What counts as a ‘reasonable excuse’?
A taxpayer may have grounds for appealing a penalty if they have a reasonable excuse for missing a filing or payment deadline. However, it is …
Should you withdraw your pension to save IHT?
Legislation has been published in draft for inclusion in the Finance Bill, which will bring unused pension pots within the charge to inheritance tax from …
Registering for Self Assessment
If you are new to Self Assessment and need to submit a tax return for 2024/25, you will need to register for Self Assessment. This …
Spotting signs of umbrella company fraud
An umbrella company is a business that may be used by a recruitment agency to pay temporary workers. However, many umbrella companies are not tax …
Time to Pay for Simple Assessment
A Simple Assessment is used for taxpayers with very straightforward tax affairs. A taxpayer may receive a Simple Assessment letter from HMRC if they owe …
Effective date of VAT registration
Businesses must register for VAT when their turnover exceeds the registration threshold (currently £90,000). This must be done if, at the end of any month, …
New evidence requirements for personal pension relief
Individuals who claim higher or additional rate relief for personal pension contributions through their tax code may now need to provide evidence in support of …
Checking your tax code
The tax code is fundamental to the operation of PAYE. An employee’s tax code provides the employer with the information needed to deduct the correct …
Paying sufficient salary to get a qualifying year for state pension purposes
There are various ways in which profits can be extracted from a personal or family company. A popular and tax-efficient extraction strategy is to pay …
Information that must be included on a VAT invoice
A VAT invoice is an invoice that contains information required by the VAT regulations. A VAT invoice can only be issued by a business that …
Class 2 NIC (National Insurance contributions) charged in error
The liability for self-employed earners to pay Class 2 NIC was abolished with effect from 6 April 2024. Now Class 2 National Insurance is a …
IHT charge on unused pension benefits
From 6 April 2027, inheritance tax will be payable where someone’s estate at death includes unused pension funds or death benefits. The measure was announced …
