According to a new report by the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), there have been a growing number of R40 computation errors on refunds processed by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Individuals can use R40 forms to claim tax refunds on tax deducted from savings income. Following the CIOT report, HMRC has now confirmed that there is an issue with R40 computations. The issue lies Read more…

Minimum wage breaches, including breaches of the National Living Wage, have cost workers from across the UK a combined total of £15.6 million in lost wages. Figures released by the Government show that around 200,000 workers were affected in 2017/18, in what was the highest underpayment since the National Minimum Wage was introduced. In total, more than 600 employers were named and shamed in 2017/18 Read more…

With only six months left until the launch of Making Tax Digital for VAT, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has finally begun sharing information with businesses about the new regime. While accountants and professional advisers across the UK have been making clients aware of the new digital system for more than two years, the nation’s official tax authority has remained fairly quiet on what has Read more…

Recent research has shown that micro businesses are bearing the brunt of late payments, with just 52 per cent of the invoices they issue being paid on time. However, the research found significant regional variation, with 68 per cent of micro businesses in Peterborough encountering the scourge of late payments. The research was based on data from 50,000 users of a prominent cloud accounting software Read more…

The number of investigations conducted against estates thought to be avoiding Inheritance Tax (IHT) has increased, according to new data from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The tax authority has revealed that 5,400 estates were investigated during the 2017/18 tax year – a five per cent increase on the previous year’s figure (5,100 estates). This means that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of all Read more…

The Government has launched a new savings account that offers savers a 50 per cent tax-free bonus on the money they deposit. The new Help to Save account will offer savers up to 50p for every £1 that they save, which could mean that people could benefit from as much as £1,200 of tax-free money if they save £2,400 over the four years of saving Read more…

On average, less than one in 10 SME loan applications to one nameless high street bank are successful. The figures were released by SME funding platform, Code Investing, whose CEO, Ayan Mitra, said: “Due to regulation, due to banks having huge cost structures, due to SMEs not having standardised data, there’s quite a big funding gap.” He added that he expected this low level of Read more…

A freelance marketing and business development consultant has reached a settlement with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) after arguing that she should be entitled to holiday pay as she was considered to be a worker for tax purposes. Susan Winchester had claimed £4,200 in holiday pay against HMRC after she was deemed to fall within the IR35 rules, which apply to freelancers working as if Read more…

The Chancellor has announced that the 2018 Budget will take place on Monday 29 October 2018, having given just half the usual 10 weeks’ notice of the date. The Autumn Budget, which took place for the first time last year, having been moved from the traditional spring date, was initially trailed to take place annually in November or December, as was the case for the Read more…

I have been asked on a number of occasions what an employer can do if their employee does not work out their full notice period. Whilst it can place a small business in a tricky rather than insisting that the employee has to work their notice period this can turn out to be counterproductive, with the employee either phoning in sick or being unproductive whilst Read more…