On 19 April, a government-backed mortgage scheme to help people with 5% deposits get on to the housing ladder was made available to lenders. First announced at the 2021 Budget, the scheme will help first-time buyers or current homeowners secure a mortgage with just a 5% deposit to buy a house worth up to £600,000.… Read more…

Employees who are working from home will need to make new claims for tax relief for the 2021/22 tax year, HMRC has stated. From 6 April 2020, employers have been able to pay employees up to £6 a week tax-free to cover additional costs if they have had to work from home. Employees who have… Read more…

The fourth Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant is now live and HMRC has set out the penalties for abuse of the scheme. An overclaimed SEISS grant includes any amount of grant which the self-employed individual was not entitled to receive or was more than the amount HMRC said the applicant was entitled to when… Read more…

Losses from pension fraud rose to £1.8 million in the first three months of this year, according to figures from Action Fraud. 107 reports of pension fraud were made in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of almost 45% when compared to the same period in 2020. Pension scams often include free pension reviews,… Read more…

The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) has stated that the recent changes to the rules relating to off-payroll workers, commonly known as IR35, ‘undermine the self-employed at the worst possible time’. The changes to IR35 took effect on 6 April 2021 and shifted responsibility for making the decision on employment status on… Read more…

The last year has been unprecedented, with the advent of Covid and subsequent restrictions, so much of daily life has completely changed. For most people, this has meant working from home. One of the major changes that comes with home working is virtual meetings and the app of choice for most is Zoom. Zoom allows… Read more…

The details of the Finance Bill 2021 have been published by the government. The Bill outlines the key measures set to be brought into legislation, including many measures announced in the recent 2021 Budget. In his Budget speech, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced an extension of the stamp duty holiday in England; a super-deduction capital allowance;… Read more…

The government is to extend business rates relief with a £1.5 billion fund targeted at those businesses unable to benefit from the current COVID-19 support. Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses have not been paying any rates during the pandemic, as part of a 15 month-long relief which runs to the end of June this year.… Read more…

The UK government has unveiled a £20 million Brexit support package to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with changes to customs and tax rules when trading with the EU. The SME Brexit Support Fund aims to help businesses prepare for the implementation of further import controls which come into force later this year. Businesses… Read more…

HMRC has published details of the eligibility criteria of the final two grants available under the coronavirus (COVID-19) Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). At the 2021 Budget it was confirmed that the fourth SEISS grant will be set at 80% of three months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment, capped at £7,500.… Read more…