Latest Business Tax

The UK government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative aims to modernise the tax system by requiring individuals and businesses to maintain digital records and submit regular updates to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Initially, MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA) was set to apply to sole traders and landlords with income over £50,000 from April…

Employment Related Securities (‘ERS’) are securities that are acquired in connection with an employment. The ERS legislation aims to tax as employment income any value received by reason of an office or employment on the acquisition, holding or disposal of shares and other securities.   The term securities is broad and includes shares, debentures, loan…

With the Capital Gains Tax changes that were bought in during the Autumn Budget (30th October 2024) the government announced anti-forestalling measures to stop taxpayers pre-empting the increase in Capital Gains Tax by using unconditional contracts to use the previous lower rates of Capital Gains Tax.   These changes will cover all asset disposal types…

The 2024 Autumn Budget made several announcements in relation to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) all of which were re-affirmed in the 2025 Spring Statement. Most of these are due to commence from 6th April 2025 and here is a reminder of the changes.   Business Asset Disposal Relief: Business Asset Disposal Relief, previously known under…

Yesterday’s 2025 Spring Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, was much anticipated (or feared) by businesses and private clients alike. However, the  news from this is that there were no significant new tax announcements.   Click here to view the Whitings 2025 Spring Statement Summary.   Everything new for 25/26 and future…

Celebrating (sic) its 20th anniversary, HMRC have just set out the Government’s vision for the future of the UK tax authority: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/exchequer-secretary-to-the-treasury-20-years-of-hmrc-reflections-and-looking-ahead   This keynote speech by James Murray, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, has given us advance warning of what specific modernisation and reform changes to the tax system that we might now…

Are you aware of how the April NIC increases will effect Directors’ salaries?   From 6th April 2025, increases in Class 1 Employer’s National Insurance will come into effect, with the following changes: Employer’s NIC rate increasing from 13.8% to 15%. The secondary threshold, above which employer’s NIC are due, reducing from £9,100 to £5,000.…

Those within the Creative Industries will likely be aware of the various corporation tax reliefs available. A frequent question amongst those in the industry is “do we qualify for the relief available?”.   HMRC have now released a new tool to check whether your Company qualifies for specific reliefs. This includes Theatre Tax Relief which…

The results are in. HMRC have released their 2025 Self Assessment facts and figures.   The 2025 Self Assessment facts and figures are as follows: 12,026,540 Self Assessment Tax Returns were issued to tax payers 10,887,810 expected tax returns were received by 31 January (90.5% of returns expected – down from 94.5% in 2024) an estimated…

This time last month we shared a post warning about Self Assessment Scams – Now we are finding that VAT Returns are also being targeted by criminals.   Keep an eye out for phishing emails pretending to be HMRC – an example below showing a likeness to HMRC emails. HMRC will never ask you to…