HLAS

Government guidance on travel insurance has been reviewed and updated post Brexit. If you travel internationally you should buy appropriate travel insurance before you go. If you already have a travel insurance policy, check what cover it provides for coronavirus-related events, including medical treatment and travel disruption, and any planned activities such as adventure sports. If you are choosing a new policy, make sure you check how it covers these issues. If you do not have appropriate insurance before you travel, you could be liable for emergency expenses, including medical treatment, which may cost thousands of pounds. See: Foreign travel [...]

Following on from the Chancellor’s announcement in his Autumn Budget the government are consulting on a number of future changes to R&D tax relief. These include: the inclusion of licence payments for datasets and cloud computing costs for data processing and software as two new categories of qualifying expenditure; restricting relief for the cost of carrying out R&D activity subcontracted to third parties to situations where the work is performed in the UK; restricting relief for the cost of employing externally provided workers to situations where the workers are paid through a UK payroll; ensuring that all R&D claims must [...]

30 November 2021 was Tax Administration and Maintenance (TAM) Day when the government published a series of consultations and tax policy updates, summarised in a command paper, together with a number of other documents outlining proposals to modernise and improve the UK tax system over the next 10 years, in particular further digitisation of the UK tax system. See: Tax Administration and Maintenance: Autumn 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) There is still no set date for mandating Making Tax Digital (MTD) for corporation tax although it is not expected until 2026 at the earliest. HMRC have committed to providing sufficient notice [...]

HMRC have updated their guidance on repaying Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) furlough grants that have been overclaimed by employers. Employers, or their agents, must use the online service to get a unique payment reference number before they can pay HMRC back. Note that HMRC may levy a penalty if employers have overclaimed a grant and have not repaid it, and must notify HMRC by the later of: 90 days after the date you received the grant you were not entitled to 90 days after the date you received the grant that you were no longer entitled to keep because [...]

Many employers are currently facing challenges in recruiting the people they need to help their business thrive. It has never been more important for those employers to keep and develop the people they already have.It’s therefore crucial that businesses have the tools they need to prevent long-term absence and avoidable job loss because of ill health or disability. The UK Government is testing a new online service for employers which provides advice and guidance on managing health and disability in the workplace. This explains your legal obligations and good practice. This may be particularly helpful for smaller businesses without an in-house [...]

Another COVID-19 treatment, Xevudy (sotrovimab), has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after it was found to be safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospitalisation and death in people with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection who are at an increased risk of developing severe disease. Developed by GSK and Vir Biotechnology, sotrovimab is a single monoclonal antibody. The drug works by binding to the spike protein on the outside of the COVID-19 virus. This in turn prevents the virus from attaching to and entering human cells, so that it cannot replicate in the [...]

The UK government has signed new contracts to secure the supply of vaccine stock to future proof the country’s vaccine programme. The new contracts with Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna were accelerated in light of the new variant, as part of the ongoing efforts to ensure the government is doing everything it can while scientists across the world learn more about Omicron. These future supply deals include access to modified vaccines if they are needed to combat Omicron and future Variants of Concern, to prepare for all eventualities. The agreements signed through the Vaccine Taskforce are building on existing partnerships with the [...]

HMRC are reminding traders to prepare for customs changes that come into effect on 1 January 2022. You will no longer be able to delay making import customs declarations under the Staged Customs Controls rules that have applied during 2021. Most customers will have to make declarations and pay relevant tariffs at the point of import. You should consider before 1 January 2022 how you are going to submit your customs declarations and pay any duties that are due. You can appoint an intermediary, such as a customs agent, to deal with your declarations on your behalf or you can [...]

The latest version of the CT600 Corporation Tax Return requires companies to report CJRS furlough payments received and the amounts that the company was entitled to during the period. Where any overpayments have already been disclosed to HMRC that amount should be reported. If the company has overclaimed “Eat Out to Help Out” grants that amount should also be reported. The total amount overclaimed should then be entered in box 526. This amount will be assessed to income tax not corporation tax. HMRC will write to companies with the reference number and details of how to repay the overclaimed amount.

There continues to be no taxable benefit for employees provided that all staff are invited, and the cost does not exceed £150 a head, inclusive of VAT. If you have also had an annual summer event then provided the combined cost of the two events is no more than £150 a head then there would be no taxable benefit in kind. If, however the summer event cost £80 a head and the Christmas party £100 a head only one event would qualify for the exemption. Christmas Gifts of up to £50 Per Employee is also Tax Free: Remember that certain [...]