Latest blogs for Specialisms

2013 Autumn Statement: HMRC attack construction worker status, AGAIN! Construction is a trade which continually has issues with worker status. The building main contractor wants the flexibility of hiring labour only sub-contractors as and when required, but it does not want the rights and costs that come with employment. A present day workaround to this…

Health Professionals Targeted in New HMRC Campaign. People in the health and wellbeing professions who have taxable income that they have not told HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about are being targeted in a new campaign. The Health and Wellbeing Tax Plan offers health professionals a time-limited opportunity to bring their tax affairs up to…

Painless Audits! It is a common misconception that the purpose of an audit is to find errors or fraud within a company’s financial records. However, the real purpose is to give readers of financial statements confidence that they give a true and fair view of the actual trading performance. At Whiting & Partners our approach…

Academy Accounting Officer Academy boards should now be aware of the need to appoint an Accounting Officer, a role usually taken on by the Principal. He/she will have personal responsibility to Parliament for ‘regularity, propriety and value for money’. Broadly, these terms mean that the Accounting Officer must ensure that funding to the Academy is…

Chancellor delays Christmas. Don’t go splashing out on new medical/dental toys before Christmas; wait until the January “tax sale”! The Annual Investment Allowance is to increase from 1st January 2013 to £250,000 for a two year period. Therefore careful planning pre and post 31st December 2012 could accelerate a claim for allowances and reduce the…

Maximise R&D Tax Relief Claims. With the ability to now claim 225% tax relief on eligible costs, those making such R&D claims will need no convincing of the merits of including as much as possible within the claim. Areas, often over-looked, where this claim can be increased include: Claiming relief on all reimbursed expenses paid…

New audit exemption rules for small companies and for subsidiaries The government has recently announced changes to company law that allow many companies and limited liability partnerships more choice in deciding whether to have a statutory audit. The changes apply to financial years ending on or after 1 October 2012. Who is affected? Broadly, there…

Horizon 2020:  EU funding for ‘disruptive‘ SME’s. As part of the Horizon 2020 programme, the EU is selecting potentially disruptive businesses to invest in and support. SMEs with a strong growth potential and the ambition to become world-market leaders could receive up to €2.5 million in funding. The commission is looking for high growth, highly innovative…

Certain payments made by businesses on behalf of employees are tax free personally, so are useful for profit extraction and within flexible remuneration structures: Employer pension scheme contributions (up to £60,000 per employee per annum, plus potential ‘catch-up’ from previous 3 years. This assumes your personal income is not above £260,000 and you are not…