Assessment filing deadline draws near
If you have still not submitted all of the information we need to complete your 2019-20 tax return, could we ask you to respond as soon as you can as the deadline is fast approaching – 31 January 2021. HMRC has made no announcement that this deadline will be extended. Accordingly, the initial £100 late filing penalty will apply to any...
Customs changes from 1 January 2021
Most smaller businesses will not have the resources to train and employ their own customs clearance staff in which case you may have to consider using a customs agent or broker. We have reproduced the advice on the GOV.UK website on this critical issue below. If you do import or export goods from and to the EU you could consider one...
Employers note increase in National Living Wage
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, confirmed a small increase in the National Living Wage rates from April 2021. Employers will need to diarise these increases otherwise they may break their obligation to pay these rates and risk penalties. The increase in the NLW will mean that low-paid workers’ incomes rise broadly in line with predicted wage growth; and modestly ahead of projected...
Muras Matters: Company Cars – Changes to Advisory Fuel Rates
This Bulletin is aimed at company car drivers (and their employers) who are not provided with fuel for private mileage Although many of us will not have been using are cars very much over the last few months during the Coronavirus lockdown, now that many of the rules are being relaxed you will need to ensure that the appropriate fuel rates...
Are you ready for 1 January 2021?
When we awake to the new year we will no longer be in transition; we will be out of the EU and will have to cope with a wide range of regulatory changes if we buy or sell goods or services to EU suppliers and customers. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy recently sent a “YOU NEED TO ACT...
Are you ready for 1 January 2021?
When we awake to the new year we will no longer be in transition; we will be out of the EU and will have to cope with a wide range of regulatory changes if we buy or sell goods or services to EU suppliers and customers. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy recently sent a “YOU NEED TO ACT...
Furlough claims from 1 November 2020
If you are making claims under the extended furlough scheme from 1 November 2020 you need to be aware of changes in the claims process. Perhaps the most significant is that claims need to be registered within 14 days of the relevant period end. In their revised guidance on this topic HMRC say: You can claim before, during or after you process...