fpdteam, Author at Bennetts Accountancy

Latest on COVID restrictions in England

3rd March 2022 by fpdteam

The government has published its latest guidance on COVID restrictions and specifically on the new phase we have entered of ‘Living with COVID-19’. This has effectively moved the country into a new phase of living with COVID and marked the end of legal restrictions in England (since 24 February).

These changes include the removal of the legal requirement to self-isolate although adults and children who test positive continue to be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people in line with the existing rules. There are different timescales for the removal of restrictions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The other main changes that have taken or will take effect are as follows:

No longer asking fully vaccinated close contacts and those under the age of 18 to test daily for 7 days and removing the legal requirement for close contacts who are not fully vaccinated to self-isolate.
The end of self-isolation support payments and national funding for practical support. The medicine delivery service will no longer be available. People who were instructed to self-isolate before 24 February can still claim support payments until early April.
The revoking of The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 3) Regulations. Local authorities will continue to manage local outbreaks of COVID-19 in high-risk settings as they do with other infectious diseases.
From 24 March, the COVID-19 provisions within Statutory Sick Pay and Employment and Support Allowance regulations will end.
From 1 April, the government will update guidance setting out the ongoing steps that people with COVID-19 should take to minimise contact with other people.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 28-02-2022

Gaps in NIC records

24th February 2022 by fpdteam

National Insurance credits can help qualifying applicants fill gaps in their National Insurance records. This can assist taxpayers to build the number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions which can increase the amount of benefits a person is entitled to receive, for example, the State Pension.

This could happen if someone was:

employed but had low earnings
unemployed and were not claiming benefits
self-employed but did not pay contributions because of small profits
living or working outside the UK

National Insurance credits are available in certain situations where people are not working and therefore, not paying National Insurance credits. For example, credits may be available to those looking for work, who are ill, disabled or on sick pay, on maternity or paternity leave, caring for someone or on jury service.

Depending on the circumstances, National Insurance credits may be applied automatically or an application for credits may be required. There are two types of National Insurance credits available, either Class 1 or Class 3. Class 3 credits count towards the State Pension and certain bereavement benefits whilst Class 1 covers these as well as other benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Taxpayers may be able to pay voluntary contributions to fill any gaps if they are eligible.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 21-02-2022

MTD for VAT – digital records required

24th February 2022 by fpdteam

The MTD for VAT regime started in April 2019 when businesses with a turnover above the VAT threshold of £85,000 became mandated to keep their records digitally and provide their VAT return information to HMRC using MTD compatible software.

From April 2022, MTD for VAT will be extended to all VAT registered businesses with turnover below the VAT threshold of £85,000. Many businesses with turnover below the VAT threshold have already voluntarily chosen to use MTD for VAT.

If you are using MTD for VAT or will soon begin to do so, here is a reminder of the records you must keep digitally:

your business name, address and VAT registration number
any VAT accounting schemes you use
the VAT on goods and services you supply, for example everything you sell, lease, transfer or hire out (supplies made)
the VAT on goods and services you receive, for example everything you buy, lease, rent or hire (supplies received)
any adjustments you make to a return
the ‘time of supply’ and ‘value of supply’ (value excluding VAT) for everything you buy and sell
the rate of VAT charged on goods and services you supply
reverse charge transactions – where you record the VAT on both the sale price and the purchase price of goods and services you buy
your total daily gross takings if you use a retail scheme
items you can reclaim VAT on if you use the Flat Rate Scheme
your total sales, and the VAT on those sales, if you trade in gold and use the Gold Accounting Scheme

You also need to keep digital copies of documents that cover multiple transactions made on behalf of your business by:

volunteers for charity fundraising
a third-party business
employees for expenses in petty cash

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 21-02-2022

Tax relief for job-related expenses

24th February 2022 by fpdteam

If you receive no compensation from your employer for work related expenses you have paid, you can still claim tax relief for some expenses that relate to working from home. HMRC will usually allow you to claim tax relief if you use your own money for things that you must buy for your job, and you only use these items for work. You must make a claim within 4 years of the end of the tax year that you spent the money.

For example, if you use your own uniforms, work clothing and tools for work it is possible to claim for the cost of repairing or replacing small tools you need to do your job as an employee (for example, scissors or an electric drill), or cleaning, repairing or replacing specialist clothing (for example, a uniform or safety boots). A claim for valid purchases can be made against receipts or as a 'flat rate deduction'. However, you cannot make a claim for relief on the initial cost of buying small tools or clothing for work.

Note, you cannot claim tax relief for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). If your job requires you to use PPE, your employer should either:

give you PPE free of charge
ask you to buy it and reimburse you the costs

You may also be able to claim tax relief for using your own vehicle, be it a car, van, motorcycle or bike. As a general rule, there is no tax relief for ordinary commuting to and from your place of work. The rules are different for temporary workplaces where the expense is allowable and if you use your own vehicle to undertake other business-related mileage.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 21-02-2022

Tax relief if working from home

24th February 2022 by fpdteam

If you are an employee working from home, you may be able to claim tax relief for some of the bills you pay that are related to your work.

Employers can reimburse employees for the additional household expenses incurred by working at home. The relief covers expenses such as business telephone calls or heating and lighting costs for the room you are working in. Expenses that are for both for private and business use (such as broadband) cannot be claimed. Employees may also be able to claim tax relief on equipment they have bought, such as a laptop, chair or mobile phone.

Employers can pay up to £6 per week (or £26 a month for employees paid monthly) to cover an employee’s additional costs if they have to work from home. Employees do not need to keep any specific records if they receive this fixed amount.

If the expenses or allowances are not paid by the employer, then you can claim tax relief directly from HMRC. You will get tax relief based on your highest tax rate. For example, if you pay the basic (20%) rate of tax and claim tax relief on £6 a week, then you would get £1.20 per week in tax relief (20% of £6). You can claim more than the quoted amount but will need to provide evidence to HMRC. HMRC will accept backdated claims for up to 4 years.

These tax reliefs are available to anyone who has been asked to work from home on a regular basis, either for all or part of the week including working from home because of coronavirus.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 21-02-2022

Spreading the cost of tax bills

24th February 2022 by fpdteam

One of the announcements by HMRC at the start of the coronavirus pandemic was the introduction of emergency measures to help those affected by COVID-19 using the existing Time to Pay service. Many businesses and self-employed people with outstanding tax liabilities were eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through this service.

Since April 2021, Self-Assessment taxpayers have used the online Time to Pay service to pay more than £310 million worth of tax in instalments. The option to spread your tax bill remains available for the 2020-21 tax year.

Once you have filed your Self-Assessment return for 2020-21 there is an option to set up an online Time to Pay arrangement to spread the cost of any tax due on 31 January 2022 for up to 12 months. This option is available for debts up to £30,000 and the payment plan needs to be set up no later than 60 days after the due date of a debt. This should be done sooner rather than later as a 5% late payment penalty will be charged if tax remains outstanding and a payment plan has not been set up before 1 April 2022.

If you owe Self-Assessment tax payments of over £30,000 or need longer than 12 months to pay in full, you can still apply to set up a Time to Pay arrangement with HMRC, but this cannot be done using the online service.

HMRC has already announced that due to the coronavirus pandemic, fines for taxpayers that file their Self-Assessment returns late will be waived until 28 February 2022. However, interest will be applied to any outstanding balance from 1 February 2022 so you should try and pay your tax bill or enter a suitable payment arrangement as soon as possible.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 21-02-2022

Hobbies and artificial trades

24th February 2022 by fpdteam

HMRC uses a number of different measures to help determine whether an activity is a trade irrespective of whether the activity leads to a profit or a loss. This includes looking at whether an activity is a hobby or artificial trade.

HMRC manuals implore inspectors to critically examine claims that a trade exists where that claim may have been made to get relief:

that is only available to traders, such as loss relief, or
for the costs of a hobby, or
for investment losses, or
for capital expenses, particularly in group situations, by transmuting them into revenue deductions using an artificial trading company.

In particular, HMRC will consider whether a profit is an isolated event. A taxpayer who wants tax relief for losses, which are not, in truth, trading losses, may point to a profit in a particular year to support the trading assertion. HMRC is clear that this factor would normally carry little weight if that profit was an isolated event in an overall picture of continuing losses. For example, taxpayers using an artificial trade disguised as commercial activity in order to create losses and claim various loss reliefs.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 21-02-2022

Tax Diary March/April 2022

22nd February 2022 by fpdteam

1 March 2022 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 May 2021.

2 March 2022 – Normally Self-Assessment tax for 2020-21 would need to be paid by 2 March or a 5% surcharge would be incurred. This year HMRC is giving taxpayers more time to pay and no surcharge will be incurred if liabilities are cleared by 1 April 2022, or an agreement has been reached with HMRC under their time to pay facility by the same date.

19 March 2022 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 March 2022 (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 March 2022).

19 March 2022 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 March 2022.

19 March 2022 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 March 2022 is payable by today.

1 April 2022 – Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 June 2021.

19 April 2022 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 April 2022. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 April 2022).

19 April 2022 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 April 2022.

19 April 2022 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 April 2022 is payable by today.

30 April 2022 – 2020-21 tax returns filed after this date may be subject to an additional £10 per day late filing penalty for a maximum of 90 days.

Source:Other| 21-02-2022

Paying tax underpayments via tax code

17th February 2022 by fpdteam

One of the less well-known ways of paying your Self-Assessment tax bill is to do so through your tax code.

This can only be done where all the following apply:

you owe a Self-Assessment balancing payment of less than £3,000;
you already pay tax through PAYE, for example you’re an employee or you get a company pension
you submitted your paper tax return by 31 October or your online tax return online by 30 December

The coding threshold also entitles taxpayers to have tax underpayments collected via their tax code, provided they are in employment or in receipt of a UK-based pension. The coding applies to certain debts such as Self-Assessment liabilities, tax credit overpayments and outstanding Class 2 NIC contributions. Instead of paying off debts in a lump sum, money is collected in equal monthly instalments over the tax year along with the usual deductions.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 14-02-2022

Car fuel benefits for employees

17th February 2022 by fpdteam

The car fuel benefit rules only apply to company cars that attract a car benefit tax charge. This means the rules do not apply to fuel provided for use in an employee’s own car.

However, employers can pay up to 45p per mile for company related trips in an employee’s own car. If these journeys clock up more than 10,000 miles in any tax year, the rate per mile drops to 25p. As long as the above rates are applied any mileage expenses paid will be tax-free. If rates paid are higher, any excess will be taxed as a benefit. Conversely, if an employer pays less than the approved rates the employee can claim the difference against their tax bill.

Where employees are provided with fuel for their own private use by their employers in a company car, the car fuel benefit charge is applicable. The fuel benefit charge is determined by reference to the CO2 rating of the car, applied to a fixed amount.

The fuel benefit is not applicable when the employee pays for all their private fuel use. This is known as ‘making good’. Private fuel includes the fuel used commuting to and from work. Employees should keep a log of private mileage and can then use the published advisory fuel rates to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel back to their employer. For the 2021-22 tax year, the employer must be reimbursed for private fuel use by 6 July 2022.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 14-02-2022