Claiming the fifth self-employed Income Support Blog

Aug 06

Claiming the fifth self-employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant

HMRC has issued guidance on claiming the fifth and final self-employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant. Unlike previous SEISS grants the amount of the fifth grant available is determined by how much a self-employed individual’s turnover is reduced. The fifth grant is 80% of three months’ average trading profits capped at £7,500 for those self-employed […]

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The government has published draft Finance Blog

The government has published draft Finance Bill clauses

The Government has published draft clauses for the next Finance Bill, which broadly cover pre-announced policy changes. The government is committed, where possible, to publishing most tax legislation in draft for technical consultation before the relevant Finance Bill is laid before Parliament. The consultation will close on 14 September 2021. Internet link: GOV.UK Draft Finance Bill […]

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Consultation launched on self-employed basis Blog

Consultation launched on self-employed basis period reform

HMRC has recently launched a consultation on how basis periods can be reformed for income tax for the self-employed. The consultation seeks to gather views on how best to implement a proposal to simplify the rules under which profits of an unincorporated trading business are allocated to tax years using basis periods. The consultation also includes […]

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Jul 13

800,000 claim tax relief for working from home

HMRC has confirmed that almost 800,000 employees who have been working from home during the pandemic have already claimed tax relief on household related costs. The saving is worth up to £125 per year for each employee, and eligible workers can claim the full year’s entitlement if they have been told to work from home […]

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440,000 tax credit claimants still to renew their claims

HMRC is reminding tax credit claimants that they have until 31 July 2021 to renew their claims. According to HMRC, 440,000 claimants have yet to renew their claims. More than 2.5 million annual tax credits packs were posted to claimants between late April and early July 2021. Claimants will have either received an ‘auto-renewal’ reminder […]

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Schemes create one stop shop for VAT on EU trade_1

Schemes create one stop shop for VAT on EU trade

Three schemes were launched on 1 July to deal with VAT on business-to-consumer supplies of goods and services to EU customers. They are known as the ‘Union’, ‘non-Union’ and ‘import’ schemes. The schemes are designed to facilitate the collection of VAT by one EU member state, which is then passed on to the member state […]

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HMRC launches 13,000 investigations into COVID-19 support schemes

HMRC has launched nearly 13,000 investigations into alleged abuse of the government’s coronavirus (COVID-19) financial support schemes. A freedom of information request revealed that, up to the end of March 2021, HMRC opened 12,828 investigations into alleged cases of fraud. 7,384 of these investigations related to abuse of the COVID-19 support schemes. 5,020 investigations were […]

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Property tax changes

From 1 July 2021 there are changes to the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) and Land Transaction Tax (LTT) bands for residential property. SDLT is payable by the purchaser in a land transaction occurring in England and Northern Ireland. The following rates and thresholds apply for SDLT from 1 July 2021 to 30 September 2021: […]

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Furlough scheme starts to wind down

The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) begins winding down from 1 July. The latest data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that at the end of April 3.4 million jobs were still on furlough so the change to the furlough scheme will affect thousands of employers across the country. Since last March, […]

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Forms P11D - reporting employee benefits blog-100

Jun 11

Forms P11D – reporting employee benefits

The forms P11D which report details of benefits and some expenses provided to employees and directors for the year ended 5 April 2021, are due for submission to HMRC by 6 July 2021. The process of gathering the necessary information and completing the forms can take some time, so it is important that this process […]

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Advisory fuel rates for company cars blog-100

Advisory fuel rates for company cars

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 June 2021. The guidance states: ‘You can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply’. The rates only apply to employees using a company car. The advisory fuel rates for journeys undertaken on […]

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Trade credit insurance scheme to close blog-100

Trade credit insurance scheme to close

The temporary Trade Credit Reinsurance (TCR) scheme that helped struggling supply chain firms secure insurance protection during the pandemic will close at the end of June, it has been confirmed. In a statement, the government and the Association of British Insurers said the scheme will close on 30 June as planned. The TCR scheme was […]

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Effectiveness of OTS set to be reviewed by Treasury blog-100

Effectiveness of OTS set to be reviewed by Treasury

The Treasury has launched a review into the effectiveness of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), the independent body responsible for helping to make the UK tax system simpler and easier to interact with for taxpayers. In a new call for evidence, the Treasury said that whilst the review is internal, it is keen to […]

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NIC reliefs set for Freeports blog-100

NIC reliefs set for Freeports

Freeport operators will be able to take advantage of a zero rate of secondary national insurance contributions (NICs) for employees, the government has announced. The National Insurance Contributions Bill 2021, which legislates reliefs for those operating in Freeports, has now been published. The Bill confirms that from April 2022, organisations with employees spending 60% or […]

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HMRCs VAT Deferral New Payment Scheme to close this month blog-100

HMRC’s VAT Deferral New Payment Scheme to close this month

Businesses that deferred VAT payments last year have a week left to join online and pay in monthly instalments under the VAT Deferral New Payment Scheme, HMRC has warned. The online portal for the new payment scheme will close on 21 June 2021. Over half a million businesses deferred £34 billion in VAT payments due […]

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Fifth SEISS grant will be open to claims from late July blog-100

Fifth SEISS grant will be open to claims from late July

HMRC has confirmed that the fifth Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant covering the period May 2021 to September 2021 will open to claims from late July. To be eligible for the grant, an individual must be self-employed or a member of a partnership. They must have traded in the tax year 2019/20 and submitted […]

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Pension fraud increased to £1.8 million in first blog

May 10

Pension fraud increased to £1.8 million in first quarter of 2021

Losses from pension fraud rose to £1.8 million in the first three months of this year, according to figures from Action Fraud. 107 reports of pension fraud were made in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of almost 45% when compared to the same period in 2020. Pension scams often include free pension reviews, […]

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HMRC sets out penalty regime for SEISS abuse Blog

HMRC sets out penalty regime for SEISS abuse

The fourth Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant is now live and HMRC has set out the penalties for abuse of the scheme. An overclaimed SEISS grant includes any amount of grant which the self-employed individual was not entitled to receive or was more than the amount HMRC said the applicant was entitled to when […]

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New 95% mortgage scheme launched blog

New 95% mortgage scheme launched

On 19 April, a government-backed mortgage scheme to help people with 5% deposits get on to the housing ladder was made available to lenders. First announced at the 2021 Budget, the scheme will help first-time buyers or current homeowners secure a mortgage with just a 5% deposit to buy a house worth up to £600,000. […]

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CBI calls for extension of Kickstart Scheme as jobs market remains subdued blog

CBI calls for extension of Kickstart Scheme as jobs market remains subdued

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has urged the government to extend the Kickstart Scheme to help young people who are bearing the brunt of the subdued job market. The Kickstart Scheme was launched in September and promised to pay the wages and associated employment costs for businesses taking on 16 to 24-year-olds in receipt […]

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