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HMRC Still Behind Processing 2020-21 Self Assessment Tax Returns Impacting SEISS Grants

HMRC Have announced there are still delays processing 2020/21 tax returns ahead of the 30th September deadline to claim the fifth and final Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant. HMRC had already advised there was a delay processing some 2020-21 tax returns where SEISS grants have not been reported in the way they expected, they have now corrected all of the affected returns submitted before 19‌‌th ‌June and continue to correct the SEISS grant amounts included in 2020-21 Self...

Emergency Tax - What Is It?

Emergency tax codes are temporary and applied to your salary automatically by HMRC, they’re usually used when your income changes and there is not information about the tax you need to pay. It means you are only entitled to the basic personal allowance, not taking in to account any tax relief or allowances that you may be entitled to. This is commonly because: Your P45 from your previous employer has not been receivedYou have started your first jobYou have switched from self-employment to PAYE...

National Payroll Week: A Look At National Insurance Contributions

The government has announced that National Insurance is being raised by 1.25% for employers and employees, the levy will also apply to individuals above State Pension age with employment income or profits from self-employment above £9,568. The rate of income tax which is paid by people who receive dividend income from share will also increase by 1.25% from April 2022....

It's National Payroll Week 6th - 10th September - Join Us Celebrating Payroll Professionals

National Payroll Week was established in the UK by the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) in 1998 to celebrate the payroll profession and to give it the recognition it deserves. The week is designed to demonstrate the impact the payroll industry has in the UK through the collection of income tax and National Insurance; £249 billion* is paid to the government through income tax and national insurance contributions. The celebrations cover payroll bureaus such as Cashtra...

Tax Returns Not Being Processed Due To HMRC SEISS Software Error

HMRC are advising customers to check the pre-populated SEISS entry on their Income Tax Self-Assessment Return and where necessary, delete the pre-populated figure and manually enter the correct amount, a spokesperson advised “our system will not process a return if the SEISS grant entry does not match our record of the amount paid.” AccountingWeb reported that they’ve had several reports about a bug in HMRC’s Self-Assessment application programming interface (API) that is corrupting figu...

Fifth SEISS Grant Problems – HMRC Announce Delay In Some Tax Return and SA302 Evidence Of Earnings For Mortgage Providers As Well AS CIS Subcontractors Turnover Test

The claims service for the fifth SEISS grant opened in July with a deadline of 30th of‌‌ September‌‌, ‌2021 to submit claims. HMRC have advised the following updates for 2020-21 Self-Assessment tax returns:There is a delay in processing some 2020-21 Self-Assessment tax returns where SEISS grant payments have not been reported in the way they expected, for example if HMRC records show a different amount was paid than amount declared on the return.From 19‌‌th of ‌June, HMRC automat...

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) Ends 30th September 2021 - What You Need To Know

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends 30th September, 2021. Claims for September must be submitted by 14th October 2021, and any amendments must be made by 28 October 2021. As it was in August, in September, employers can claim 60% of furloughed employees' usual wages for the hours they haven’t worked, up to a cap of £1,875 per month. They'll need to contribute 20% from their own funds so that furloughed employees' are paid at least 80% of their usual wages in total for the hours they do ...

Contractor Left With £1.7m Tax Bill For Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Misunderstanding

Confusion over Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) rules has left a contractor with a tax bill for £1.7m. Under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), contractors deduct 20% from a subcontractor’s payments and pass it to HMRC (there are some exceptions which did not apply to this case.) Determinations were issued by HMRC for £1.7m to the contractor, North Point (Pall Mall) Ltd and China Town Development Company Ltd (China Town) (a subsidiary of North Point) as they should...

Making Tax Digital (MTD) - Important Dates for Businesses, Self-Employed and Landlords

Research has shown that there are still business and individuals who do not know the important dates, that they need to follow MTD rules or understand what the requirements are so we have summarised the requirements below: VAT Registered Businesses VAT-registered businesses with a taxable turnover above the VAT threshold (£85,000) should be following the Making Tax Digital rules NOW by keeping digital records and using software to submit their VAT returns. VAT-registered businesses below the VA...

Are You Eligible For Marriage Allowance (Applies To Civil Partnerships) UPDATED 2025

The Marriage Allowance is a government scheme that could save eligible couples up to £1,260 in tax. It applies to married couples and civil partners, providing a financial boost to households where one partner has a lower income. Let’s explore what the Marriage Allowance is, who qualifies, and how you can claim it....

New Xero Analytics - Free Until January 2022

When COVID-19 first hit, Xero released short-term cash flow and business snapshot tools to all customers free of charge. These tools helped visually project your potential bank balance 7 or 30 days into the future and get insights on your business performance, so you can spot opportunities and mitigate risks ahead of time. Xero have now bundled these tools and renamed them Xero Analytics. If you’re on a Xero business plan, they’ll still be available free of charge, located under the ‘Busin...

Government Announces Simplified Tax Reporting For Self-employed and Small Businesses

As part of the Government's draft legislation to be included in the Finance Bill 2021-22, announced changes mean that businesses will be taxed on profits arising in a tax year, rather than profits of accounts ending in the tax year. The government believe this will help them spend less time filing their taxes, aligning the way self-employed profits are taxed with other forms of income, such as property and investment income. These changes are due to come into force by 2023 and have been drawn-up...

Government Publishes Draft Legislation To Be Included In The Finance Bill 2021-22 - Tax & Pension Highlights

Publishing draft legislation allows for technical consultation and provides taxpayers with predictability over future tax policy changes. Alongside this, the Government is making announcements in a number of areas of tax policy. The Government is also publishing a research report titled ‘Impact of Making Tax Digital for VAT’. This considers the impact of Making Tax Digital (MTD) across those taxpayers that have been required to operate it. Since April 2019 all VAT registered businesses with ...

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) Fifth Grant - Online Claims Open Late July 2021

A fifth grant covering May 2021 to September 2021 will be available to claim through the online service from late July 2021. The grant is taxable and will be paid out in a single instalment. If you’re eligible based on your tax returns, HMRC will contact you from mid-July to give you a date that the claims service will be available to you from. It will be given to you either by email, letter or within the online service. You must make your claim on or before 30 September 2021. Eligibility: You...

What Is A P11D And Why Do I need One?

What Is A P11D? A P11D shows certain expenses and benefits that an employee is liable to pay tax on. Employers who must submit P11D forms every tax year to let HMRC know of any expenses payments, benefits and facilities given to each employee or director. Employees taxable benefits can be offset against your PAYE tax code which means employees may be more tax each month Why Do Employees Need One? The so called benefits-in-kind effectively increase you salary so the P11D ...

Our New Complete, Payroll Solution – A Few Clicks & Payroll Is Done!

What Is It? An online solution that allows us to securely make payments on your behalf to employees while you retain control through a robust and simple approval process. The payments are processed directly from Modulr’s software, our payments technology partner Modulr is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Problems With The Old System Currently, you will receive a payment workflow spreadsheet or report from with payment details. You then have to manually upload and process these payments thr...

How Tripcatcher Is Helping Our Team & Clients Capture Business Mileage Expenses

This week marked the last member of our practice making a business trip for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and she realised she hadn’t used Tripcatcher for a while so needed a refresher so we though it would be useful to share this.What is Tripcatcher? Skip to the refresher section if you already know! You can complete your mileage expenses anywhere, using our mileage tracker which is available on the web or phone app. It’s very easy to use, with lots of time-saving features incl...

National Volunteer Week - Recognising The Invaluable Contributions Of Volunteers

Volunteers Week takes place between 1st and 7th June every year. It's a chance to recognise the fantastic contribution volunteers make to our communities and say thank you. It’s a time to say thanks. This is a time for us to come together and thank all volunteers for their invaluable contribution. As well as helping others, volunteering has been shown to improve volunteers' wellbeing too. It can also help you gain valuable new skills and experiences, and boost your confidence. We at Cashtrak a...

HMRC Concludes Kickboxing Company Is NOT Exempt From VAT

A martial arts kickboxing company disputed paying VAT with HMRC, claiming they should be exempt from as they provide a form of tuition, has lost the dispute. The tribunal ruled that ‘kickboxing is not an activity which is commonly taught at schools or universities in the European Union.’ The dispute started in April 2017 after HMRC began a VAT enquiry into the company and HMRC claimed the company had a VAT liability of over £400,000 for output tax for it supplies of kickboxing classes betwe...

Working From Home - Claiming Tax Relief On Home Expenses

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a big shift in the working practices of many employees with the country slowly recovering and carefully loosening restrictions, many employees continue working from home for various reasons – saving the employer money on premises and work-life balance. Working from home is not for some with some employees having to be in an office or preferring to be office based but for the employees that are continuing to work from home, there are tax benefits available to most...

Learning At Work Week 2021 - Highlighting The Benefits Of Learning & Development At Work

Co-ordinated by the Campaign for Learning since 1999, the primary goal of Learning at Work Week is to spotlight the benefits of learning and development at work and build learning cultures at work. Partners of the event are running free and low cost opportunities. Bookkeeping is a regulated profession, a fundamental part of our membership with The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB), is that we are committed to the continuing development of our professional skills, ensuring they maintain th...

Making Tax Digital (MTD) For VAT| Businesses Still Not Aware Of Requirements| Is Your Business Compliant?

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is a key part of the government's plans to make it easier for individuals and businesses to get their tax right and keep on top of their affairs. Their plan is for HMRC to become one of the most digitally advanced tax administrations in the world and as such, changes in the way tax is managed has changed and will continue to change. HMRC state that the by transforming tax administration, it will be: more effectivemore efficienteasier for taxpayers to get their tax right ...

Today Marks The Start Of The New Tax Year - What Businesses & Self-Employed People Need To Know

The 2021/22 new tax year starts today. We look at the grants, loans, changes and freezes you need to know about! Income Tax Self-Assessment Tax Return You can submit your 2020/21 tax return, now known as an ITSA (Income Tax Self Assessment) any time from now until 31st January 2022. There are numerous benefits of submitting your tax return early, your payment deadline remains as 31st January regardless of when you submit it. Click here for top tax return tips.Self-Employment Income Support ...

IR35 Also Known As Off Payroll Working Rules Change From 6th April, 2021 - What You Need To Know

From 6th April 2021, the IR35 rules have changed which means all organisations that have workers providing services through an intermediary (more information on an intermediary below) to public sector clients and medium or large-sized private sector clients will be responsible for deciding worker’s employment status. This includes some charities and third sector organisations. Previously, the worker was responsible for deciding their employment status for tax purposes. IR35 rules have been cha...

*Update 2024* From 1st July 2024 The Recovery Loan Scheme Now Growth Guarantee Scheme

For information on the new, re branded Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) funding small businesses investment and growth click here.The following information is on the GGS predecessor, the Recovery Loan Scheme which was introduced in 2021. ...