If you are self employed, i.e. running your own business as a sole trader or partner, you should be paying Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The current rate of Class 2 NICs is £2.65 a week/£137.80 per year. These NICS are compulsory unless: a) You are already paying the maximum NICs through a concurrent employment. You must […]
HMRC has published the latest table of advisory fuel rates, which apply to all journeys on or after 1 September 2012 until further notice. Advisory fuel rates are HMRC-approved rates which apply where employers reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars, and where employees reimburse the cost of fuel used for private travel […]
HMRC is changing the phone numbers to call for Corporation Tax matters. They will be routing all corporation tax enquiry calls to just two offices, in Cardiff or Glasgow. It is likely that we as your agent will be the ones to call HMRC regarding corporation tax matters but if you do need to call HMRC about […]
In a recent case (J R Hanson and the commissioners for HMRC – UKFTT 314), penalties that had been imposed on a taxpayer for a “careless” mistake on his personal tax return were overturned because the error was made by the accountant not the taxpayer himself. The judgement made clear that penalties can only be […]
The VAT treatment has changed for three types of supplies connected to “Land”: a) The supply of stand space at an exhibition or conference; b) The supply of storage space for goods c) The supply of access to airport lounges If you make supplies of these types or believe that the change in VAT treatment could affect […]
The minimum wage rates for those aged 21 or over and for apprentices aged under 19 are increasing again with effect from 1 October 2012. The new rates from 1 October 2012 are £6.19 – the main rate for workers aged 21 and over £4.98 – the 18-20 rate £3.68 – the 16-17 rate for […]
If your company provides you with a company car but you do not get private fuel costs provided as well, you can claim a fixed amount per mile depending on the cc capacity of the car and whether it is petrol or diesel. The fixed amount you should claim for business mileage has changed and […]
The ICAEW today released an excellent analysis of the reasons why the proposed Child Benefit tax charge for couples earning more than £60K simply won’t work. If you would like to see the list of reasons (a damning report on the chaos that would ensue if the proposals are enacted regardless of recommendations put forward by the […]
HMRC has published the tests which are to apply to contractors to determine the risk of them being within IR35. The tests do not themselves determine whether you are caught by IR35 or not. They merely assess the level of risk into three categories, low, medium and high. HMRC will focus their enquiries on those […]
The Department for Business Innovation & Skills has published a new online toolkit, which provides first-time employers with a step-by-step guide to taking on a member of staff. The toolkit can be found here