As we take steps to disentangle ourselves from the EU and make our mark in the wider global economy this may be a good time to consider any brand recognition marks you may be using and give serious consideration to getting them registered. There is a formal registration process linked to the gov.uk website, see https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark/apply A summary of what you can...
Tax Diary March/April 2019
1 March 2019 - Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 May 2018. 2 March 2019 – Self assessment tax for 2017/18 paid after this date will incur a 5% surcharge. 19 March 2019 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 March 2019. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 March...
Changes to minimum wage rates
From April 2019, minimum pay rates will increase as set out below. National Living Wage (NLW) rates for workers aged 25 and over - from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour. National Minimum Wage rates: workers aged 21–24 — from £7.38 to £7.70 per hour workers aged 18–20 — from £5.90 to £6.15 per hour workers aged 16–18 — from £4.20 to £4.35 per hour apprentice rate...
Last call for VAT traders to prepare for new filing regulations
As we have mentioned before in this newsletter, VAT returns filed for periods commencing on or after 1 April 2019, may need to be filed using the new Making Tax Digital (MTD) protocols. The new filing obligations will apply to VAT registered businesses with turnover above the current VAT registration limit, £85,000. To comply with MTD firms will need to file...
Limitations of tax relief when you sell your home
It is a commonly held point of view that when you sell your home you won’t pay any tax, and in particular, that you won’t pay any Capital Gains Tax on the difference between the purchase and sales prices. Unfortunately, there are circumstances when this is not true. For example, you may have some tax to pay if you have let...
Loans to employees
A reminder that if your business makes a loan to your employees or their relatives this can create tax problems for both employees and employers. And please don’t forget that the term “employee” includes directors, and also that loans to family members may be caught. For example, the employer will have an obligation to report a beneficial loan to HMRC (and...
Phone scams
It would seem that fraudsters, keen to relieve you of your hard earned cash, are switching to phone calls now that email scams are becoming less effective. HMRC recently issued the following instructions to UK taxpayers and requested that we all assume a new level of vigilance. They said: If you know someone who has a landline, particularly those who may need...
HMRC\’s drive towards digitisation
Digitisation is simply the conversion of text, pictures, numbers and sound into a form that can be processed by a computer. Add to this the replacement of feet on the ground with algorithms and programs that respond to certain criteria and we can start to see where the management of our tax system is drifting. To aid this process, taxpayers (business owners...
What is TSP?
HMRC have issued a letter to VAT registered traders that either export or import goods to and from the EU. They are introducing new Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSPs) for customs purposes. For importers the text says: HMRC is introducing new Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) for customs, to make importing easier for the initial period after the UK leaves the EU, should there...
How lean is your business?
There are obvious benefits to your personal wellbeing if you sweat it out at the gym three times a week: improved stamina, enviable muscle tone, endorphin buzz and unwanted pounds shed. But could your business benefit from a similar process? We are not suggesting that business owners and their staff leap to their feet and jog on the spot, beneficial as...