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 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have changed their advisory fuel rates for company cars with effect from 1 June 2018. The rates are intended to give guidance to employers about what is an acceptable fuel...
Tax free home rentals
Since April 2016, the amount of tax-free income you can earn from letting a room in your home has increased to £7,500 per annum, or £3,750 if two persons own a property jointly. You can use the scheme if: you let a furnished room to a lodger your letting activity amounts to a trade, for example, if you run a guest house or...
Problems paying your tax on time
You would be hard pushed to find a tax payer who was happy to pay tax. Whatever the economic benefits of taxation, we would all prefer that someone other than ourselves paid the bill. Companies are obliged to disclose their corporation tax liabilities in the year in which they are charged. Profits are stated net of tax due and any retained...
Green vans to get tax boost
The government is looking at ways to incentivised users of vans to go green. According to the statistics, less than one in every two hundred vans (0.4%) bought in 2016/17 was an ultra-low emission model. To tackle this issue, the government is seeking views on reforms to vehicle excise duty, currently charged at a flat rate of £250 for all vans,...
IR35 to get a facelift in the private sector
HMRC is launching a new consultation to make sure that people who effectively work as employees pay the right amount of tax. As announced at the Autumn Budget, the consultation will look at how to increase compliance with the existing ‘off-payroll’ working rules. These rules mean that contractors such as IT and management consultants who work through their own company, but...
Muras Matters: Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme Renewed
Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme Renewed Following our recent Muras Matters article on the expiry of EU State Aid approval for the Enterprise Management Incentive (“EMI”) scheme on 6 April 2018 (muras-matters-enterprise-management-incentive-schemes-put-on-hold), it has recently been announced that the EU State Aid approval has been renewed. Whilst details of the actual EU decision are still awaited, and HMRC have yet to issue a formal...
Are you due a tax refund
There is something uniquely satisfying about a tax refund. Of course, you must first overpay tax before it can be refunded, but there is a universal joy in receiving a cheque or direct payment to your bank account from HMRC. Occasionally, HMRC will volunteer the information, they may even send you a formal assessment and advise you that a refund can...
Stop the Loan Sharks
We have all heard of individuals who have been affected by the nefarious antics of loan sharks, lenders that breach the normal fiscal rules by taking advantage of needy persons who do not qualify for support from mainstream banking sources. The government has announced additional funding to crack down on this activity. Their announcement, published 25 April, is worth a mention. Loan...
Location is everything
Now that Wales and Scotland have devolved powers for taxation purposes, residents that live and work in the border areas with England have more planning options. Wales have their own stamp duty regime from April 2018, the Land Transaction Tax (LTT), and Scotland, from April 2015, the Land & Building Transaction Tax (LBTT). Scotland have devolved powers to set their own...
Payments in lieu of notice
Up to 5 April 2018, certain payments in lieu of notice were not taxable, primarily, those not contractually required to be made. This is no longer the case. Employers will now need to pay Income Tax and Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) on an element of all termination payments from 6 April 2018, whether or not they are contractual payments. The element...