Wokingham Accountants
The tax exemption for trivial benefits is a useful one as it allows employers to provide certain low-cost benefits to employees without an associated tax or National Insurance liability, such as Christmas or birthday gifts. However, not all benefits qualify, and there are some pitfalls to be wary of. What is a ‘trivial benefit’? To … Read more
Adjusted net income is a key measure of income for tax purposes. It is total taxable income before taking account of any personal allowances and after deducting trading losses, pension contributions and certain tax reliefs, such as Gift Aid. The calculation Step 1 Calculate your net income for the year. To do this you first … Read more
There are many possible situations in which a person may make a loan to a family member, for example, a parent may lend money to an adult child to provide them with a deposit for a property. Where the parent has a personal or family company and there are unextracted profits in the company, it … Read more
If you are running a business, regardless of whether you operate as a sole trader, in partnership or the business is run as a limited company, you will need to register for VAT if your total taxable turnover in the previous 12 months exceeds the VAT registration threshold of £90,000 or if you expect your … Read more
Employer’s National Insurance rose considerably from 6 April 2025. Not only did the rate increase from 13.8% to 15%, but the secondary threshold also fell from £9,100 to £5,000. This is the amount that an employer can pay before a liability to secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions arises. For 2025/26, the secondary threshold is … Read more
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) is introduced progressively from 6 April 2026. It will require unincorporated traders and landlords whose income is over the trigger threshold to keep digital records and make quarterly returns and a final declaration to HMRC using MTD-compatible software. The start dates for traders and … Read more
Employees who incur expenses in undertaking their job may be able to claim tax relief for those expenses where they are not reimbursed by their employer. The expenses will qualify for relief if they are incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of their employment or meet the deductibility conditions for … Read more
Most individuals are entitled to receive a personal allowance. This is the amount that they are able to earn before they pay tax. For 2024/25, the personal allowance is set at £12,570. The allowance is for the tax year only – if you do not use it in the tax year, you lose the benefit … Read more
If you are the owner of a personal or family company, it is prudent to review your dividend strategy before the 2024/25 tax year comes to an end as assessing whether paying a dividend before 6 April 2025 would be beneficial. Sufficient retained profits The first point to note is that dividends are payable from … Read more
When starting a business, there are various decisions to make and tasks to perform. One of the first questions to address is whether to run the business as a sole trader, whether to set up a partnership with others or whether to form a company. The way in which a business is operated will determine … Read more
