The media storm surrounding HMRC taxing eBay and other online sellers from the start of 2024 was, in fact, itself counterfeit goods. A crop of stories across social and traditional media swirled across the start…
Increased income – the double-edged sword
With tax bands and other thresholds frozen, taxpayers should be aware of the implications of their income increasing. Increased income can mean more than facing a higher tax bill. Higher rate taxpayers need to look…
Cash basis to become default
From 2024/25, restrictions to the cash basis will be removed, making it the default method for calculating trading profit for the self-employed and most partnerships. The accruals basis is currently the default, with a business…
Incoming NIC reforms for the self-employed
National insurance contribution (NIC) changes for the self-employed announced in the Autumn Statement come in from 6 April 2024 and will be welcome news. But the reforms don’t go far enough to offset the continuing…
Interest rate rises fuelling increased tax take
The Bank of England base rate increase is impacting on the government’s tax takes, with more taxpayers paying tax on savings income due to higher interest rates. Increased mortgage rates are contributing to rocketing capital…
Finalising tax return figures and filing early
HMRC is chasing taxpayers who have submitted tax returns for 2021/22 containing unresolved provisional figures, while also extolling the benefits of filing early for 2022/23. What are provisional figures? A provisional figure is not the…
Behind the numbers on income tax
New income tax statistics from HMRC appear to be good news, but the numbers are not what they seem. Taxpayer’s marginal rate Basic Rate Higher Rate Additional Rate 2020/21 Average tax rate 9.5% 21.8% 38.3%…
New PAYE process for High Income Child Benefit Charge
One of the many criticisms aimed at the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) is that anyone caught by the charge needs to submit a self-assessment tax return even if all of their tax is…
HMRC offers options on undeclared wealth
HMRC is offering taxpayers named in the leaked Pandora Papers a chance to correct their tax affairs. The October 2021 leak involved almost 12 million documents revealing hidden wealth and tax avoidance. The papers revealed…
Tax and your home solar panel system
With continuing high electricity prices, now could be a very good time to install solar panels at your property. Unless a solar battery is part of the system, it makes sense to sell excess electricity…