The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has predicted that taxes will need to rise by more than £40 billion a year by the middle of the decade to prevent Government debt from growing out of control. The widely-respected think tank issued the warning following the news that the Government’s Coronavirus response has cost more than […]

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has received more than 50,000 claims for tax relief for working from home since opening a new online portal on 1 October. Since the start of the current tax year on 6 April 2020, employers have been permitted to pay employees up to £6 a week in respect of the […]

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is calling on HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to simplify the process of applying for tax reliefs so that fewer taxpayers miss out. In total, the UK has 1,190 tax reliefs, that each require taxpayers to claim or make an election to benefit from them. The OTS in its […]

A survey of almost a thousand company directors by the Institute of Directors (IoD) has found that nearly a quarter of businesses are not prepared for Brexit and do not expect to be ready by the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. A further 21 per cent said they were still not […]

The Director of Making Tax Digital (MTD) at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has warned that “not all taxpayers are ready for a digitalised tax system.” Roy Wallace spoke with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) about the implementation of the new digital tax system after HMRC was criticised by the Public House […]

Thousands of people across the UK have purchased new homes to take advantage of the Government’s Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) holiday, but Legal & General Mortgage Club has warned a backlog in the sales and mortgage process means that sales need to be completed quickly. The SDLT holiday announced earlier this year, ends in March […]

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that it will not charge the usual daily penalties for late filing of 2018-19 Self-Assessment tax returns, which were due by 31 January 2020. HMRC says the move is in response to the Coronavirus pandemic and the challenging circumstances taxpayers have faced in recent months. The daily penalties […]

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has published further details of the Job Support Scheme Open (JSS Open), announced by the Chancellor during his Winter Economy Statement in Parliament on 24 October and expanded upon in his later announcement in Parliament to support the new tiered COVID-19 approach. The JSS is intended to support businesses facing […]

Since 1 January 2019, the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) for capital allowances has been £1 million – helping businesses to invest tax efficiently. However, from 1 January 2021, the AIA will fall back to just £200,000, reducing the amount of tax that can potentially be saved. By using the AIA, businesses can claim against most […]

During the last few months, to assist workers with working from home, many businesses have supplied a work mobile phone, but how should they account for this benefit? Typically, the provision of equipment, such as a mobile, could be considered a benefit in kind for tax purposes, however, an employee can benefit from an employer-provided […]