Wokingham Accountants
Accountancy may not strike everyone as exciting, but it is fast moving. We’ll keep you informed about issues we think may be of interest or relevance to you.
A new penalty regime was introduced for VAT from 1 January 2023. The new regime comprises late submission penalties and late payment penalties. Here we look at the penalty regime for late returns. Late VAT returns The late submission penalty regime kicks in whenever a VAT return is filed late. It applies regardless of whether … Read more
Most people do not want to give money to the taxman when they die. However, while it is said that inheritance tax (IHT) is a voluntary tax that can be avoided by giving away money during your lifetime, there is the practical issue that people need money to live on while they are alive. This … Read more
Employees often need to incur expenses when undertaking their jobs. The nature of the expense may vary depending on the job, but typical expenses include travel and subsistence expenses and fees and subscriptions. It will often be the case that the employee initially incurs the expense and then reclaims the cost from their employer via … Read more
Changing personal circumstances may mean that individuals who were previously taxpayers find that they are now non-taxpayers. If they are in the habit of making charitable donations under gift aid, they need to tread carefully to avoid an unwanted bill from HMRC. Nature of gift aid Donations made by individuals to charities or to community … Read more
The super-deduction, which allowed companies to claim an immediate deduction of 130% of their qualifying expenditure, came to an end on 31 March 2023. It was replaced with full expensing. As with the super-deduction, unincorporated businesses cannot benefit from full expensing (although the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) will secure a 100% deduction for qualifying expenditure … Read more
Spouses and civil partners enjoy certain tax breaks, including the ability to transfer assets between them at a value that gives rise to neither a gain nor a loss. Prior to 6 April 2023, a couple are only able to benefit from no gain/no loss transfers until the end of the tax year in which … Read more
Employees often need to undertake business trips and it is common practice to reimburse the employee’s fuel costs by means of a mileage allowance. The tax rules allow mileage payments to be made tax-free up to certain limits. However, the rules are different depending on whether the employee is driving their own car or a … Read more
In his March Budget, the Chancellor announced a number of changes to the pension tax rules, including an increase in the annual allowance and the abolition of the lifetime allowance. Annual allowance The annual allowance places a cap on tax-relieved pension savings. Individuals can obtain tax relief on contributions to a registered pension scheme of … Read more
If you incur expenses in doing your job, you may be able to claim tax relief. While the rules governing the availability of relief are strict, the process for claiming relief where it is available is relatively straightforward. Availability of tax relief Expenses that may qualify for tax relief include travel expenses incurred in relation … Read more
Trivial benefits have their own tax exemption, which if used wisely can be used to treat employees. The exemption can also be used by personal and family companies as part of a tax-efficient profit extraction strategy. Nature of the exemption The exemption applies if all of the following conditions are met: Where the benefit is … Read more
