 A large number of clients are asking us for help in understanding how the UK Government is going to support the employed, self employed & SME businesses during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The Prime Minister & Chancellor announced billions of pounds would be used to prevent businesses going under and support workers who have suddenly become unable to work.
Below is a helpful list of key points: Salaried Employees - the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
For Self employed, contractors and freelancers
Universal Credit and tax credit increase
SME Small & medium businesses - Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
For renters
Other help
By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom they are considered in the Industry to be expert business accountants and tax advisors for small and medium sized businesses (SME's). Helping and supporting limited company owners and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. Their support has been considered invaluable by many clients and key to their success. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.
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 In a nutshell it was typical political waffle and little substance. But what we want to know and what our clients want to know is what it means for them. Well check out the simple list below to save time and get straight to the main factual points.
By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Surbiton , Worcester Park , Kingston upon Thames , Cheam and Epsom they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.  We like lists and we know you do too. So here is a short list about a few things to bear in mind when tax deadlines are looming:
1) Keep all necessary paperwork organised and make sure to keep all paperwork even after the tax years passed a minimum of 5 years as HMRC can put you under a tax investigation at any point reaching as far back as 10 years. 2) Make sure to plan ahead with your finances so you don’t fall short when deadlines arrive. Save and put money aside for the tax due. HMRC gives you approx 9 months from your year end to budget for this and will not normally extend the deadline without penalising you with extra charges and fees, 3) Be conscious of when the deadlines are arriving and what state your finances are in. Don't forget when its due and keep a reminder on your calendar for it. It’s important that you know how much tax you’re due to pay as this helps you to plan your finances around how much is due. So the earlier you get your paperwork together the earlier an accountant can put it together and let you know. Leave it to the last minute and you may be left short of both information and time. HMRC offer a ‘Budget payment plan’ if you are struggling to pay the tax - which allows you to pay over a number of months as determined by HMRC (not you). You may also be permitted to stop payments for up to 6 months, this option needs to be set up with HMRC for payments through direct debit and when payments are made they need to be regular. If you would rather not use the HMRC’s budget payment plan then you can design your own budget plan which could allow you to put money aside for your tax payments eg borrow money from elsewhere, the pro’s for this is that you don’t get charges the fees from HMRC and have the restrictions which HMRC place. The cons are that you need to be self motivated to keep up payment with the your budget plan or lender. Alternatively if you prefer to pay in one lump sum then it’s even more important that you’re aware of how much tax you’re due to pay, how far away the deadlines are and your financial state. Overall awareness of the deadlines and you’re own particular financial situation can guide you to making a budgeting plan for tax returns. It’s also worth bearing in mind that just a bit of planning ahead can save you from unnecessary fines and penalties from HMRC. By Anon at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Surbiton , Worcester Park , Kingston upon Thames , Cheam and Epsom they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.  Some of the main points for self employed and business owners from the UK Chancellor's Autumn budget announcement 22/11/17.
By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Worcester Park, Kingston upon Thames, Cheam, and Surbiton they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting companies, contractors and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients with their payroll and pension. And help grow their business by providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.  HOW THE SPRING BUDGET 2017 AFFECTS THE SELF EMPLOYED & LIMITED BUSINESSES
The income tax personal allowance and the basic rate bands for this year’s tax return have already been announced. From 6th April 2017, personal allowance is set to increase by £500 to £11,500 and the basic rate band will rise to £33,500 from £32,000. This will result in a higher rate threshold of £45,000. The Chancellor has proclaimed that the personal allowance will continue to rise to £12,500 and higher rate threshold to rise to £50,000 by the end of the Parliament. Also, the Capital Gains Tax annual exemption will increase by £200 in 2017/2018 from £11,100 to £11,300. The rate of National Insurance Contributions for self-employed people will rise. Presently, self-employed individuals have to pay both Class 4 and Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs):
From April 2018, it has been announced Class 2 NICs will be abolished and Class 4 NICs will remain the same. As a result of this, the self-employed will save £145 annually. This will allow them to keep more of their money and be able to invest it back into their business. Tax Free Dividend Allowance will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,000 from next year April 2018. This is because this will lessen the tax difference between the self-employed and employees. Those that will be affected, will be investors with stocks and shares worth over £50,000 outside an ISA. £435 million will be given to support any business that have been affected by the business rates relief revaluation. Therefore, no small businesses will pay more than £600 coming out of the small business rates relief than they did in year 2016-17. Financing local authorities will permit them to administer £300 million of discretionary relief to contribute in helping the businesses that are heavily affected by the revaluation. Landlords and small businesses below the VAT threshold will be given an extra year to get ready for Making Tax Digital. Businesses that are owned privately (unincorporated businesses) that have a turnover under the VAT threshold will have until April 2019 to prepare for this before "Making Tax Digital" becomes mandatory. Making Tax Digital is where businesses will have to use a specific digital software to maintain their tax records and update HMRC quarterly (every 3 months). The introduction of this complex digital scheme, which is involving commercial supplies or accounting software, runs smoothly, there is a likelihood that there will be substantial administrative trouble, especially for those businesses that presently do not use an accounting software. By Gopal Nath at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.  Small businesses and self employed individuals should be pleased with the chancellor's Spring Budget 2016. Because from 2020, the level of Corporation Tax will be reduced to 17%, less than the previously stated 18%. Making working through a limited company still a very tax effeicient choice. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) will also be reduced to 20% from 28% for higher rate taxpayers and 10% from 18% at the basic rate taxpayers. And the VAT threshold rising to £83,000.
Key Points for Small Businesses and the Self Employed:
In Conclusion Overall, good for small businesses and individuals. Not so great for contractors and landlords. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Surbiton they are considered in the Industry to be experts accountants for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help new and established businesses to succeed. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.  Tax Affinity - experts in analysing Government budgets for small businesses Budget 2015 the key points for you at a glance:
The Chancellor George Osbourne delivered the first 100% Conservative budget since 1996 and here is the all important quick reference guide for all new and experienced entrepreneurs: Good News:
Bad News:
Either way News:
By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants. Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they provide a bespoke service to client’s right across the UK and are considered in the industry to be experts. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.  With none of the politics and huff that goes along with a budget just before a major election. The media maybe filled with information about the colour of the chancellor's tie and the opposition's facial expressions.
So at Tax Affinity Accountants we know and understand that businesswomen and men simply just want to just know what the effect will be on their business. That's why we have compiled a simple at a glance list to help you. 1. The Income tax personal allowance will be raised to £10,800 starting from 6th April 2015 (from £10,600) and to £11,000 the following year. 2. The higher rate of tax threshold is also raised to £43,300. 3. Plans to abolish annual tax return and move to a more automated digital accounts system. 4. Plans to abolish Class 2 national insurance contributions for the self employed in next Parliament. 5. Growth of the economy forecast to be up to 2.5% this year. Then 2.3% next year before reaching 2.4% in 2019. 6. Inflation is forecast to be at 0.2% for this year and the same for the next three years. 7. Fuel duty to remain the same as before as September's planned increase is cancelled. 8. Plans to sell get money back when banks were bailed out. £13bn of mortgage loans still owned by the government from Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley will be sold. Plus £9bn of Lloyds Banking Group shares to be sold this year. 9. Alcohol duty changes see 1p off a pint of beer and a 2% cut in cider and whiskey duty. While wine duty is to same as before. 10. Changes in ISA's. Total annual savings limit for ISAs has been increased to £15,240. With some types of ISA which will allow savers to draw money and put it back in the same year without losing any part of their tax free allowance. And a new help to buy ISA for first-time buyers will allow government to top up by £50 every £200 saved for a deposit. (speak to your bank for more details). 11. Changes so that pensioners will now be able to trade in their annuities for cash, with the 55% tax abolished and tax being applied at a marginal rate. 12. Plans to review inheritance tax avoidance through "deeds of variation". 13. A new personal saving allowance where the first £1,000 interest on savings income will be tax free for 20% basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher 40% tax rate payers. 14. New tax on diverted profit to come into effect next month. This is aimed at companies moving profits artificially off shore. 15. There are plans to review of business rates to help businesses. 16. And for charitable donations the gift aid limit for charities to be extended up to £8,000. By Omar Tahir Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants. Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they provide a bespoke service to clients right across the UK and are considered in the industry to be experts in business advice. They mentor and support members of the public to make their businesses grow and reach their full potential. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. How to manage your finances so that you meet tax deadlines Certain things to bear in mind when tax deadlines are on the horizon are: 1) Keep all necessary paperwork organised and make sure to keep all paperwork even after the tax years passed as HMRC can put you under a tax investigation at any point reaching as far back as 20 years. 2) Make sure to plan ahead with your finances so you don’t fall short when deadlines arrive. 3) Be conscious of when the deadlines are arriving and what state your finances are in. It’s important that you know how much tax you’re due to pay as this helps you to plan your finances around how much is due. HMRC offer a ‘Budget payment plan’ which allows you to decide how much you wish to pay overtime and also allows you to stop payments for up to 6 months, this option needs to be set up with HMRC for payments through direct debit and when payments are made they need to be regular. If you would rather not use the HMRC’s budget payment plan then you can design your own budget plan which for e.g. could allow you to put money aside for your tax payments, the pro’s for this is that you don’t have the restrictions which HMRC place although they’re not too strict anyway. However the cons are that you need to be self motivated to keep with the budget plan. Alternatively if you prefer to pay in one big lump sum then it’s even more crucial that you’re aware of how much tax you’re due to pay, how far away the deadlines are and your financial state. Overall awareness of the deadlines and you’re own particular financial situation can guide you to making a budgeting plan for tax returns. It’s also worth bearing in mind that just a bit of planning ahead can save you from unnecessary fines and penalties from HMRC. By Mohammad Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants. Chancellor Autumn Budget 2014 and how it effects people
It was announced that the UK has the fastest growth in the G7 and the deficit is also expected to fall by half by the end of 2014-15. Fuel duty has also been frozen till the end of current parliament in May 2015. Stamp Duty: First to be affected by the 2014 Autumn will be UK home buyers. The main change is that the Stamp duty has been changed as of Midnight 3rd December 2014. This is suppose to affect 98% of homeowners in England and Wales. This change will be beneficial to those purchasing a house for £937,000 or less but for anyone paying more than that amount they are likely to pay more in stamp duty. The problem with the previous system was that the boundaries between the stamp duty were very sharp e.g. if someone was to buy a home for £250,000 they would have to pay 1% tax duty which would be £2500 but if the prices was to be even 1p more than the £250,000 cap then you would fall into the 3% tax bracket for houses with a price of over £250,000 and you would need to pay £7500. The new system allows for someone to pay 0% to stamp duty for the first £125,000 so for example someone who buys a house for £200,000; they will only pay 2% stamp duty on £75,000 remaining, meaning they would pay £1500 instead of the £2000 they would have had to have paid on the previous system. Although the rates have increased in percentage in the higher price cases, the overall charge will still be mostly lower for those paying less than £937,000 on a property. The new system has aimed to smooth out the drastic jumps in the boundaries placed on the stamp duty rates and statistically if buying a home in England or Wales the average person will pay £4500 less in stamp duty. Also for any individual that have exchanged the contracts but it has not been completed, they are allowed to choose which out of the two systems they would like to use. The old rates:
The new rates:
Savings: The limit for tax free ISA accounts paid in cash/shares is going to increase to £15,240 in April from £15,000 that was announced last July. Previously in the situation of a deceased individual who owns a cash ISA account the spouse of the individual will lose the tax free status of the account when they start paying the tax. However the chancellor has said that with immediate effect the spouse of the deceased will be able to inherit and keep the tax free status of the account. Overall the news on pensions is good as the government has decided to scrap the pension death tax. This means that individuals will be able to pass on their annuity income tax - free when they die before the age of 75. This is a significant change to the previous legislation as there used to be a charge of 55% when annuity retirement income was passed on and this also means that there is much more room to manoeuvre when people pass on their pension wealth. People will also be allowed to access their pensions as they require from retirement which allows them to not need to arrange an annuity. Tax free Allowance: The maximum amount you earn before you are required to pay income tax will be increased to £10,600 from £10,000 in April 2015. Business rates: The high street discount for roughly 300,000 shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs is set to increase in April 2015 to March 2016 by £500 from £1000 to £1500, helping to improve and promote growth amongst the nation's small businesses and local communities. Small business rate relief has also been doubled for another year which means that 380,000 of the smallest business will pay no rates at all and there has also been stop to 2% of the increase in business rates from April 2015 - March 2016. NIC'S (National Insurance Contribution): The government is trying to make it cheaper to employ young people from April 2016 by allowing employers to not have to pay NIC's for all apart from the highest earning apprentices. This is a bid to improve the chance of the UK having the highest employment rate in the G9. Tax on economy flights: Flights from the 1st May 2016 for under 12s will be exempt from tax and also for under 16s from the 1st March 2016. NHS (National Health Service): £2 billion extra funding has been allocated to the NHS for 2015-16.
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