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.
Many wealthy individuals are apparently passing on substantial amounts of their wealth in anticipation of possible changes to inheritance tax (IHT) in Labour’s first Budget on 30 October 2024. This allegedly includes a number of high-profile individuals such as TV presenter Anne Robinson who confirmed that she had passed on £50 million to her children … Read more
The VAT flat rate scheme is a simple VAT scheme for smaller VAT-registered businesses. Rather than pay the difference between the VAT charged to customers and that incurred on business purchases over to HMRC, traders using the flat rate scheme instead pay a fixed percentage of their VAT-inclusive turnover to HMRC. The percentage depends on … Read more
Class 2 National Insurance contributions are flat-rate contributions which for 2023/24 and earlier tax years are payable by the self-employed where their profits exceed the relevant trigger threshold. For 2023/24 and 2022/23, the liability to pay Class 2 contributions arose where profits exceeded the lower profits threshold (set at £12,570 for 2023/24). For those years, … Read more
Children may have their own income. This may be in the form of savings income on accounts that they hold or, for older children, income from a paper round or a Saturday job. Like adults, children have their own set of allowances, including a personal allowance and savings and dividend allowances. However, anti-avoidance provisions apply … Read more
There are three ways in which former students with student or post-graduate loans can make loan repayments: Students will normally start making repayments from the start of the tax year after that in which they finish or leave their course. Where an individual is employed, their employer deducts the repayments from their wages or salary … Read more
For many people, there will come a time when it becomes sensible or necessary to sell the family home, either to downsize or because of a move to live with a relative or into care. This may result in funds being released, which may be considerable. Thoughts may turn to whether now is the time … Read more
To qualify for a full state pension, you need 35 qualifying years. You can earn these through paying National Insurance contributions or being awarded National Insurance credits. If you will not have sufficient qualifying years for a full state pension when you reach state pension age, you can ‘buy’ additional qualifying years through the payment … Read more
The way in which you operate your business determines the taxes that you pay and also your reporting obligations. If you work for yourself and run your business on your own as an individual other than through a limited company, you are a sole trader. By contrast, if you operate your business through a personal … Read more
The nil rate band is the amount that a person may leave free of inheritance tax. Each person has their own nil rate band, which for 2024/25 is set at £325,000. A person’s estate may also benefit from a further nil rate band – the residence nil rate band (RNRB) – where they leave a … Read more
HMRC have revealed that every year lots of simple errors are made in tax returns in relation to capital gains tax which result in the taxpayer suffering additional tax, interest and penalties. Here are some common mistakes, and how to avoid them. Using the correct annual exempt amount When calculating how much capital gains tax … Read more
