Latest Business Tax

Philip Hammond’s much predicted ‘End to Austerity’ Budget was a lot more positive than similar pronouncements of recent years. Although UK growth is still sluggish (predicted at 1.6% for 2018), higher than expected tax revenues have enabled the public purse strings to be loosened. Announcements that will be of interest to technology SME’s include: New…

Reference to VAT Notices 700/21, 700/22 and 731 suggests that a business using Cash Accounting for VAT under Making Tax Digital will be required to:- Maintain digital accounting records at transaction level: Keep a digital VAT account using Accrual accounting; Cross reference Monies Received and Paid against individual Sales and Purchase invoices within their digital…

Sage 50 VAT T Codes. Sage 50 Accounts book keeping software populates its VAT return by using tax (T) codes to indicate which VAT rate to apply to each transaction. Whenever you post a transaction in Sage 50 Accounts you must enter the relevant T code:   T0 – Zero rated transactions (eg most food, books, new builds,…

It’s the holiday season, many will have recently been or soon be travelling abroad. As well as marvelling at the sights, we will also be struck by how these countries are run, and compare them to life back in home.   It is easy to be jealous of: State pension levels in Sweden Police numbers on…

Occupying a let property as the only or main residence at some point during the period of ownership will not only shelter the gain relating to the period for which the property was occupied as the main residence (and also that relating to the last 18 months of ownership), but will also entitle a claim…

Although we hear of decline in the value of development land, particularly for larger developments, growing houses continues to be more attractive to many than growing crops. Onerous Section 102 levies may apply but the tax regime remains gentle. It should not however be assumed that tax reliefs will be available automatically. Legislation imposes qualifying…

HMRC have lost a second IR35 case this year, and their second case against the same contractor, putting into doubt their own understanding of the IR35 rules. Ian Wells, director of personal service company Jensal Software Limited provided his services to the Department of Work and Pensions via a recruitment agency during 2012 and 2013.…

Tech companies that are financed through EIS equity cash will be aware that this ‘tax wrapper’ can be super-generous, but that many criteria have to be met to ensure eligibility. One of these long standing criteria has been that the company must use the proceeds (up to £5m pa) raised: In either a qualifying trade…

Builders will probably now be aware that the basis for calculating how much their annual payment is under the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has recently changed:     Old Basis New Basis Levy on employees 0.5% 0.5% Levy on labour only sub-contractors 1.25% 0% Levy on payments to sub-contractors with Net CIS status 0%…

  A contractor in the construction industry, Mark Daniels, has won his appeal against HMRC. In MDCM Ltd v Revenue & Customs, HMRC were defending their decision that a contract between Mr Daniels’ personal service company MDMC Ltd and recruitment agency Solutions, which provided his services to Structure Tone Ltd,  should have been caught by…