Latest General Practice

With the UK tax system as complicated as ever, there are certain rules which we come across that can very easily give a particularly unexpected (and unpleasant) consequence. Income Tax When either parent has taxable earnings over £50k (after personal pension contributions), entitlement to child benefit is reduced. As higher rate income tax starts at…

With many businesses seeing a return to pre-pandemic trading levels, now is an ideal time to review your SME’s VAT status.   Businesses must compulsorily register for VAT where ‘VAT-able’ supplies (which is usually, but not always, your turnover), on a rolling 12 month basis, exceeds £85,000. Voluntary registration, however, can take place with turnover below this…

(data source)   When we started to emerge from the depths of Covid lockdown, there was much talking up about the hoped for ‘revenge spending’. Now that we have a good sized population of SME client accounts with 2022 years ends to look at, thankfully, this sales growth did materialise (see above). Although the 16%…

If you run an SME business based within the Ely area and you have a success story to share, why not enter the 2023 SME Ely Business Awards. Timetable: 1 March 2023         Entries close 25 May 2023          Black tie awards ceremony, The Maltings, Ely As well as a…

Many workers who partly or wholly work from home (WFH) can, either, be reimbursed for this tax free (if their employer permits) or claim a valid tax deduction for this expense. HMRC have now amended the special rules that they introduced during Covid for the maximum WFH deduction that can be claimed. For employees (including…

Divorce and CGT Under current legislation, married couples and civil partners can transfer chargeable assets between them without incurring CGT under the ‘no gain, no loss’ principle. However, for separating couples, this only applies until the end of the tax year of separation.   A couple who separated in February 2022 could therefore only transfer…

After Press speculation over the weekend, it’s official, HMRC have now confirmed that the introduction of Making Tax Digital for income tax is to be delayed for 2 years: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-12-19/hcws465 The mandate of MTD for ITSA will now be introduced from April 2026, with businesses, self-employed individuals, and landlords with income over £50,000 mandated to…

Incorporated businesses have until 31 March 2023 to claim 130% capital allowances on expenditure on certain fixed assets. This ‘super deduction’ was introduced in April 2021 to help companies continue to invest in plant and machinery after the pandemic.   Assets must be purchased new to benefit from the relief and it does not apply…

Having gained a  licence to deal with non-contentious probate in 2015, Whitings LLP continue to undertake more work to assist executors. This ranges from simple probate applications and filing of relevant forms through to administration of estates, acting as executors in some cases.   The process starts with preparing and periodically reviewing a Will in…

Maximising future entitlement to state pension may not be at the forefront of people’s minds, but following the introduction of the new State Pension in 2016, the ability to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions to ‘fill’ gaps will become far more limited from April next year.   You can usually only pay for gaps in…