HLAS

If you have children under 12 who attend a nursery, after school club, playscheme, childminder or you are considering sending them to a summer camp you should think about setting up a tax-free childcare account. The government adds 25% to the amounts that you save in the account up to £2,000 for each child so £8,000 is topped up to £10,000 (a higher amount applies for disabled children). The account is then used to pay Ofsted registered childcare providers. Note that it doesn’t need to be the child’s parents paying into the account, uncles, aunts, grandparents and others can also [...]

As you are probably aware tax agents were not able to claim SEISS grants on their client’s behalf, and we do not currently have access to the amounts you have claimed. If you are self-employed and have received any SEISS grants in 2020/21 can you please let us have details of the amounts received so that we can include the correct amounts in your return. The amounts received are taxable but should not be included in your turnover as that would mean double counting.

The fifth (and final) SEISS grant will be available for the self-employed to claim towards the end of July. The eligibility criteria remain broadly the same as the fourth grant. Self-employed profits in 2019/20 must not exceed £50,000 and must be more than 50% of your total income. If that test is not met, then the same £50,000 and 50% tests are applied to average profits and total income over the four fiscal years to 2019/20. Self-employed traders need not have claimed grants under the previous scheme to qualify for the July payment and will be required to confirm that [...]

The numerous changes in the method of calculating CJRS furlough grants will no doubt have resulted in errors by some employers. Remember that you are required to tell HMRC about overclaimed CJRS grants as part of your next claim. You will be asked when making your claim whether you need to adjust the amount down to take account of a previous overclaim. Your new claim amount will be reduced to reflect this. You should keep a record of this adjustment for 6 years. You should also be aware that HMRC may levy a penalty even if the error is careless [...]

For the month of‌‌ July the CJRS Furlough grant support from the government via HMRC reduces to 70% of the employee’s usual pay for hours not worked. This is despite the fact that “Freedom Day” in England has been delayed four weeks to 19 July 2021, and now called “Terminus Day”. The government support to employers will then reduce to 60% in August and September.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it!” - Abraham Lincoln If you want to be successful in business you must believe in your success. The aim of this section is to help you create a picture of what your business will be like when it is fully “complete”, and to set targets and monitor how you are doing towards your goals. One Page Analyst A one page showing the movements on profit when flexing key variables. Download 5 Year Plan A 5-year plan spreadsheet which you can use to [...]

If you are working in a job role that entitles you to a company car as a `benefit-in-kind`,  you’ll want to know how much your company car tax will amount to. Generally, company cars that are low or zero-emissions – such as electric cars and hybrids – have some of the lowest company car tax rates. In this article, we detail how company car tax is calculated. The company car tax calculator Company car tax is based on two figures: The car’s P11D value: list price + VAT, and delivery charges. Remember, your vehicle’s P11D value is not the same [...]

Some employers offer non-monetary perks called benefits-in-kind. Often these are detailed up-front within job vacancies and include work phones, private health insurance, travel & entertainment expenses, and company cars. All benefits-in-kind are taxed to some degree – under benefits-in-kind (BiK) tax. In this article, we detail how benefits-in-kind tax affects company cars. Which company cars are subject to benefits-in-kind tax? Any employee using a company car must pay company car tax or benefits in kind tax. Though a few conditions lower the cost of benefits-in-kind tax for company cars, including: You contribute an amount; Your company car has low CO2 [...]

Countries rated as red, amber or green for Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the rules you must follow to enter England have been updated. What you must do when you arrive in England from abroad depends on where you have been in the 10 days before you arrive. The webpage below lists countries and territories as red, amber or green and tells you what you must do if you have been in those countries or territories. See: Red, amber and green list rules for entering England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Demonstrating your COVID-19 vaccination status allows you to show others that you’ve had a full course of the COVID-19 vaccine when travelling abroad to some countries or territories. A full course is currently 2 doses of any approved vaccine. COVID-19 vaccination status is available to people who live in England and are registered with a GP. You can get your vaccination status in digital or paper format. See: Demonstrating your COVID-19 vaccination status when travelling abroad - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)