Specialist Tax News

Inheritance tax

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In the 2023 Autumn Statement, the inheritance tax nil rate band was frozen at £325,000 until April 2028. The residence nil rate band will also remain at £175,000 and the residence nil rate band taper will continue to start at £2 million. If you anticipate your estate giving rise to inheritance tax in the future, […]

Specialist Tax News

VAT

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The VAT registration and deregistration thresholds continue to be frozen at £85,000 and £83,000 respectively, instead of increasing each year in line with inflation. This will remain the case until March 2026. Since 1 January 2023, a new penalty regime has been in operation for late VAT return submission and late payment of VAT. The […]

Specialist Tax News

Business taxes

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National Insurance Contributions (NIC) for the self-employed in 2023/24 Self-employed individuals are required to pay Class 2 and Class 4 NICs if their profits exceed £12,570. These NICs are usually collected with the individual’s income tax self-assessment payments. For 2023/24, Class 2 NICs are calculated at £3.45 per week and Class 4 NICs are calculated […]

Specialist Tax News

Corporate taxes

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New rates from 1 April 2023 From 1 April 2023, the rate of Corporation Tax will increase to 25% if a company’s profits exceed £250,000 a year. The current 19% rate will however continue to apply where profits are no more than £50,000 a year. Where a company’s profits fall between £50,000 and £250,000 a […]

Specialist Tax News

Employment taxes

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National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Like the main income tax bandings, employer and employee NIC thresholds are now also frozen until 5 April 2028. This broadly means that employers’ NIC will continue to apply at 13.8% to earnings in excess of £9,100 a year (£175 per week) and employees will continue to pay 12% on earnings […]

Specialist Tax News

Investment zones

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The Government will establish 12 ‘Investment Zones’ across the UK, including a promise to have at least one each in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Each successful zone will have access to £80m funding over 5 years and benefit from a package of tax reliefs. These include relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), enhanced […]

Specialist Tax News

Venture Capital Schemes

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The Government is increasing the generosity and availability of the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme for start-up companies. The amount of investment that companies will be able to raise under the scheme will increase from £150,000 to £250,000. The gross asset limit will be increased from £200,000 to £350,000 and the investment must be made within […]

Specialist Tax News

Nudge” letters from HMRC about R&D claims

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Following on from the alleged abuse of the Research and Development (R&D) tax relief schemes, particularly the SME tax credit scheme, HMRC have issued “nudge” letters to the directors of over 2,000 claimant companies asking them to check their claims. Here is an extract from the letter:- “As Company Director, it’s important you submit accurate […]