HLAS

Innovate UK is offering up to £25 million in loans to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Loans are for highly innovative late-stage research and development (R&D) projects with the best potential for the future. There should be a clear route to commercialisation and economic impact. Your project must lead to new products, processes or services that are significantly ahead of others currently available or propose an innovative use of existing products, processes or services. It can also involve a new or innovative business model. Innovate UK are particularly interested in projects that focus on the future economy areas included [...]

The Autumn Finance Bill 2022 was published last week, legislating for key tax changes announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement. Measures include: The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) is being extended to help fund cost of living support and ensure oil and gas companies pay their fair share of tax. The rate of tax applied to the profits of oil and gas companies is increasing from 25% to 35% and the sunset clause changing to March 2028 rather than December 2025. This measure also reduces the investment allowance from 80% to 29%, except for investment expenditure on upstream decarbonisation, [...]

New employees can use the secure HMRC app to find out their personal tax information and pass details on to their employer - saving them time. As tens of thousands of people start seasonal jobs over the next few weeks, they can use the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) app to save them time finding details they need to pass on to their employers. In the 12 months up to October 2022, HMRC received almost 3 million calls from people asking for information that is now readily available on the app, with more than 340,000 using it to access employment and income [...]

Running your own company can be exciting but also challenging. Directors have lots of responsibilities including keeping company records up-to-date and making sure they’re filed on time. All limited companies, whether they trade or not, must deliver annual accounts to Companies House (CH) each year. This includes dormant companies. If we do not file your accounts for you, then you can use Companies House online services which are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are inbuilt checks to help you avoid mistakes. It can take as little as 15 minutes from start to finish and you’ll know [...]

The rising cost of living crisis is impacting us all, and charities are no exception. Fundraising challenges, cost of business increases and volunteer and staff stability are just some of the many issues charities may face. Over the coming weeks, the Charity Finance Group (CFG) will be sharing a selection of free resources in their cost of living hub. In the meantime, take a look at some of their advice below: Cost of living overview: The cost of living: what can your charity do now? Supporting your people: How can charity employers support employees?and seven quick tips for employers Reducing costs: Understanding energy consumptionand As [...]

With all of the U-turns on tax policy in the last couple of months, businesses may be confused about what changes are going ahead and which ones have been scrapped by the new chancellor. One of the controversial announcements in the mini-budget on 23 September was the abolition of the “off-payroll” rules that apply when workers are engaged via an intermediary, typically their own personal service company (PSC). This was due to take effect from 6 April 2023, restoring the tax rules to the pre-6 April 2017 position and would have reduced the compliance burden on end-user organisations. However, this [...]

How HMRC assesses profits for sole traders and partnerships who use an accounting date between 6 April and 30 March will change from 6 April 2023. This change will not affect companies. Your accounting date is the last day of the period that you prepare your accounts for. You choose your accounting date when you set up your business and will normally make your accounts up to that date every year. Under the current rules, you are taxed on profits for the accounting date that ends in a given tax year. For example, if your accounting date is 30 November, [...]

One of the few changes announced on 23 September that has not been reversed concerns Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland. The starting threshold was increased from £125,000 to £250,000 (and, for First Time Buyers, from £300,000 to £425,000) from 23 September 2022. However, it has now been announced that these are to be temporary changes and, from 1 April 2025, the thresholds will return to their original rates.

The Chancellor has again expressed concerns about the alleged abuse of Research & Development (R&D) tax reliefs. Alongside plans to merge two existing schemes in future, he announced that, from 1 April 2023: The Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) available to non-SME companies would be increased from 13% to 20%. For SME companies, the additional R&D tax relief deduction will be reduced from 130% to 86%. For loss-making SME companies, the payable credit will be reduced from 14.5% to 10%.

For those provided with an electronic or ultra-low emission company car (emitting less than 75g of CO2 per kilometre), there will be annual increases in the benefit-in-kind percentages, and therefore the taxes paid by both employees and employers, from the 2025/26 tax year. For all other company car users, there will be a 1 percentage point increase (up to a maximum of 37%) in the calculation of the benefit-in-kind in 2025/26 before being fixed for the following two tax years. The fixed multipliers used to calculate benefits-in-kind on employer provided vans, van fuel (for private journeys in company vans) and car [...]