MTD zero-hour is here.

The moment has come: if your business has a taxable turnover above the VAT-registration threshold, which is currently £85,000, you're now obliged to keep records in digital form and to file your VAT returns using HMRC-approved software.

You probably got a bit fed up of being reminded about the deadline for the first wave of the Government's Making Tax Digital (MTD) scheme in the course of the past year or so, and who could blame you?

How to minimise disruption in your business.

It has been a challenging and eventful three years for UK businesses with a series of high-proile incidents highlighting how situations can change suddenly and often without warning.

From the continued pressure of uncertainty relating to Brexit, terrorism, fire, extreme weather and cyber-attacks, how would your business cope if it was affected by something similar?

What you need to know for 2019/20.

With the Brexit process rumbling on, Making Tax Digital finally coming into force, and Easter around the corner, now is the time to put your inancial plans in place for 2019/20.

This month the insider covers:

• Most VAT-registered businesses are signed up for making tax digital
• Small employers risk losing the employment allowance in 2020
• Self-employed owe £1.6bn to HMRC in late tax payments for 2017/18
• Regulator slams poor standards of charity accounts audits

This month the insider covers:

• Treasury to review tapered annual allowance as dispute rumbles on
• Retailers unite in call for business rates solution
• Javid 'to broaden the apprenticeship levy into a wider skills levy'
• Reverse charge vat for builders delayed for 12 months

This month the insider covers:

• Demand for digital skills among businesses tipped to 'skyrocket'
• Businesses urged to inform staff of tax-free childcare
• Rules on gifts made to loved ones should be simplified, says the OTS
• Treasury urged to rethink buy-to-let crackdown

This month the insider covers:

• HMRC error affects payments on account bills for some taxpayers
• Most gifters are 'unclear on inheritance tax rules'
• Non-compliant employers face auto-enrolment spot-checks
• Calls grow for delay in extending ir35 to the private sector

This month the insider covers:

• Small business owners hit out at 'unfair' uk tax system
• Retirees taxed £4bn more than previously thought
• Govt. urged to introduce stamp duty tax break for downsizing
• CBI: 'unsustainable' business rates system in need of reform

This month the insider covers:

• MPs call for break-up of big four's accountancy services
• HMRC announces delay to probate fee increase
• Landlords feeling the pinch as tax measures begin to bite
• First VAT-registered businesses enter into making tax digital

This month the insider covers:

• Government consults on new stamp duty surcharge
• Thousands face huge tax avoidance bills
• Ministers give thumbs-up for probate revamp
• Apprenticeship 'starts' fall by a quarter

This month the insider covers:

• HMRC error hits early-paying self-assessment taxpayers
• Minimum contributions rise to 3% for employers in April
• Making Tax Digital for VAT: one month to go
• Government launches service to prepare firms for EU exit

This month the insider covers:

• Auto-enrolment fines rise 146%
• Dual-registration service passes 200,000 milestone
• Partners hit by avoidable ISA tax charge
• Think tank proposes tax changes to save £7bn

This month the insider covers:

• Businesses getting to grips with apprenticeship levy
• R&D investment grows to £23.7bn in 2016/17
• OTS calls for inheritance tax system to be digitised
• Critics urge delay in rollout of MTD

Handy guide showing all the main tax categories for the tax year 2019/20 - 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.

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.

Once again, Chancellor Philip Hammond has demonstrated his commitment to the principle of the Spring Statement as a low-key event, at least in terms of tax and public spending announcements.

With none of the pomp and circumstance of the Autumn Budget, Hammond stuck in large part to summarising key points from the updated economic forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Though he presented the numbers with a flourish, the OBR was mildly pessimistic in its own presentation, especially around a reduced estimate for growth in 2019, down from 1.6% to 1.2%.

How did we end up with such a complex system of tax reliefs?

If there's one thing accountants love, it's identifying obscure tax reliefs to which you may be entitled and using them to reduce your tax bills.

Tax reliefs, or tax breaks as they are sometimes called, aren't without controversy, however. There are too many of them, say critics, and they deny the public purse much-needed funds.

What can your firm do before 29 March 2019?

As the clock continues to tick down to the 29 March 2019, when the UK is scheduled to officially leave the EU at 11pm, there is still much uncertainty around what Brexit will mean for UK business.

What is certain is that it will bring change for businesses of every size and sector, but planning for it seems almost impossible. For businesses that buy and sell to the EU it is important to have contingency plans in place which are flexible enough to cope with a variety of outcomes.

Will HMRC come knocking on your door?

It's a fact – humans are bad at assessing risk. We’re terrified of things that rarely happen (plane crashes, power station meltdowns) but relatively blasé about things that are statistically more likely to harm us, such as unwashed lettuce.

The likelihood of HMRC swooping to investigate your business's tax affairs seems to be a particularly difficult risk to quantify.

National insurance contributions (NICs) are set aside to pay the state pension and other benefits, but due to the UK’s ageing population the National Insurance Fund is under increasing strain, with the state pension taking up more than 90% of its annual outlay in 2018.

A review by the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) predicted the fund would be empty by around 2032.

There is no pot of money set aside to pay future state pensions, which are funded on a pay-as-you-go basis, which means that future pensioners are reliant on the NICs of future workers to pay their pensions.

Controversial fee increase set to take place from April.

From April 2019, some estates in England and Wales could be required to pay almost £6,000 for a service that currently costs less than 4% of that amount.

This is because of a proposed change to the fees families must pay to administer the estate of someone who has died. This process, more generally referred to as probate, involves gathering the assets of the deceased, valuing the estate, paying any tax and bills, and distributing the estate according to the will.

What you need to know before filing self-assessment for 2017/18.

It's a common scenario.

As the year draws to a close, the thought of your tax return is there, at the back of your mind. But with so much time before the deadline, you decide not to worry about it for now.

Then the weeks start to fly by, Christmas comes and goes, and soon you're planning for the New Year and getting back to work as normal.

When and how to begin the process of deregistration.

These days VAT thresholds are the subject of much speculation, with the Government concerned that many business owners deliberately choose to stay below the VAT-registration threshold.

Limiting your ambition in this way might seem counter-intuitive – surely you want your business to get as big as possible?

What are the tax implications?

People run businesses for a variety of reasons from passion to pride, but making a living is high up the list for most people.

How do you go about drawing proit from your business, and doing so efficiently?

How to plan and make a legally valid will.

Most people don't like to think about their own mortality, but planning for the future is important to ensure your property, money and possessions are distributed the way you intend.

Writing a legally valid will is an essential part of this, and can provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones.