Debt Relief Orders (DROs) were first introduced in April 2009. The DROs assist people who have small levels of assets and insufficient surplus income to deal with debts under £20,000. In a news release published by the Insolvency Service we are told that in the last 10 years, more than 254,000 DROs have been approved for people with debts
More...HMRC has launched an unannounced crackdown on money laundering regulation non-compliance by estate agents. This clampdown resulted in over 50 visits by HMRC staff to estate agents across England that were suspected of trading without being registered as required under money laundering regulations. This crackdown includes targeting those
More...If you are an employee and use your own money to buy things that you need for your job, you may be able to claim tax relief for the associated costs. It is usually only possible to claim tax relief for the cost of items that are used solely for your work. There is no tax relief available if your employer pays you back in full for an item
More...The start of the 2019-20 tax year marked a fundamental change to the way Income Tax is calculated for people who live in Wales. The new Welsh rates of Income Tax (WRIT) are payable on the non-savings and non-dividend income of those defined as Welsh taxpayers. The revenue from the WRIT will go to the Welsh Government. The UK government
More...The Let Property Campaign provides landlords who have undeclared income from residential property lettings in the UK or abroad with an opportunity to regularise their affairs by disclosing any outstanding liabilities, whether due to misunderstanding the tax rules or because of deliberate tax evasion. The campaign was launched in
More...HMRC’s Employment Income Manual is clear that there are special rules when an employee receives goods or services by reason of their employment, that the employee does not pay for in full. The first step should always be to consider whether a voucher or credit-token was used to obtain them. Any non-cash vouchers, for example gift
More...Domicile is a general legal concept which in basic terms is taken to mean the country where you permanently belong. However, determining domicile status can be complex. In fact, HMRC guidance states that domicile cannot be defined precisely, but the concept rests on various basic principles. Every individual must have a domicile at all
More...The VAT system is policed by HMRC and there can be heavy penalties for breaches of the legislation. There are four conditions that must be satisfied in order for an activity to be within the scope of UK VAT. These conditions are that the activity: is a supply of goods or services that the supply takes place in the UK is made by a
More...Acas has published new general guidance to assist employers and employees in understanding the impact that Brexit may have in their workplace and it gives advice regarding the steps they may want to take before the UK leaves the EU. It advises that EU membership can impact workplaces in several ways, such as: providing goods and
More...The government has published new guidance which confirms that, once the UK leaves the EU and whether this is with a deal or not, there will be no change to the way EU, EEA and Swiss citizens prove their right to work until 1 January 2021. Irish citizens will continue to have the right to work in the UK and prove their right to work as
More...There are different rules which apply to different types of capital expenditure for a property business. One of the main areas to consider in deciding whether a repair is a deductible expense is whether it is revenue or capital. Capital expenditure cannot be deducted in computing the profits of a property business, however there are
More...Under the current scheme, banks and building societies transfer the money held in dormant accounts to a central reclaim fund. The reclaim fund is responsible for managing dormant account money, meeting reclaims and passing on surplus money to various charities for reinvestment in the community. The original account holder retains the
More...Although the EU have now extended the deadline to agree the withdrawal agreement - to 31 October 2019 - there is still a chance we will exit with a no-deal outcome. In a pamphlet recently published by the government we are provided with some important areas to consider if we leave the EU without a deal. For example, any UK business that
More...The High Income Child Benefit charge applies to taxpayers whose income exceeds £50,000 in a tax year and who are in receipt of child benefit. The charge claws back the financial benefit of receiving child benefit either by reducing or removing the benefit entirely. If you or your partner have exceeded the £50,000 threshold for the first
More...In an agent update published earlier this year HMRC wrote that as part of EU Exit contingency planning, a change would be made to the timings for sending notification of Self Assessment penalties. The £100 penalty notices are normally issued in February but HMRC suggested that they might be delayed as late as the end of April. It has now
More...Corporation Tax relief may be available where your company or organisation makes a trading loss. The loss may be used to claim relief from Corporation Tax by offsetting the loss against other gains or profits of the business in the same or previous accounting period. The loss can also be set against future qualifying trading income. Any
More...Interestingly, there is no statutory definition of ‘trade’. The only statutory reference to the term states that ‘trade’ includes a ‘venture in the nature of trade’. This absence of statutory clarity has left definition - is a certain activity a trade or not - to the courts, and they have set some established guidance. This effectively
More...The new VAT road fuel scale charges have been published. The changes amend the VAT scale charges for taxing private use of road fuel to reflect changes in fuel prices. The new fuel scale charges must be used by companies from the start of their next prescribed accounting period beginning on or after 1 May 2019. The fuel scale rates
More...