Aug 11

HMRC gives £1.8 million a year to charities to help excluded taxpayers

The voluntary and community sector will be able to apply for grants from HMRC to support their work with taxpayers who need extra assistance with their tax affairs. Eligible organisations need to bid for the funding, worth £1.8 million a year from 2024 until 2027, up from the current annual grant of £1.66 million, through HMRC’s […]

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Tax down on pints but up on wines and spirits in Alcohol Duty overhaul

The largest overhaul of alcohol duty in 140 years sees drinks taxed by strength rather than category from 1 August. It also sees the introduction of Small Producer Relief, which aims to help small businesses and start-ups create new drinks, innovate and grow. There will be lower taxes on lower alcohol products – those below 3.5% alcohol by […]

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HMRC increases late payment interest rate to 7.5%

HMRC has increased interest rates with late payment bills charged 7.5% from 11 July, the highest rate since 2001. The move follows the Bank of England’s June increase in the base rate with HMRC also increasing the rate paid on repayments of tax. The Bank increased the base rate to 5% from 4.5% on 22 June, […]

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Bank of England raises UK interest rates to 5.25%

The UK’s interest rate has been raised to 5.25% by the Bank of England, as it continues to try and bring inflation under control. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee increased the rate by 0.25% from 5% – the 14th increase in a row. It is a 15-year high for the base rate, which was last at this […]

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UK inflation falls as economy shrinks in May

The UK’s rate of inflation fell to 7.9% in the year to June while the country’s economy shrank in May, according to the latest Consumer Prices Index (CPI) published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The inflation rate is currently at its lowest annual rate since March 2022, the ONS said. Price rises have slowed […]

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Industrial strategy required blog

Jul 11

Industrial strategy required to ‘focus on innovation’, says IoD

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has urged the government to create an industrial strategy to help ‘define specific long-term priorities for the UK economy’. A survey carried out by the IoD revealed that 88% of its members favour the development of an industrial strategy. Less than 10% of IoD members think economic growth should be generated […]

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Bank of England raises UK base interest rate blog

Bank of England raises UK base interest rate to 5%

The Bank of England has raised UK interest rates to a 15-year high of 5% as it continues its battle against inflation. Despite concerns that mortgage-holders face a timebomb of higher rates, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to raise its benchmark rate from 4.5% to 5%, an increase of half a percentage point. It […]

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MTD expected to cost blog

MTD expected to cost £1 billion more than originally forecast

A report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that HMRC’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative is expected to cost around £1 billion more than its initial £226 million budget, which was forecast in 2016. MTD is intended to modernise the tax system for income tax self-assessment, VAT and corporation tax. It requires taxpayers […]

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HMRC closes self assessment blog

HMRC closes self assessment helpline for three months

HMRC is planning to close its self-assessment tax helpline for three months over the summer to focus call centre resources on dealing with other problem calls. All calls to the helpline will be redirected to digital services over the period to give HMRC time to deal with other more urgent phone enquiries. The helpline will be […]

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HMRC extends deadline Blog

HMRC extends deadline for voluntary NICs to April 2025

HMRC has extended the voluntary national insurance contributions (NICs) deadline until 2025. Extending the voluntary NICs deadline until 2025 will give people more time to consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them, and also ensures individuals do not miss out on the possibility of boosting their State Pension entitlements. The original deadline was […]

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Advisory fuel rates June 2023

Jun 15

Advisory fuel rates for company cars June 2023

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 June 2023. 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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Energy suppliers

Energy suppliers urged to renegotiate fixed contracts for small businesses

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged energy suppliers to renegotiate fixed contracts for small firms on market-peak tariffs. Research carried out by the FSB revealed that many small businesses are trapped in contracts that mean that their latest bills are at last summer’s peak market rate for energy, despite wholesale prices having fallen […]

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One in five workers

One in five workers will be higher rate taxpayers by 2027, says IFS

The number of people paying income tax at 40% or above will reach 7.8 million by 2027/28, according to research published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). This represents one in five taxpayers and one in seven of the adult population – a near-quadrupling of the share of adults paying higher rates since the […]

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‘Fresh thinking’ needed in regard to MTD for ITSA

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has written to HMRC regarding how Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) can be better shaped to suit the needs of small property businesses and the self-employed. On 19 December 2022, HMRC announced the deferral of MTD for ITSA’s start date […]

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HMRC increases late payment

HMRC increases late payment interest rate to 7%

Following the Bank of England’s latest increase in the base rate, HMRC has increased both late paid tax and the rate paid on repayments of tax. The Bank increased the base rate to 4.5% from 4.25% on 11 May, the 12the consecutive rise. The late payment and repayment interest rates follow this rise and are […]

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self assessment filers doubles

Number of early self assessment filers doubles in five years

The number of self assessment taxpayers filing their tax return on the first day of the tax year has more than doubled since 2018, HMRC has revealed. More than 77,500 customers submitted their tax return for the 2022/23 tax year on 6 April 2023, compared to almost 37,000 customers on 6 April 2018. The deadline […]

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tax refund for work expenses

Don’t miss out on a tax refund for work expenses, HMRC urges

HMRC is reminding employed workers they can claim a refund on work-related expenses on the GOV.UK website. More than 800,000 taxpayers claimed refunds for work expenses during the 2021/22 tax year. Although the average claim was £125, over 70% of claimants missed out on getting the full amount they were due because they used an […]

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May 11

Latest guidance for employers May 2023

HMRC has published the latest issue of the Employer Bulletin. The April issue has information on various topics, including: reporting expenses and benefits for the tax year ending 5 April 2023 the annual ‘Tell ABAB’ survey gives small businesses a voice in the tax system understanding your obligations on right to work and National Minimum Wage […]

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Tax threshold freeze trebles to £25 billion - blog

Tax threshold freeze trebles to £25 billion

Research carried out by think tank the Resolution Foundation has suggested that the size of the UK’s six-year ‘stealth tax’ threshold freeze has nearly trebled to £25 billion. The figure is significantly higher than the previous forecast of £9 billion announced during the 2021 Budget. A small number of tax thresholds have been frozen since 2021/22 and […]

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Online VAT filing portal to close in May - blog

Online VAT filing portal to close in May

HMRC has reminded businesses that file VAT returns annually that the online VAT filing portal will close from 15 May 2023. The VAT portal closed to standard quarterly filers on 7 November 2022, but was kept open for a longer period for those who file annual returns. In emails to businesses and tax agents, HMRC urged all […]

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