Latest Posts

Using the cash basis for property businesses

The cash basis scheme helps sole traders and other unincorporated businesses benefit from a simpler way of managing their financial affairs. The scheme was extended to landlords from April 2017. The scheme is not open to limited companies and limited

Read article

Pecuniary liability treated as income

A pecuniary liability can occur when a monetary obligation is fulfilled by an employer, when by law, the liability was that of an employee. One example of this is the case of an employer paying a debt that an employee owes to a third party. The

Read article

Sale of income for a capital sum

A capital sum received by an individual in respect of the sale or relinquishment of income - derived from his or her personal activities - can sometimes be treated as earned income and chargeable to Income Tax. If this is the case, the amount charged

Read article

November Budget cancelled

Sajid Javid has cancelled the Budget that was due to be presented to Parliament 6th November. As the UK will not be leaving the EU at the end of this month and as Boris Johnson is proposing a general election on 12th December, both of these events

Read article

31 October paper Self-Assessment filing deadline

The 2018-19 tax return deadline for submitting your paper Self-Assessment returns is 31 October 2019. Late submission of a Self-Assessment return will trigger a £100 late filing penalty. The penalty usually applies even if there is no liability

Read article

Win while you save

HM Treasury has announced the trial launch of a new PrizeSaver account with participating credit unions. The new account was launched as part of the International Credit Union Day. Eligible savers who open the new account can win up to £5,000 a

Read article

What is a reasonable excuse?

There are a number of options if you find yourself in disagreement with a tax decision issued by HMRC. As a first step, it is usually possible to make an appeal against a tax decision. There is normally a 30-day deadline for making a claim, so time

Read article

Tax implications for construction industry

If you run a construction business and secure the services of sub-contractors, or if you are a building sub-contractor, you will need to comply with a special set of tax rules collectively known as the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS). The CIS

Read article

Lump sums paid in continuing employment

A lump sum payment can sometimes be made in lieu of all or part of an employee’s salary, wage, commission or other amounts to which they are entitled by virtue of their employment. Under these circumstances, the lump sum payments are taxable as

Read article

Tax deducted from payments by companies

Under certain circumstances, companies (including non-resident companies trading from a branch or agency in the UK and local authorities) can have a duty to deduct tax in connection with certain payments. In effect the company accounts for all or

Read article