News
The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme
22/04/2021
One of the measures announced at the Budget was the introduction of a new Mortgage Guarantee Scheme to help home buyers purchase property. The scheme was officially made available from Monday, 19 April 2021. The new scheme is designed for prospective
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Recovery Loan Scheme
22/04/2021
The new Recovery Loan Scheme was launched on 6 April 2021. The new scheme allows businesses of any size to access loans and other kinds of finance between £25,000 and £10 million. The scheme will remain open until 31 December 2021 (subject to
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Keeping self-employed tax records
22/04/2021
If you are self-employed as a sole trader or as a partner in a business partnership, then you must keep suitable business records as well as separate personal records of your income.
For tax purposes, the business records must be held for at least
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Treasury directive re fourth SEISS grant
22/04/2021
HM Treasury has published a further Treasury Direction made under the Coronavirus Act 2020, ss. 71 and 76, which modifies and extends the effect of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The new Direction mainly deals with the expansion
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Correcting errors on VAT returns
22/04/2021
Where an error on a past VAT return is uncovered, businesses have a duty to correct the error as soon as possible. As a general rule, any necessary adjustment can be made on a current VAT return. However, in order to be able to do so, there are three
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Small trading tax exemption for charities
22/04/2021
The tax treatment of charities can be complex. Many charities trade either as part of their charitable interests or to raise funds. As a first step, any charity hoping to benefit from any beneficial tax treatment needs to be recognised as a charity
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Vaccine for your business
20/04/2021
There is a poignant similarity between the effects of COVID on us personally and our businesses.
Thankfully, the possible dire consequences of catching the Coronavirus bug are being countered by a variety of vaccines. Fingers crossed that these will
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A reminder that not all costs are costs…
20/04/2021
Costs are defined as something that has to be paid or spent to acquire something. Costs include the acquisition of:
An object, say material required to convert into saleable goods.
A service, for example, sub-contact labour or
A right, the
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HMRC’s new penalty regime
15/04/2021
HMRC’s new points-based penalty regime for late submission and payment will start from 1 April 2022. The changes will apply in the first instance to the submission of VAT returns for VAT return periods beginning on or after 1 April 2022.
The
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One-off £500 payment for working households receiving tax-credits
15/04/2021
As part of the March 2021 Budget, the Chancellor announced that the temporary £20 weekly uplift in Universal Credits would continue for a further six months, until the end of September 2021. It was also confirmed that Working Tax Credit claimants
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Property repossessions from 1 April 2021
15/04/2021
There have been a significant number of measures introduced to help those experiencing financial difficulties because of coronavirus. Throughout the course of the pandemic, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has sought to ensure that lenders
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Repaying overclaimed SEISS grants
15/04/2021
Self-employed individuals (including partnerships) who have overclaimed the Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) must pay back the overpayment to HMRC. The rules for repaying HMRC state that you must tell HMRC if you were not eligible to have
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Lockdown changes 12 April 2021
15/04/2021
Even the unseasonably cold weather does not seem to have stopped people in England getting their first taste of normality for many months as many restrictions were lifted on 12th April 2021.
The full list of changes that came into effect in England
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Website development costs
15/04/2021
One of the main areas to consider in deciding how to treat a deductible expense is whether the cost is revenue or capital in nature. There is no single, simple test that can be applied to decide which items are capital expenditure and which are
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Archiving international trade documents
08/04/2021
There are important rules that all businesses must follow to keep business and accounting records accessible if requested by HMRC. The exact documentation that must be held and the time limits for doing so can vary significantly. For example, most
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National Minimum and Living Wage increases 1 April 2021
08/04/2021
The new National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates came into effect on 1 April 2021. The new rate for the NLW is £8.91 which is a 19p increase over last year. The NLW is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 23
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Companies can claim super-deduction from 1 April
08/04/2021
The new super-deduction tax break, that will allow companies to deduct 130% of the cost of any qualifying investment from their taxable profits, is available on most new plant and machinery investments that ordinarily qualify for 18% main rate
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Exempt beneficial loans
08/04/2021
An employee can obtain a benefit when provided with an employment-related cheap or interest-free loan. The benefit is the difference between the interest the employee pays, if any, and the commercial rate the employee would have to pay on a loan
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