Minimum wage rates will see substantial increases from 1 April 2024 – welcome news for younger workers and apprentices, but not so much for those employers struggling in the current economic climate. Eligibility for the National Living Wage is to be extended by reducing the age threshold so that 21 and 22-year-olds are included. Current […]
From 2024/25, restrictions to the cash basis will be removed, making it the default method for calculating trading profit for the self-employed and most partnerships. The accruals basis is currently the default, with a business having to opt in to use the cash basis. In future, a business will need to opt out of the […]
The two existing research and development (R&D) tax relief schemes are set to merge, although the newly created scheme will be similar to the R&D expenditure credit currently claimed mainly by large companies. Although the merger will remove the complexities when companies move between schemes, there will invariably be some who significantly lose out as […]
National insurance contribution (NIC) changes for the self-employed announced in the Autumn Statement come in from 6 April 2024 and will be welcome news. But the reforms don’t go far enough to offset the continuing cost of frozen tax thresholds. NICs classes The self-employed currently pay two classes of NICs: Class 2 NICs are at […]
New HMRC statistics have shed some light on how many companies are affected by the recent hike in corporation tax rates. Just over 1.5 million companies paid corporation tax for the financial year to 31 March 2022, but only 7% fell above the £50,000 small profits threshold. Although fewer than 100,000 companies are likely to […]
The 50th anniversary of the UK’s introduction of VAT was earlier this year, but despite being around for a while, many VAT-registered businesses still find VAT too complex and confusing. No surprise then that more businesses than ever are getting hit with penalties for inaccuracies. Inflation and frozen thresholds Two things that are not helping […]
The level of fraudulent claims being made for research and development (R&D) tax relief has prompted HMRC to introduce a new procedure: companies must provide detailed information ahead of making their claim. HMRC figures show that nearly 20% of claims for R&D tax relief are fraudulent, so it is no surprise they are tightening up […]
HMRC is chasing taxpayers who have submitted tax returns for 2021/22 containing unresolved provisional figures, while also extolling the benefits of filing early for 2022/23. What are provisional figures? A provisional figure is not the same as an estimated one. An estimated figure is used when it is not possible to provide a more accurate […]