On 1 April 2018, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) will increase for all age groups. Aimed at improving the prospects of young workers, the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in the Autumn Budget that statutory wage rates would once again increase this year. For those currently receiving the NLW, i.e. anyone… Read more…

As experts in taxation investigations, we know from first-hand experience that restaurants and takeaways often come under scrutiny from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC.) We have heard of a number of instances where tax inspectors have posed as customers in order to check how cash transactions are dealt with and whether all payments are being… Read more…

With tax avoidance and evasion continuing to be high on the political agenda, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced its intention to achieve 100 serious and complex tax crime prosecutions by the end of the current Parliament in 2022. The announcement was included in HMRC’s Single Department Plan, published last month, which sets out… Read more…

A shake-up of penalties for late submissions and payments under the Government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme is to see a points-based system introduced, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed. The new system is set to be introduced in tandem with the launch of MTD for VAT in 2019 and will see taxpayers receiving… Read more…

If you have in the past paid your tax bill using a credit card, you will need to use a different method this year. That is because credit card payments to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have fallen victim to a Government initiative originally intended to make it easier to pay for goods and services… Read more…

Maybe you have recently given your staff members a bottle of wine or a voucher to help celebrate the New Year or as a thank you for their services in 2018, but did you know this could be classed as a trivial benefit in kind. While the cost may not be ‘trivial’ to some, this… Read more…

With many people looking to get on to the housing ladder in 2018, it has never been more important to have easy access to a mortgage. However, since HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) changed the way it issues details of tax calculations and tax year overviews for submission with mortgage applications last year, self-employed workers… Read more…

The majority of businesses across the UK are making preparations to increase their minimum workplace pension contributions, having successfully enrolled more than 8.5 million staff into schemes. Auto-enrolment minimum contributions were due to rise in October 2017 under the original plans and then again in October 2018, but the Government took the decision to push… Read more…

While most people will be focused on the festive celebrations at this time of the year, businesses and their owners must not forget the all-important Self-Assessment deadline. The deadline for sending 2016-17 tax returns to HMRC is midnight on 31 January 2018. The penalty regime for missing the 31 January filing deadline includes an initial… Read more…

A new study has revealed that almost half of all shoppers will not spend money with a business this Christmas if it doesn’t provide facilities to pay by card. A study, commissioned by card machine provider Paymentsense, has found that 45 per cent of UK shoppers walk out of cash-only smaller retailers and independent outlets… Read more…