One in five people have reduced their pension contributions or stopped saving for retirement altogether due to cost-of-living pressures. As household budgets continue to tighten, new research suggests 14 per cent of people have stopped paying into their pensions while eight per cent have cut their contributions. Men are more likely to have taken the action than women, as well as wealthier...
Trying to track down a pension? Help is at hand
Moving from job to job and starting a new pension each time can present a headache when the time arrives to think about retiring. Few of us can recall every pension provider we have ever had and unless you have carefully filed all the relevant paperwork, you will need help tracking them all down. But there is no need to panic. The...
Plan ahead to file accounts on time and avoid penalties
If you have a September deadline for filing your accounts, leaving it until the last minute risks being hit with a fine. All limited companies, whether they trade or not, must deliver annual accounts to Companies House each year. Directors are advised to file early, rather than leaving it until the 11th hour, when unforeseen circumstances could prevent you from being...
Corporation Tax Group Payment Arrangements
A Corporation Tax Group Payment Arrangement (GPA) is a special arrangement that allows groups of companies to make joint payments of Corporation Tax. This type of arrangement can reduce the administration and costs associated with making a large number of individual payments. A GPA can also let members of the group mitigate any potential differential interest charge by allowing the...
Searching for details about property
There are a number of online tools available to help find information about a property in England or Wales, even if you do not own it. The service is available on GOV.UK and allows users to search for property by postcode, map, title number or INSPIRE ID. Once a property has been located, users can download copies of the property summary,...
Overview of private pension contributions
You can usually claim tax relief for your private pension contributions. There is an annual allowance for tax relief on pensions of £60,000 for the current 2023-24 tax year. The annual allowance was £40,000 in 2022-23. There is a three year carry forward rule that allows you to carry forward any unused amount of your annual allowance from the last three...
Class 2 and 4 NIC for the self-employed
There are two types of National Insurance contributions (NICs) payable by most self-employed people. These are known as Class 2 NICs and Class 4 NICs. Class 2 NICs are paid by all self-employed taxpayers unless they earn under the Small Profits Threshold (SPT), currently £6,725, which remove the necessity to pay NICs. Class 2 NICs are currently payable at a flat...
Tax Diary September/October 2023
1 September 2023 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 November 2022. 19 September 2023 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 September 2023. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 September 2023) 19 September 2023 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 September...
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 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have updated their advisory fuel rates for company cars with effect from 1 September 2023. The rates are intended to give guidance to employers about what is an acceptable fuel allowance to reimburse employees for use of...
Harnessing the benefits and potential of AI in business
The steady march of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reshaped the way we work, penetrating almost every aspect of modern business. This seismic shift to AI has offered a plethora of benefits across industries ranging from retail and healthcare to banking and financial services. On the flipside, drawbacks and potential dangers of using this new technology remain a valid threat and successful integration...