HLAS

An extended loss carry back was announced at Budget 2021 which enables companies (and individuals) to make claims to carry back losses for a further 2 years than previous rules allowed. This temporary extension applies for losses arising in company accounting periods ending between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2022. An HMRC guidance note setting out further information on extended loss carry back for businesses is available. Claims Process Where the loss relief claim is no more than £200,000, HMRC are prepared to accept the loss claim in advance of submitting the CT600 company tax return and finalised accounts [...]

Pickup trucks are a popular choice for construction workers and other tradespeople who are entitled to the use of a company car. While company car tax, or benefits-in-kind (BiK) tax is part and parcel of acquiring any business-owned car, pickups offer the advantage of a flat rate rather than a percentage rate which decreases or fluctuates depending on the fuel type (like car BiK tax which is advantageous for hybrid and electric car drivers). How much is company car tax on pickups? While the driver can expect to pay a flat rate regardless of which pickup* they acquire through their [...]

HMRC are currently attacking a marketed tax avoidance scheme using unfunded pension arrangements to avoid Corporation Tax, Income Tax and National Insurance contributions. HMRC strongly believes these arrangements do not work and will seek to challenge anyone promoting or using these arrangements and make sure the correct tax is paid. Users of these arrangements may pay considerable fees to use them yet may still have to repay the tax claimed to be avoided, as well as interest and a penalty. Contact us if you are approached to use such a scheme.

Pension contributions to approved pension funds on behalf of employees and directors continue to be a tax-free benefit provided the annual input limit is not breached. The contributions are also deductible for the employer provided incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade and paid before the end of the accounting period of the business. For most taxpayers the annual input limit is £40,000 and this overall limit applies to contributions by the employee plus contributions made by the employer on the employee’s behalf. It is also possible to take advantage of unused relief from the previous three [...]

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 [...]