A new Debt Respite Scheme, designed to give a debtor with problem debt the right to legal protection from their creditors, is now available. The new scheme consists of two new two types of ‘breathing space’: A standard breathing space – Available to anyone with problem debt, which offers legal protection from creditor action for up […]

With the fourth round of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) now well underway, HM Revenue & Customs has announced tough new fines for those that abuse the financial support on offer. The new penalty regime is aimed at those who have overclaimed the SEISS grant, which includes any amount of grant that a self-employed

In most cases, expenses an employee incurs at work are paid for by their employer, but some, like travel and accommodation expenses, are reimbursed later by the employer. Since 2016, the system for reimbursed expenses has been simplified, which means that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will usually accept that business expenses that are reimbursed

One unexpected bonus for staff forced to work from home because of the pandemic has been a £6 per week tax break. People will have seen their household bills naturally go up over the last year, from increased working at home and the Government has recognised this. These working life changes are driven by the

Companies that signed up to the VAT deferral scheme have been warned they face a five per cent penalty if they do not make payment arrangements by 30 June this year. Over half a million businesses deferred VAT payments last year. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that companies will be liable for the

The impact of the pandemic has been felt in many different ways. Some of the effects have been quite immediate, but now many businesses are starting to see how the events of the last year are affecting their annual business insurance rates as well. Before COVID-19 struck, there were already a number of factors adversely

Businesses looking to reward and retain staff members may wish to consider offering an electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme. Not only are many EVs better for the environment, but they could also offer businesses considerable savings. Businesses can use employee salary sacrifice – similar to schemes offered for pension contributions, cycle to work schemes

A set of consultations on the future of Companies House published in December 2020 include proposals for mandatory digital filing, requirements to tag accountants digitally with IXBRL and shortening filing deadlines to three months for public companies and six months for private companies. The Department for Business and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is also seeking feedback

Companies House will pause both the voluntary and compulsory strike-off processes for one month from 21 January until 21 February to support businesses affected by COVID-19, it has been announced. The extended measure comes in response to delays to the system caused by the third national lockdown. In a notice to customers, Companies House said

Due to the ongoing restrictions of the Government’s Coronavirus response, millions of UK workers continue to work from home. Many may not be aware that they can claim tax relief for additional household costs if they are working from home regularly, either for all or part of the week because of the pandemic. This tax