This month the insider covers:
Can employees reclaim any expenses?
On Monday 16 March 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the public to work from home where possible in an attempt to contain the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the UK.
For more than 1.7 million people it was business as usual, as they already worked from home for their main job, according to the Office for National Statistics' most recent Labour Force Survey published in March 2020.
But for the remaining 30m employees in the UK, lockdown has represented quite the cultural shift. While some have been furloughed for at least three weeks, others have lost their jobs or have childcare commitments, making it nigh on impossible to work from home during the pandemic.
What to consider during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Coronavirus has many people reflecting on their own mortality. So if you have more time on your hands during the lockdown, planning your estate may be a wise way to spend it.
Benjamin Franklin observed there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and nothing marries the two together quite like inheritance tax.
It may have a bad reputation, but as we explore below, paying inheritance tax is far from being a certainty in the UK in 2020.
This month the insider covers:
It's hard to believe Rishi Sunak has only been the Chancellor since Valentine’s Day, given what he's had to deal with in a matter of weeks since.
On the back of delivering a Spring Budget, Sunak has revealed an unprecedented multi-billion-pound stimulus package to support businesses in the UK feeling the effects of the coronavirus.
From business continuity to accessing government grants and loans, we're here to advise you during this challenging time. If you need a business health-check or immediate advice on managing cashflow, get in touch.
The following measures are accurate as of 31 March 2020.
What you need to know for the tax year.
The Government left it to the very last minute to announce its tax plans for 2020/21. Fortunately, Chancellor Rishi Sunak had few surprises up his sleeve in last month's Spring Budget.
Three of the main taxes in the UK – income tax, corporation tax and VAT – saw their rates and thresholds frozen or, for income tax thresholds in Scotland, merely tweaked in line with inflation.
However, there were changes to pensions and capital gains tax. Here’s what you need to know from April 2020.
Handy guide showing all the main tax categories for the tax year 2020/21 - includes taxable income bands and tax rates, tax-free mileage allowances, vehicle and fuel benefits in kind, captial gains tax and UK Company taxation information.
"Getting it done" is the soundbite Chancellor Rishi Sunak clearly wanted us to take away from his debut Budget speech, but "giving it away" might be more accurate.
The Government's substantial majority gave Sunak carte blanche to overhaul taxes but, in the end, there were relatively few substantial changes.
Instead, one announcement after another was made on investment in public services, roads and railways. With the coronavirus (COVID-19) high on the agenda, there were also emergency measures designed to provide respite for beleaguered businesses and to protect jobs.
This month the insider covers:
HMRC updates tax guidance for digital currencies.
Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009, cryptocurrencies have grown steadily into the public consciousness, and the taxman's too. Once the realm of geeks and hackers, cryptocurrencies are becoming more mainstream.
In late 2017, the price of a single Bitcoin surged to about $20,000 before falling away dramatically.
Yes, speculative fortunes have been made and lost, but it continues to pique people's interest. HMRC has taken a growing interest in their use too, and of course their taxation.
Policy success, but headache for employers?
Back in 2012, less than half of private-sector employees in the UK had a pension scheme. Today, that figure is 85% and this huge increase is due to the successful rollout of auto-enrolment.
It started with the largest companies and now applies to employers of all sizes with staff earning more than £10,000 a year, and who are aged between 22 and state pension age.
However, auto-enrolment poses many challenges for smaller employers, as they must comply with the same regulations as listed PLCs, without a large payroll department to manage it.
This month the insider covers:
Billions of pounds lost in unclaimed funds.
Helping you plan for your retirement is one of our core services, ensuring you are prepared when the time comes to call it a day.
With medical advances enabling more people to live for longer, the average person who retires at 65 lives for another 20 years.
According to the Office for National Statistics, males who retire at 65 can expect to live another 19 years while the average female will be around for 21 years after turning 65.
Does it pay off to provide low or zero-emission cars?
Offering a company car as a benefit can be a valuable and attractive perk to any valued employee.
Unfortunately, it is not necessarily a tax-free perk and it may be liable for PAYE because HMRC considers the private use of a company car to be a benefit-in-kind.
In some cases it can even be quite costly to the employee, especially if the company also pays for the fuel.
Useful guide that covers: Personal Allowances, Inheritance Tax, Tax Credits, Entrepreneurs' Relief, VAT, Penalties, Corporation Tax, Business Deductions, Captial Gains Tax, ISAs, Pension Contributions and Non-UK Domicile Taxation.
Finally the guide touches on upcoming changes.
This month the insider covers:
Tax breaks for innovative businesses.
The UK tax system is complicated but research and development (R&D) tax credits can be especially tricky to understand.
That's partly because what counts as R&D, and what amounts to true innovation, is judged on a case-by-case basis against criteria that can seem almost abstract.
Options to consider when starting up.
You've got a business idea, you've got the skills, the concept, the motivation and maybe even someone that's keen to pay for your services, but where do you start? What will you call your business? What business structure will suit it best?
It may be that as your business grows you run through several different structures, but most firms will set up one way and remain just that, even as their turnover grows or falls.
This month the insider covers:
Don't leave it until the last minute, especially in 2020.
With only two months left until the 31 January deadline for online returns, self-assessment is very much on our minds.
There's a first flurry of activity around the deadline for paper filing at the end of October, now far behind us, but December and January are when things really get hectic.
We all have stories about clients who turn up with wheelbarrows full of crumpled receipts on 28 January, or last-minute signups with financial affairs so complicated they might have been designed to test brainpower and resilience.
Methods to overcome uncertainty in 2020.
So you've got a business idea, and you think it might be a runner. But then again, just as you've geared yourself up to commit, all sorts of midnight worries start to creep in.
Is now the time? Are people spending money? What about the sluggish housing market? What about Brexit? And the state of the local high street – does anyone even go there anymore?
You want to press ahead with your plan, but you also don't want to be reckless, or take a fall and lose what you've already built up – so where do you go from here?
It's been an eventful few years in British politics, but 2019 has been something else again with one jolt after another.
The 29 March deadline for the UK to leave the EU was extended to 31 October and then again until 31 January 2020. Boris Johnson replaced Theresa May as Prime Minister and Sajid Javid succeeded Philip Hammond as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Javid was poised to deliver his first Budget on 6 November against a backdrop of constitutional crisis but, in late October, it was cancelled as Parliament voted in favour of holding the first December general election since 1923.
Steps to shield your firm from threats.
Fraud costs the UK around £190 billion a year, with businesses bearing almost three quarters – £140bn – of those losses.
This worrying picture is backed up by the 2019 Fraudscape report compiled by anti-fraud body Cifas, which provides statistics for fraud committed by employees.
Tax changes to private residences for 2020/21.
From 6 April 2020, HMRC is proposing three significant changes which will potentially increase the capital gains tax paid on the disposal of any residential property by an individual.
These changes seek to raise extra revenue from the disposal of residential properties and to collect these taxes more quickly.
This month the insider covers: