fpdteam, Author at Bennetts Accountancy

Back of an envelope

1st November 2023 by fpdteam

If you run a business and manage your planning by scribbling notes on the back of an envelope, you might be advised to read the contents of this article.

When the economy is vibrant, effectively when there are an abundance of buyers in your marketplace, cash flow and profitability tend to look after themselves; as long as you are selling your goods or services at a price that covers your overheads and drawings/dividends.

Unfortunately, since Brexit and COVID disruption and the current upward pressure on energy and raw material costs, buyers are more circumspect about purchasing and business profits and cash flow are under pressure.

In which case your business planning cannot, and should not, be restricted to a few notes scribbled on the back of an envelope.

Your current management accounts should show you what your current situation looks like:

are you making profits;
are you keeping within your overdraft limits; and
are you still solvent.

To answer these questions the use of low-cost, cloud based accounts software is the minimum you should be utilising.

A belts and braces approach should include forward planning, what will be your likely profitability, cash flow position and solvency look like in a year’s time?

If you need help maximising the use of software to achieve these basic planning objectives, or if you would like advice on business planning issues, please call. We can help you be prepared to deal with and survive the UK’s present economic challenges.

Source:Other| 31-10-2023

Loss of personal tax allowance

25th October 2023 by fpdteam

If you earn over £100,000 in any tax year your personal allowance is gradually reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000 irrespective of age. This means that any taxable receipt that takes your income over £100,000 will result in a reduction in personal tax allowances and can result in your personal Income Tax allowance being reduced to zero if your adjusted net income is £125,140 or above.

Your adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any personal allowances, less certain tax reliefs such as trading losses, certain charitable donations and pension contributions.

For the current tax year if your adjusted net income is likely to fall between £100,000 and £125,140 you would pay an effective marginal rate of tax of 60% on your income above £100,000 as your £12,570 tax-free personal allowance is gradually withdrawn.

If your income sits within this band, you should consider what financial planning opportunities are available to avoid this personal allowance trap by reducing your income below the £100,000 threshold. This can include gifts to charity, increasing pension contributions and participating in certain investment schemes.

A higher rate or additional rate taxpayer who wanted to reduce their tax bill could make a gift to charity in the current tax year and elect to carry back the contribution to 2022-23. A request to carry back the donation must be made before or at the same time as the 2022-23 Self-Assessment return is completed i.e., by 31 January 2024.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 23-10-2023

Replacement of domestic items relief

25th October 2023 by fpdteam

The replacement of domestic items relief enables landlords to claim tax relief when they replace movable furniture, furnishings, household appliances and kitchenware in a rental property. The allowance is available for the cost of domestic items such as free- standing wardrobes, curtains, carpets, televisions, fridges and crockery.

The amount of the deduction is based on:

the cost of the new replacement item, limited to the cost of an equivalent item if it represents an improvement on the old item (beyond the reasonable modern equivalent); plus
the incidental costs of disposing of the old item or acquiring the replacement; and
less any amounts received on disposal of the old item.

There is an important distinction between deciding whether or not a new item represents a replacement or an improvement. Where the new item is an improvement on the old item the allowable deduction is limited to the cost of purchasing an equivalent of the original item.

HMRC’s internal guidance provides an example highlighting the fact that a brand new budget washing machine costing circa £200 is not an improvement over a 5 year old washing machine that cost £200 at the time of purchase (or slightly less, taking inflation into account).

However, if a replacement item is for a reasonable modern equivalent for example a new energy efficient fridge replacing an old fridge this is not considered an improvement and the full cost of the new item is eligible for relief.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 23-10-2023

Tax free annual party

25th October 2023 by fpdteam

The cost of a staff party or other annual entertainment is generally allowed as a deduction for tax purposes. If you meet the various criteria outlined below, then there is no requirement to report anything to HMRC or pay tax and National Insurance. There will also be no taxable benefit charged to employees.

An annual Christmas party or other annual event offered to staff generally is not taxable on those attending provided that the average cost per head of the function does not exceed £150.
The event must be open to all employees. If a business has multiple locations, then a party open to all staff at one of the locations is allowable. They can also have separate parties for separate departments, but employees must be able to attend one of the events.
There can be more than one annual event. If the total cost of these parties is under £150 per head, then there is no chargeable benefit. However, if the total cost per head goes over £150 then whichever functions best utilise the £150 are exempt and the others taxable. Note, the £150 is not an allowance and any costs over £150 per head are taxable on the full cost per head.
It is not necessary to keep a running total by employee but a cost per head per function. All costs including VAT must be considered. This includes the costs of transport to and from the event, food and drink and any accommodation provided.

It is highly recommended when planning a staff party or other annual event to try and stick to the tax rules above. This should ensure that your party does not have an extra tax cost for you or your employees.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 23-10-2023

Self-Assessment scam warning

25th October 2023 by fpdteam

Fraudsters are continuing to target taxpayers with scam emails in advance of the deadline for the submission of Self-Assessment returns for the 2022-23 tax year. In the 12 months to September 2023, HMRC received more than 130,000 reports of suspicious contact of which almost 58,000 related to bogus tax rebate referrals.

A number of these scams purport to tell taxpayers they are due a rebate / refund of tax from HMRC and ask for bank or credit card details in order to send the fake tax refund. The fraudsters use various means to try and scam people including making contact by phone calls, texts or emails. Fraudsters have been known to threaten victims with arrest or imprisonment if a bogus tax bill is not paid immediately.

HMRC operates a dedicated Customer Protection team to identify and close down these scams but continues to advise taxpayers to identify fraud and avoid becoming victims themselves. For example, HMRC only make contact with taxpayers due a refund by post and never use emails, text messages or external companies for this activity. Genuine organisations like HMRC and banks will never contact customers asking for their PIN, password or bank details.

If you think you have received a suspicious email claiming to be from HMRC you are asked to forward the details to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk, Suspicious texts to 60599 and calls can be reported on GOV.UK. If you have suffered an actual financial loss, you should contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use their online fraud reporting tool.

HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

'HMRC is reminding customers to be wary of approaches by fraudsters in the run up to the Self-Assessment deadline. Criminals are great pretenders who try and dupe people by sending emails, phone calls and texts which mimic government messages to make them appear authentic.'

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 23-10-2023

Scottish council tax frozen

25th October 2023 by fpdteam

Humza Yousaf, Scotland's First Minister, has announced that council tax rates will be frozen in the next financial year to support people struggling with the effects of high inflation.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said that the:

“Announcement will bring much needed financial relief to those households who are struggling in the face of rising prices. Council tax is already lower in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK, and some 2.5 million households will now benefit from this freeze.

Of course, the public sector across the UK is facing budget pressures as a result of UK Government austerity, and we know councils are facing financial challenges themselves. That’s why the Scottish Government will be fully funding this freeze to ensure they can continue providing the services on which we all rely. This is on top of the real-terms increase to local government revenue funding this financial year.

The Scottish Government remains wholly committed to the Verity House Agreement, and as part of that are continuing work with COSLA on a new fiscal framework for local authorities. We are also working on longer term reforms to the council tax system, which are being considered by the working group on local government funding that we are chairing jointly with COSLA.”

The council tax freeze will be fully funded by the Scottish government and will mean that council tax rates in Scotland will remain the same in the 2024-25 council tax year. This means that households will not see any increase in council tax rates until April 2025 at the earliest.

Source:The Scottish Government| 23-10-2023

Countdown to Self-Assessment filing deadline

25th October 2023 by fpdteam

There are now less than 100 days to file your 2022-23 Self-Assessment tax return online. The deadline is 31 January 2024. The deadline for paper returns ended on 31 October 2023.

You should also be aware that payment of any tax due should also be made by this date, 31 January 2024. This includes the payment of any balance of Self-Assessment liability for the 2022-23 plus the first payment on account due for the current 2023-24 tax year.

If you miss the filing deadline you will usually be charged a £100 fixed penalty. If your return is up to 3 months late, regardless of whether you owed tax or not, and if you do not file and pay before 1 May 2024, then you will face further penalties unless you have arranged to pay with HMRC.

HMRC is encouraging taxpayers to complete their tax return as early as possible to avoid getting more stressed as the filing date looms. Those who submit their returns early still have until 31 January 2024 to pay any tax due.

If you are filing online for the first time you should ensure you register to use HMRC’s Self-Assessment online service as soon as possible. Once registered an activation code will be sent by mail. This process can take up to 10 working days.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 23-10-2023

Cash flow v customer credit limits

23rd October 2023 by fpdteam

If your business grants a customer time to pay – say 30 days – after the services or goods supplied have been delivered, effectively, your money stays in their bank account for 30 days.

Further, if you have incurred costs regarding a sale, that have to be paid for before your customer settles their bill, you are out of pocket until your account is settled.

Many business owners are driven by sales targets and to meet these targets many are tempted to offer extended payment terms.

There is a well-worn cliché in business that cash is king. Your business only has choices – regarding the sales it makes – once your customers’ money is in your bank account.

Actually, once you have made a sale, if you allow customers extended credit terms you are basically saying it is OK to leave your money in their bank accounts.

The major risk from offering over generous credit terms is over-trading. If you have to pay for your goods and services on terms less generous than those you offer your customers, you will run out of spending power unless you have substantial cash reserves.

Recent economic challenges have bleached away many rainy-day funds, and so, our ability to leave cash in customers’ bank accounts may place us in a position where we basically become cash insolvent, even if we are profitable and have surplus net assets.

The next time you are tempted to extend credit in order to win a sale, take advice. We can help you consider the wider consequences of your sales strategy and its impact on cash flow.

Source:Other| 22-10-2023

New company reporting regulation withdrawn

23rd October 2023 by fpdteam

The Government has withdrawn draft regulations after consultation with companies raised concerns about imposing additional reporting requirements.

Instead, the Government will pursue options to reduce the burden of red tape to ensure the UK is one of the best places in the world to do business.

Draft regulations published in July would have added certain additional corporate and company reporting requirements to large UK listed and private companies, including an annual resilience statement, distributable profits figure, material fraud statement and triennial audit and assurance policy statement.

This would have incurred additional costs for companies by requiring them to include additional layers of corporate information in their annual reports.

Since July, the Government has completed a call for evidence on existing non-financial reporting requirements, which has identified a strong appetite from businesses and investors for reform, including to simplify and streamline existing reporting.

The Business Secretary has now decided to withdraw these regulations and will be setting out options to reform the wider framework shortly to reduce the burden of red tape on businesses.

The Government remains committed to wider audit and corporate governance reform, including establishing a new Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority to replace the existing Financial Reporting Council. The Government will bring forward legislation to deliver these reforms when Parliamentary time allows.

Source:Other| 22-10-2023

Who needs an EORI number?

19th October 2023 by fpdteam

The Economic Operators' Registration and Identification System (EORI) was setup as a European Union (EU) wide initiative that helps businesses communicate with customs officials when they are importing and exporting goods. The EORI allows businesses to provide pre-arrival/pre-departure information for goods.

Businesses in the UK are still usually required to hold an EORI number for the movement of goods in the following scenarios:

between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) or the Isle of Man and any other country (including the EU);
between Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
between Great Britain and the Channel Islands; and
between Northern Ireland and countries outside the EU.

Which type of EORI number you need and where you get it from depends on where you are moving goods to and from. You may need more than one. If you move goods to or from Great Britain, you must get an EORI number that starts with GB. Most are then followed by a 12-digit number based on the businesses VAT number.

You may also need an EORI number starting with XI if you move goods to or from Northern Ireland. If a business is making declarations or applying for a customs decision in the EU, then they may need an EU EORI number from an EU country.

You do not need an EORI number if you are moving goods that are both:

not controlled goods; or
for personal use only.

Source:HM Revenue & Customs| 16-10-2023