As of 6 April, direct descendants can inherit up to £950,000 completely free of inheritance tax from their parents or grandparents thanks to increases in the residence nil-rate band. This tax-free allowance on inherited property has risen from £125,000 to £150,000 this year and will rise again next year to £175,000. In order to qualify… Read more…

Multi-award-winning accountancy firm, Salhan Accountants, are warning professional drivers that they may be affected by the upcoming IR35 rule changes, which will come into force in less than a year. The new IR35 rules will for the first time affect those working under contract in the private sector and may mean that those currently classed… Read more…

Employers across the UK are starting April with a sudden increase in employment costs following a rise in workplace pension contributions and minimum wage costs. The sharp increase in expenditure on staff couldn’t come at a worse time for business who are experiencing growing uncertainty over the UK and wider global economy. Minimum contributions for… Read more…

A recent survey conducted by UK Finance revealed that more than four in 10 UK businesses are unaware of the potential risks associated with invoice fraud. Last year these scams cost UK firms almost £93 million, with 3,280 invoice and bank scam cases reported – costing on average £28,000 per case. Fortunately, in 2018, £29.6… Read more…

A Government scheme set up by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is advising parents to apply for the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, which provides contributions on savings used to cover childcare costs. Research has revealed that more than a million families are failing to make use of the Tax-Free Childcare scheme. The Tax-Free Childcare scheme is… Read more…

New research from internet service provider, Beaming, has revealed that in 2018 UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were affected by cybercrime to the tune of £17.4 billion. Business cybercrime is the flavour of the month for fraudsters, with hacking, phishing and data breaches affecting millions of UK companies and causing billions of pounds of… Read more…

Lorraine Kelly has won an appeal against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) at a First Tier Tribunal (FTT) following a £1.2 million demand for unpaid income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). HMRC claimed that Lorraine Kelly should have been working inside the rules of IR35 at ITV Breakfast Ltd during the relevant period. This… Read more…

Launched on 1 April 2019, most VAT registered businesses are now required to comply with the new Making Tax Digital for VAT regime. However, many businesses may not be aware that they are required to register to use the new system and that this process can take up to seven working days to complete. If… Read more…

New research suggests that the UK’s SMEs could benefit to the tune of as much as £57 billion over the next five years because of digital productivity improvements associated with HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative. The report by research firm, Volterra Partners, anticipates a ‘digital snowball’ effect from the launch… Read more…