HLAS

The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a new fund to help small to medium-sized businesses to develop greener and more efficient solutions for freight. The Freight Innovation Fund will support SMEs with solutions to current challenges in the United Kingdom’s freight sector, as well as developing a future pipeline of solutions to meet the sector’s emerging needs. The programme will take a cross-modal view of the end-to-end freight journey, deploying solutions in real-world environments. The programme will identify and trial new products and services coming to market in the freight sector. It will convene and support innovating organisations across [...]

In January 2022, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) announced an update of the Cyber Essentials technical controls. At the time, organisations who were looking to be assessed against the new standards were given a grace period of up to 12 months for some of the requirements. This grace period was due to end in January. However, the grace period has been extended for a further three months until April 2023. Read more about the Cyber Essentials grace period extension. The NCSC will host a live Digital Loft webinar to share a first look at the changes to Cyber Essentials technical requirements [...]

Listed below are a number of live HMRC webinars that will give the self-employed an understanding of key taxes that affect them and also help employers with payroll. The webinars are free and last around an hour. Business expenses for the self-employed Fri 20 Jan at 1:45pm The Trust Registration Service and reporting discrepancies Mon 6 Feb at 9:45am Overview of the new VAT late submission, late payment penalties and interest charges Fri 17 Feb at 11:45am How to apply the VAT reverse charge for construction services Thu 23 Feb at 11:45am Overview of the new VAT late submission, late payment [...]

The Government has announced a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) from April 2023 to April 2024 for eligible non-domestic consumers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The current Energy Bill Relief Scheme announced in September comes to an end in March 2023. It supports businesses and public sector organisations such as schools and hospitals by providing a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices. Eligible non-domestic customers facing significantly inflated gas and electricity prices in light of global price pressures, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have benefitted from the discount since 1 October 2022. On 17 October it [...]

We often make resolutions for ourselves at this time of year, but what about your business? Below are a few examples of business resolutions; maybe they will help you think about your strategy for success in 2023. Resolve to track your spending  Where does all the money go each month? You know about the big regular bills such as rent, rates, telephone and internet, suppliers, employees, tax, heat, and electricity, but for most businesses, budgets never quite seem to add up. Make sure you list all the little things such as sundries and other smaller expenses into your budget. Look [...]

The Scottish Parliament has the power to set income tax rates on non-savings and non-dividend income for Scottish taxpayers. In the Scottish Budget of 15 December 2022, it has been confirmed that the 5-band structure will remain for 2023/24 and most of the thresholds are unchanged. Like the rest of the UK the top rate threshold has been reduced to £125,140. However, unlike the rest of the UK, the Scottish higher rate and top rates have been increased by 1%. The 19% Scottish starter rate will continue to apply to income between £12,571 and £14,732 (as in 2022/23). The Scottish [...]

The table below sets out the HMRC advisory reimbursement rates for employees' private mileage using their company car from 1 December 2022. Where full reimbursement is made there is no taxable fuel benefit. The rates for the previous quarter, if different, are in brackets. Note that for hybrid cars you must use the petrol or diesel rate and for fully electric cars the rate is now 8p per mile (previously 5p per mile) You can continue to use the previous rates for up to 1 month from the date the new rates apply.

A new points-based system for late VAT returns starts for return periods commencing on or after 1 January 2023. A financial penalty will apply when a number of points have been accumulated, which will depend on how frequently the returns should be submitted. For a trader preparing quarterly returns a penalty will be charged when four points have been accumulated.

The 130% super-deduction for the investment in plant and machinery was introduced in the March 2021 Budget. The enhanced tax deduction is available to limited companies that acquire new plant and machinery between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023. Companies should consider bringing forward plans to acquire new plant to benefit from this generous tax allowance. Note that the expenditure must be incurred before the 31 March 2023 deadline.

The CGT annual exempt amount reduces from £12,300 to just £6,000 for gains made in 2023/24. Remember that the 2022/23 allowance is lost if not used by 5 April 2023 and you might want to consider bringing forward disposals of chargeable assets where possible. Where a married couple who are higher rate taxpayers own a buy to let property, bringing forward the disposal from 2023/24 could potentially save £3,528 CGT (£24,600 - £12,000 @ 28%). It would be important to exchange contracts before 6 April 2023 as that is the critical date for CGT.