Mar 16

HMRC raises late payment interest rate to 3%

Following the decision by the Bank of England to increase the base rate, HMRC has confirmed that the late payment interest rate rose a quarter of a percent. The increase applies from 14 February 2022 for quarterly instalment payments and from 21 February 2022 for non-quarterly instalment payments. On 2 February 2022, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increased […]

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Businesses urged to apply for remaining COVID-19 support grants

Businesses are being encouraged to apply for remaining coronavirus (COVID-19) grant funding from local authorities. Hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses can still apply for one-off cash grants of up to £6,000 through the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme. The funding is made up of £556 million available through the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant […]

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Coronavirus SSP Rebate Scheme set to close on 17 March

The Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS) will close on 17‌‌‌ ‌March‌‌‌ ‌2022. The SSPRS was reintroduced by the government on 21 December 2021 for employers with fewer than 250 employees. The maximum claim per employee is two weeks at the statutory sick pay (SSP) rate of £96.35 per week (£192.70 in total), which is the rate for […]

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Feb 11

National insurance rise ‘set to squeeze budgets’, warns CBI

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned the government that the planned rise in national insurance will squeeze budgets and affect economic growth. The rise will see employers, employees and the self-employed pay 1.25p more in the pound from April 2022. From April 2023, the extra tax will be collected as part of the […]

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Claims portal reopens for Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme

HMRC has reopened a claims portal for small employers to again claim refunds for coronavirus (COVID-19)-related sick pay. The reopening follows the announcement of the reintroduction of the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS) from 21 December 2021 for employers with fewer than 250 employees by the government. The maximum claim per employee is two weeks […]

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COVID-19 support grants paid to companies must be included on company tax returns

HMRC has warned that businesses must declare any coronavirus (COVID-19) support grants or payments on their company tax returns and stated that the grants and payments are taxable. The deadline for filing company tax returns is 12 months after the end of the accounting period. The deadline to pay corporation tax will depend on any […]

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Jan 12

Over 440,000 small firms at risk due to late payment crisis

More than 440,000 small firms could be forced out of business by the late payment crisis, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). An FSB study of more than 1,200 business owners found that close to one in three has seen late payment of invoices increase over the last three months, with a further 8% experiencing other […]

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HMRC latest guidance for employers

HMRC has published the latest edition of the Employer Bulletin. This guidance for employers, and their agents, includes articles on: reporting PAYE information in real time when payments are made early at Christmas preventing and correcting payroll errors Health and Social Care – National Insurance contribution increase UK-Swiss Convention on Social Security Coordination COVID-19 – […]

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Scottish Budget 2022

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes delivered the 2022/23 Scottish Budget on 9 December 2021, setting out the Scottish Government’s financial and tax plans. The Budget outlined the government’s spending plans, income tax and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. Announced in the Budget was almost £2 billion of low-carbon capital investment in infrastructure. This includes the first £20m of […]

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HMRC waives self assessment penalties for one month to ease COVID-19 pressures

HMRC is waiving late filing and late payment penalties for self assessment taxpayers for one month. The measure will give those taxpayers affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) extra time, if they need it, to complete their 2020/21 tax return and pay any tax due. HMRC is still encouraging taxpayers to file and pay on time […]

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Self assessment taxpayers must declare COVID grants on tax returns

HMRC has reminded self assessment taxpayers to declare any COVID-19 grant payments on their 2020/21 tax return. According to HMRC, more than 2.7 million customers claimed at least one Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) payment up to 5 April 2021. The tax authority says these grants are taxable and customers should declare them on their […]

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Chancellor announces £1 billion fund for businesses

On 21 December 2021, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, unveiled a £1 billion COVID-19 fund, including cash grants of up to £6,000 per premises for each eligible firm. Mr Sunak said the government would also help certain firms with the cost of sick pay for COVID-related absences. The Chancellor also announced an extra £30 million to help support […]

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Dec 09

HMRC’s tax take falls by billions due to pandemic

HMRC saw a drop of almost £30 billion in tax revenues in the latest financial year because of the pandemic, according to its annual accounts. In its 2020/21 annual report, HMRC reported that it had collected £608.8 billion in tax revenues, which is down from £636.7 billion collected in 2019/20. HMRC said the drop was due to […]

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Nov 22

FSB warns tax rises ‘threaten recovery from pandemic’

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned that tax rises could threaten the UK’s ongoing recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the FSB, small businesses are coming up against ‘unprecedented strain’, with the cost of doing business higher than ever. Small businesses are also being affected by disruption to supply chains and increasing […]

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Nov 01

BUDGET 27 OCTOBER 2021

Please download our Budget October summary 2021 click here This Summary covers the key tax changes announced in the Chancellor’s speech and includes tables of the main rates and allowances. At the back of the Summary, you will find a calendar of the tax year with important deadline dates shown. We recommend that you review […]

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British Business Bank provided £80.5 billion of COVID-19 support blog

Oct 08

British Business Bank provided £80.5 billion of COVID-19 support

COVID-19 emergency finance schemes offered £80.5 billion of finance to almost 1.7 million businesses through the British Business Bank (BBB) during the last financial year. This support, which is not included under the Bank’s core programmes, was evenly distributed across the nations and regions of the UK. In addition, the BBB supported £8.5 billion through […]

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Government announces plans to make requesting flexible working a day one right

Government announces plans to make requesting flexible working a day one right

UK workers could get more choice over when and where they work under new proposals to make the right to request flexible working a day one entitlement. The government will also introduce a day one right to one week’s unpaid leave for carers balancing a job with caring responsibilities. The government says the plans will […]

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£800 million Reinsurance Scheme opens for live events blog

£800 million Reinsurance Scheme opens for live events

The government has opened a £800 million Reinsurance Scheme to cover live events against cancellations stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The live events sector is worth more than £70 billion annually to the UK economy and supports more than 700,000 jobs, including small businesses and the self-employed. The UK Live Events Reinsurance Scheme will support […]

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COVID-19 sick pay rebate scheme blog

COVID-19 sick pay rebate scheme closed in September

The government’s scheme that enables small businesses to recoup statutory sick pay costs caused by COVID-19 closed at the end of September. Legislation ending the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS) was laid before parliament on 9 September. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, employers were obliged to pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to eligible employees […]

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Chancellor warned of redundancies blog

Chancellor warned of redundancies as furlough scheme ends

The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) ended on 30 September after supporting millions of workers during the pandemic. The government said the wages of more than 11 million people were subsidised for at least some of the scheme’s duration at a cost of around £70 billion. Economists say there is likely to be a […]

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