March 2023 Budget
On 15 March 2023, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presented his first Budget to Parliament and set out a plan to reduce inflation, grow the economy and get government debt falling all whilst avoiding a recession and tackling labour shortages. Below we set out some of the main...
Allow up to Ten Weeks to Apply for a British Passport
People are being urged not to leave their application for a British passport to the last minute, with demand at an all-time high. Since April 2021, HM Passport Office has been advising people to allow up to ten weeks when applying for their passport. This remains the...
Making Tax Digital (MTD) Now Mandatory
Making Tax Digital became mandatory for all VAT registered businesses on the 1 April 2022. The government states that MTD helps taxpayers get their tax returns right by reducing common mistakes as well as saving time managing their tax affairs and is a key part of the...
Spring Statement 2022
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered his Spring Statement on Wednesday 23 March 2022. In this post we outline the key measures affecting our clients. National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Despite lobbying to delay the upcoming 1.25% increase in...
Fraudsters Seek to Attack Personal Tax Accounts
HMRC is warning individuals not to share their personal information online to avoid their identities being used by fraudsters to claim bogus Self-Assessment tax refunds. HMRC is aware that criminals are attempting to obtain customers’ Government Gateway logins and...
Hiring: Part Time Accounts’ Assistant
Interested in joining the team at CI Accountancy? We are currently hiring a Part Time Accountants' Assistant. As an Accountants' Assistant you will provide accountancy functions, primarily VAT returns and bookkeeping, and services in support of the accountants,...
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT
One month until Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT becomes law! Making Tax Digital for VAT becomes mandatory for all VAT registered businesses from 1 April 2022. From 1 April 2022, all VAT registered businesses must file digitally through Making Tax Digital, regardless...
The importance of a shareholders agreement
A shareholders’ agreement is entered into between all or some of the shareholders in a company. It regulates the relationship between the shareholders, the management of the company, ownership of the shares and the protection of the shareholders. They also govern the...
Considering Selling your Business?
PLANNING ON SELLING YOUR BUSINESS IN 2022? Now that the economy is starting to recover, this could be a good time to think about selling your business. Remember that under the current capital gains rules, the first £1 million of an individual’s gains potentially...
Accepting Crypto Payments
With the growing popularity of crypto currencies, some businesses have started to accept crypto payments. In simple terms, cryptocurrency is a form of digital money. It can be used for online transactions and is designed to be secure. The most common crypto currencies...
Tax Planning: Enterprise Investment Scheme
If your tax payment due on 31 January is more than you expected there is still time to reduce the liability if you are prepared to take a risk. An HMRC tax planning opportunity is to invest in a company that qualifies under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or...
New Year, New Opportunities
In his Spring 2021 Budget the Chancellor announced that there would be 8 “Freeports” in England with generous tax breaks to encourage businesses to set up and invest in those areas. The devolved governments will also be announcing locations in Scotland, Wales and...
Trust Planning Opportunity Still Available
Another tax planning strategy that is still available despite rumours that it would be closed in the Budget was the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) hold over relief when assets are transferred into or out of a trust. This relief currently enables a non-business asset, such as...
Let’s talk about Christmas parties!
...no, not THAT particular Christmas party. While the subject of Christmas parties is on everyone's mind (one party in particular getting special attention at the time of this post) let's chat about them - specifically, about how you can maximise the tax benefit...
Increasing Your Prices
How can you raise your prices without losing too many customers? The current business environment is incredibly competitive but as we emerge from the pandemic, consumer demand is increasing and many sectors have seen labour and material costs rise. As demand increases...
Budgeting for an Uncertain Year Ahead
As we come to the end of 2021, its time to start thinking about the budget for next year. One thing is certain - uncertainty. Business planning and budgeting have become increasingly complex in today’s uncertain and volatile environment. Firms have had to adapt and...
2021 Budget and Spending Review
On 27 October 2021, the Chancellor delivered his third Budget in conjunction with the Public Spending Review. Many of the spending announcements had already been leaked to the Press prior to Budget Day and arguably a lot of it was not new money. The Chancellor did...
Plan Your Actions Before the New Rates Come
The announcement of the 1.25% increase in NICs and tax on dividends has come more than six months before they take effect. This means that with careful planning there is time to reduce the impact of these new rates on your business. For example, employees could...
1.25% Increase in NICs and Tax on Dividends to Fund Health and Social Care
Last month, the Prime Minister announced that the government will introduce a new 1.25% Levy to provide an extra £12 bn a year to support the NHS and social care. From April 2022 it is proposed that there will be a 1.25% rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs)...
Big Tax Bills for the Self-Employed in 2022/23
There are likely to be some big tax bills for the self-employed in 2022/2023. Last month we mentioned that draft legislation has been published to change the basis periods for the assessment of self-employed profits to coincide with the tax year. The proposed new...
5% VAT Rate on Tourism and Hospitality Ends on 30th September
The temporary 5% VAT rate that has applied to supplies made in the tourism and hospitality sector since the start of the pandemic comes to an end at the end of September. The rate then increases to 12.5% from 1 October until 31 March 2022 when it reverts to the...
The Last CJRS “Furlough” Grants
(Image credit: Micro Biz Mag) The Government are pulling the plug on support to employers for furloughed staff at the end of September as they anticipate that the economy will be back to normal by October. The grant claims for employees furloughed in the month of...
Guidance on SEISS Turnover Test Issued by HMRC
The fifth (and final) SEISS grant has been available for the self-employed to claim since the end of July. HMRC are contacting those traders that may be eligible with their claim date. The eligibility criteria remain broadly the same as the fourth grant. Self-employed...
Trading Loss Relief Can Be Claimed Early
Where a company makes a trading loss of no more than £200,000 in an accounting period it is now possible to claim relief for that loss even though the corporation tax return CT600 has not been submitted. This will enable the company to carry back the trading loss to...
Tax Free Childcare Account Subsidises Summer Camp Costs
If you have children under 12 who attend a nursery, after school club, playscheme, childminder or you are considering sending them to a summer camp you should think about setting up a tax-free childcare account. The government adds 25% to the amounts that you save in...
Fifth SEISS Grant To Be Paid In July
The fifth and final Self-Employed Income Support (SEISS) grant will be available for the self-employed to claim towards the end of this month. The eligibility criteria remain broadly the same as the fourth SEISS grant. Self-employed profits in 2019/20 must not exceed...
Latest Coronavirus News
Furlough Grant Reduces To 70% For July For the month of July the CJRS Furlough grant support from the government via HMRC reduces to 70% of the employee’s usual pay for hours not worked. This is despite the fact that “Freedom Day” in England has been delayed four...
Reimburse Private Fuel By 6 July To Avoid Fuel Benefit
A consequence of the lockdown periods is that employees may have driven fewer private miles in their company cars, particularly where they have not been driving to the office. If they are to avoid being taxed on the provision of private fuel they need to fully...
Making Tax Digital Extended To More Businesses
Currently only VAT registered businesses making taxable supplies in excess of the £85,000 VAT registration threshold are mandated to comply with Making Tax Digital (MTD) rules. Those rules require the business to keep digital business records and send VAT returns...
Beware Mini-Umbrella Company Fraud
HMRC are urging businesses to look out for the use of mini-umbrella companies (MUCs) to pay contractors supplying their labour via agencies and other intermediaries. Businesses need to be aware of the financial and reputational risks of such entities in their labour...
More Details on the New Super-Deduction for Equipment
In the Budget on 3rd March the Chancellor announced a new 130% tax relief for expenditure on new plant and machinery incurred between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023. It turns out that this new tax relief is only available to limited companies and the latest Finance...
Back in Business
We're delighed to announce the return of the Monthly Business Day! With the relaxation of Covid restrictions we are planning to restart our free accountancy service and advice days in both Haltwhistle and Alston. We will start on Thursday 27th May with a day in...
Details of Latest CJRS “Furlough” Grants
(Image credit: Micro Biz Mag) The fourth version of the CJRS “furlough” grant scheme started on 1st May 2021 and will run until 30th September with employees affected continuing to be supported such that they are entitled to be paid at least 80% of their “usual pay”...
Details of the Fourth SEISS Grant
The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has been extended to September 2021 and details of claims for the fourth grant have now been released. You can see if you're eligible here. This fourth grant covers February, March and April 2021. There will then be a...
IR35 Update
New Personal Service Company Rules Start This Month IR35, the "off-payroll" working rules that apply to certain workers supplying their services to clients via their own personal service companies started 6th April 2021. >Under this new regime end user businesses...
April Tax News
More Details on the New Super-Deduction for Equipment In the Budget on 3rd March the Chancellor announced a new 130% tax relief for expenditure on new plant and machinery incurred between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023. It turns out that this new tax relief is only...
Diversity and Inclusion – Best Practice
The benefits of a more diverse and inclusive organisation are clear, but how do you actually go about implementing a diversity and inclusion strategy? Businesses are more focused on diversity and inclusion (D&I) than ever before. A McKinsey research report from...
Is Reddit suited to your business?
Reddit has been in the news a lot recently, due to the Gamestop share price boom that was largely driven by an investment forum on the site. So what exactly is Reddit? Reddit is a hugely popular online forum. It allows users to create their own forums and chat groups....
Feeding Forward
People can respond negatively to constructive feedback - so feed forward instead. When we provide feedback to an employee, we share information in terms of how they are currently performing. When negative feedback is given, the individual can respond defensively. Even...
March Tax News
Don’t Lose Your 2020/21 Personal Allowance For every £2 that your adjusted net income exceeds £100,000 the £12,500 personal allowance is reduced by £1. Pension contributions and Gift Aid can help to reduce adjusted net income and save tax at an effective rate of 60%....
Consider Podcasting
Businesses can use podcasts as an effective digital marketing tool. Podcasts are recordings of an audio discussion on a specific topic or theme such as business, travel or current affairs. They tend to consist of a series of episodes that listeners can download and...
Special Budget Update
In the Chancellor’s second real Budget on 3 March 2021 he announced that he had to level with people about the state of the UK economy. Prior to Budget day there were fewer leaks than normal about possible tax changes. There were however announcements prior to Budget...
IR35 News
Where large or medium-sized organisations are paying workers via personal service companies (PSC) or agencies they will need to operate new procedures from 6 April 2021. The new rules will apply to partnerships, LLPs and larger charities as well as limited companies....
Delivering Effective Training, Remotely
Providing training for your team when they are working remotely can be challenging. Delivering a training session to a room full of people can be difficult enough. Engaging with your audience remotely presents a whole new challenge. The first thing to think about is...
Get Ready For IR35
This time last year businesses were preparing for important changes to the rules where workers supply their services via their own personal service companies. The start date was then deferred from 6 April 2020 to 6 April 2021. The new rules are scheduled to apply to...
Reinvigorate Your Business Development Efforts
Business Development (BD) is often misunderstood. Some might say that it’s all about relationships, another will say it’s all about sales and others will talk about marketing. They are all right, in a way. BD is the creation of long-term value for a firm, through...
A Motivated Start to the Year
It can be challenging to get yourself motivated in the first couple of months of the year. Here are some practical ideas which may help. Give Yourself Time It may sound counter-intuitive but waking up earlier can set you up for a more productive day. Waking earlier...
Brexit News
Government Guidance on Brexit The Government has updated its guidance on the new rules that apply to travel and doing business with Europe. Clearly there are problems with the administration just now and we will keep you up to date of any issues as they arise. You...
Key Business Trends in 2021
The challenges faced by businesses in 2020 have driven firms across the world to develop, adapt and innovate. Here are some of the key business trends to watch in 2021. Remote Working Technology Working from home is here to stay. Now that staff have adapted to remote...
February Tax News
Pension Tax Relief Under The Spotlight? One area where the Chancellor could raise a substantial amount of tax would be to restrict higher rate tax relief on pension contributions. There have been recent consultations with the pensions industry and it has been...
Negotiating a New Office Lease
In the current uncertain economic climate, signing up to a new office lease can be a tricky business. One thing is certain at the moment and that is uncertainty. How much office space will you need in 3 to 5 years time? Well, that depends on whether people will want...
Make a Claim If You Are Working From Home
With more of us working from home, we have some good news to share! HMRC has said that employees can now make a claim for tax relief to cover some of their costs while they are working from home. The previous rule for employees was that there had to be a home working...
Latest Coronavirus News
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furlough Scheme) – This has been extended and grants will be increased to 80% of usual pay, with employers paying national insurance and pension contributions. If you require assistance with...
January Tax News
New Year Resolutions to Save Tax At this time of year we think about New Year’s resolutions. It is also a good time to start planning your tax affairs before the end of the tax year on 5th April. An obvious tax planning point would be to maximise your ISA allowances...
Is your business ready for Brexit?
The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020. The transition period ends on 31 December 2020. Is your business ready for Brexit? The Covid-19 pandemic has dominated the news headlines this year but Brexit is still progressing. During the transition period, the UK...
Still Considering an Electric Company Car?
There is currently a zero P11d benefit for the drivers of electric cars in 2020/21. The legislation for this change is included in Finance Act 2020 which also states that the benefit will be 1% of list price in 2021/22 and then 2% in 2022/23. The zero taxable benefit...
Oil and Gas Consultant
-A local oil and gas consultant approached us about setting up a new business having recently been made redundant after many years in the industry. He explained that he had never been self-employed before and did not know how to set up a business. At C I Accountancy...
Transport and Logistics
- We were approached by a local Company involved in transport and logistics. The Company had undergone a period of expansion and decided they needed help with their bookkeeping and accountancy requirements. They did not feel they were ready to employ a full time...
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