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Check your State Pension forecast

The State Pension forecast provides an estimate of how much State Pension an individual can expect to receive when they reach State Pension age. The estimate is based on the applicant's National Insurance current and future contribution record. A

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Emergency tax codes

The letters in an employee’s tax code signify their entitlement (or not) to the annual tax free personal allowance. The tax codes are updated annually and help employer’s work out how much tax to deduct from an employee’s pay packet. The basic

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HMRC pledges £5.5m in partnership funding

HMRC is awarding £5.5 million to voluntary and community organisations to support customers who may need extra help with their tax affairs. HMRC is inviting eligible organisations to bid for the funding, worth £1.8 million a year from 2024 until

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Check a UK VAT number is valid

The check a UK VAT number service is available at: www.gov.uk/check-uk-vat-number. This service allows users to check: if a UK VAT registration number is valid; and the name and address of the business the number is registered to. The service

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South Yorkshire first UK Investment Zone

It was announced as part of the Spring Budget 2023 measures that the government would establish twelve Investment Zones across the UK, subject to successful proposals. South Yorkshire has now been named as the first of the UK Investment Zones. These

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Tax on savings interest

If you have taxable income of less than £17,570 in 2023-24 you will have no tax to pay on interest received. This figure is calculated by adding the £5,000 starting rate limit for savings (where 0% of the interest is taxable) to the current £12,570

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Exempt company purchase of own shares

Most payments a company makes to its shareholders, in respect of their shares, will be qualifying distributions (usually described as dividends) and may be subject to Income Tax. If certain conditions are met, the payment can be treated as an exempt

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Connected persons for tax purposes

The definition of a connected person for tax purposes can be complex. A statutory definition of “connected persons” for Capital Gains Tax purposes is set out in Section 286 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act (TCGA) 1992. The

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Business records if self-employed

If you are self-employed as a sole trader or as a partner in a business partnership, then you must keep suitable business records as well as separate personal records of your income. For tax purposes, the business records must be held for at least

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What do we mean by cost of living?

A simple dictionary definition of cost of living would probably say something like: The level of prices relating to a range of everyday items… The problem is, the price inflation for food, or fuel for your car, or heating costs will vary. Although

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