Tax Affinity Blog - Tax Affinity Accountants

Autumn budget 2021 key points for business

11/5/2021

We love a list that gets right to the point. So here is our key points for businesses in the UK from the Chancellor's autumn budget 2021:

1) Dividends: rise of 1.25% tax after nil band from 7.5% to 8.75% and higher rate band up from 32.5% to 33.75% from April 2022

2) Capital gains tax (CGT): with immediate deadline to report & pay after selling a UK residential property has increased from 30days to 60days after completion date. Giving landlords more time

3) Corporation tax: will rise from 19 % to 25 % from April 23. Businesses with profits less than £50k will get a small profit rate which is still 19%. For profits above £50,000 there is a tapered rate with bands & %’s going up to the 25% rate.

4) National insurance: Increase 1.25% national insurance contribution for all (employees, employers & self-employed) from April 2022.

5) National living wage: increase from £8.91 to £9.50 p/hr.

6) R&D tax relief: to be expanded to cover cloud computing & data costs now also as well.

7) Business rates : Rates revaluation cycle changed from 5 years to 3 years from 2023. New Improvement Relief, for businesses to improve/extend property, meaning they won’t pay additional business rates in 12 months after improvements. Plus a 50% business rates discount from April 2022 (to max £110k) for 1 year for retail, hospitality & leisure.

8) Annual investment allowance (AIA): £1m Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) extended to March 2023.

If your business is effected by these changes and you want help and support contact us today

By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts Business, Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom and Ewell they are considered in the Industry to be expert business accountants and tax advisors for both individuals and small & medium sized businesses (SME's). Helping and supporting both individuals and limited company owners / self employed people throughout the UK and the world, 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.

uk economy rises gdp slightly up in quarter 4 of 2020

5/14/2021

Tax Affinity Accountants have high street branches within easy access

UK GDP rises slightly in Quarter 4 of 2020 showing positive signs of economic growth according to the ONS UK (Office of National Statistics). This is despite a huge drop in GDP since the start of the covid 19 pandemic, cornavirus lockdowns and Brexit.

The ONS reported a rise of 0.97% from 498,000,000 Quarter 3 to 504,000,000 in Quarter 4 after massive 20% drop from 529,000,000 to 426,000,000 in Quarter 1 to Quarter 2 in 2020.

Why is GDP important and why does mainstream media not report it? - Well the short answer is they are journalists not economists so they dont understand it as well as what a certain celebrity is wearing to the oscars etc. And the its easier to focus on nonsense that sells than statistics and fact that fly over the head of most readers. But business owners and directors and CEO's need to know what is happening to be able to plan and steer their businesses successfully through the current turbulent times.

Importantly, quarter 1 2021 figures (ie January to March 2021) are yet to compiled these undoubtedly show a truer picture of the economy in its most recent state especially after Brexit on the 1st of January with their backlogs at the ports and problems with shipping in and out of Europe.

British politicians were quick to report the 0.97% increase (without stating the figures, obviously) and say that their goverment support policies were helping but this hardly cover the 20% drop previosuly and what Quarter 1 GDP 2021 will show. Certainly there was pent up sales demand due to the lockdown and as soon as the lockdown was eased, UK shoppers returned in their droves to high street stores, pubs and gyms. But with the looming end of government furlough support in September 2021 the number of unemployed is likely to jump up again denting GDP towards the middle to end of 2021.

Nonetheless all things considered this is positive sign that the UK may have bypassed a recession and having a complete wash out for 2021 like for 2020.

By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts Business, Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom and Ewell they are considered in the Industry to be expert business accountants and tax advisors for both individuals and small & medium sized businesses (SME's). Helping and supporting both individuals and limited company owners / self employed people throughout the UK and the world, 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.

Further government grants and support for business as 3rd uk lockdown commences

1/6/2021

The UK Chancellor announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring.

Businesses are advised to contact their local authority for discretionary grants and Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to from £1300 to £3,000 a month and extension of furlough scheme.

This follows the Prime Minister’s announcement that business will be closed until at least February half-term in order to help control the coronavirus.

The cash payment is accepted by the local authority is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions

Chancellor Rishi Sunak also said:

A further £594 million pounds is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions. Businesses should apply to their Local Authorities as soon as possible.

The new one-off grants come in addition to grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen.

The government has also provided 100% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, £1.1 billion existing discretionary funding for Local Authorities, the furlough scheme now extended to April and 100% government backed loans, extended until March.

More information

the one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows:
£4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
£6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
£9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000
any business which is legally required to close, and which cannot operate effectively remotely, is eligible for a grant
the Scottish Government will receive £375 million, the Welsh Government will receive £227 million, the Northern Ireland Executive will receive £127 million
small businesses in the devolved administrations in the UK should also be able to benefit from other UK-wide measures in the government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including the various business lending schemes (where repayment terms were made easier as part of a Winter Economy Plan), and the extension of the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom and Ewell 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.

key points of winter statement - vat, self employed grants, job support scheme, 10 yrs on bbl loans, delays to paying taxes

9/25/2020

The Chancellor yesterday announced a raft of new measures to support businesses in the UK. Below are the key points to help you and your business:

Job Support Scheme - to replace the Furlough scheme

Government will subsidise the pay of employees who are working fewer than normal hours due to lower demand
Employees must do at least a third (33.3%) of their normal hours
Employers will pay staff for the hours they have work
The government and the employer will pay a third (33.3%) each for the hours they can't work
This means someone working a third of their hours would receive 77% of their pay
The government part of the grant is capped at £697.92 per month per employee
All small & medium sized businesses are eligible for the scheme
It is open to employers even if they have not previously used the furlough scheme
The Job Support scheme will run for six (6) months starting in November 2020 and replaces the "furlough" scheme
Basically means the government will pay a maximum of 22% of someone's wages, down from 80% at the start of the furlough policy

Example:

If an employee (e.g. Mr Bob Smith) works reduced hours the employer pays for that. And in addition the employer and government pay one third of the lost pay each (up to the cap £697.92).

So if Mr Bob Smith normally worked for an employer at £2,000 a month, and then worked 50% hours, he would get £1,000 normal pay plus £333 extra from their employer and £333 from the government.

Self Employed Support - SEISS Grants

A grant will be available to those eligible for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme Grant (SEISS) previously ie basically a 3rd SEISS grant payout and possibly a 4th
The grant will cover three months' worth of profits for the period from November 2020 to the end of January 2021
It will cover 20% of average monthly profits up to a total of £1,875 (previously £6750 and £7500)
A further grant may be available to the self-employed to cover February 2021 to the end of April 2021, depending on circumstances

Bounce Back (BBL) Loans and Covid (CBILS) Loans - time extended from 6 to 10 years to repay + chance to pay interest only

Bounce Back Loans will be extended from 6 to 10 years, cutting down monthly repayments by nearly a half per month after the 12 month interest free period - may need to apply to your bank for this
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders will also be able to extend the length of loans from the current maximum of 6 to 10 years - may need to apply to your bank for this
Extension of deadline for the government's coronavirus loan schemes to the end of November 2020
Businesses that are struggling can choose to make interest only payments for six months and those "in real trouble" can apply to suspend repayments altogether for six months - will need to apply to bank to get this - businesses will not see their credit rating fall as a result, the Chancellor said.

Tax - 5% VAT to remain longer, VAT deferred interest free payments, more time to pay HMRC

The 15% emergency VAT cut for the tourism and hospitality industries will be extended from January 2021 to 31 March 2021
Businesses who deferred their VAT bills will be able to pay back their taxes in 11 smaller interest-free instalments - this will need to be requested to HMRC VAT dept
Self-assessment income taxpayers who need help will be given more time to pay tax bills - again need to request from HMRC prior to deadline

By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom and Ewell 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.

summer statement 2020 - coronavirus update and government policies - key points

8/13/2020

£1000 Job retention bonus to encourage firms to retain furloughed staff

A one-off £1000 payment to employers for every furloughed employee retained to the end of 31 January 2021 - likely to be a credit to your paye bill rather than a cash payment
Applies to workers earning £520 plus per month

5% VAT for six months - VAT cut for restaurants, hotels and attractions only

Value added tax cut down from 20% to 5% from 15 July to 12 January 2021 for selected areas
Food and non-alcoholic drinks in restaurants, pubs and cafes, as well as hot takeaway food will be covered
Hotels and B&Bs and admission to attractions such as theme parks and cinemas are also affected
Most importantly the 5% VAT cut rate does not need to be passed on to customers or for all items or even at all, so some business may still charge 20% on items

Zero Stamp duty up to £500,000 and 'green homes grant'

The threshold for stamp duty on residential property in England and Northern Ireland will rise from £125,000 to £500,000 - 1st time buyers will gain as will landlords who will see their stamp duty reduced greatly for 2nd homes
Applies from 8 July until 31 March 2021 only
Up to £5,000 per household for 'green' projects to make homes more energy efficient in England - although the requirements and finer details mean that few people will be able to take advantage and it needs to be done via an approved builder which my end up costing you more anyway
Up to £10,000 per household fully funded for low-income households - but be careful you cannot just renew your boiler or double glazing etc

50% Discount on restaurant meals in August only Monday to Wednesday

"Eat out to help out" scheme offers up to 50% discount for every diner, up to £10 a head, from Monday to Wednesday throughout August 2020
Covers food and non-alcoholic drinks - only not other items
Applies at participating restaurants, pubs, cafes only - it is not compulsory all should participate
Restaurant owners can claim the discount in full from the government via an online form - the speed and amount of return is yet to be seen

Financial Support for young workers

"Kickstart scheme": £2bn fund to pay for six-month work placements for 16 to 24-year-olds on universal credit - you have to be on it to be eligible
Payments will cover national minimum wage for 25 hours per week, plus national insurance and pension contributions per person
£1,000 grant per trainee is available for employers who take on new trainees aged 16-24
£2,000 grant for employers per apprentice under 25 hired, £1,500 for those over 25, for six months starting 1 August
Participants can expect to receive £455 per month if they are under 18 years of age, £645 per month if 18 to 20, and £820 per month if 21 to 24
No need to retain trainee after 6 months but they must be claiming universal credits - a good way for businessess to employ young part time trainees / employees and have the government pay for their wages for 6 months

By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom and Ewell 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.

VAT reduced to 5% for some items - temporary covid 19 support

7/15/2020

Tax Affinity Accountants local branches

After the UK Governemnts announcement last week, from the 15th July 2020 to the 12th Jan 2021, VAT has been dropped from 20% to 5% on many items in the UK. So retailers will have to amend thier prices accordingly and make sure to charge the correct price. And customers need to be aware not to be ripped off with higher prices than necessary.

The Government's cut from will affect the following food purchases:

Food and non-alcoholic beverages sold for on-premises consumption, for example, in restaurants, cafés & pubs
Hot takeaway food & hot takeaway non-alcoholic beverages
Sleeping accommodation in hotels or similar establishments, holiday accommodation, pitch fees for caravans and tents, & associated facilities.

Admission fees to the following events and attractions will also be included in the VAT cut:

Amusement parks
Theatres
Circuses
Fairs
Concerts
Museums
Cinemas
Exhibitions
Zoos
Similar cultural events and facilities

Note: Flat Rate VAT charged and paid by contractors and businesses will also be affected and HMRC will update about these in due course.

Tax Affinity are experts in VAT and all areas of tax. So if your current accountant is not helping your business through this difficult time, feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help and support you.

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.

Furlough scheme extended to 31 oct 2020

7/8/2020

From the 1 July 2020, only employees who have been furloughed in the past will be eligible for further grants.
Employers will have until 31 July 2020 to make any claims for claim periods up to 30 June 2020.
Employers will also only be able to claim for employees which were already furloughed by 30 June 2020.
For furlough claims up to 30 June 2020, if an employee is working, but on reduced hours, or for reduced pay, they will not be eligible for the scheme.
After 1 July 2020, furloughed employees can be brought back to work part-time. And this can be for any amount of time and any shift pattern as long as it is not the full working hours and days as before. This only applies to employees who have been previously furloughed, though can be applied to those returning to work for the first time after a period of parental leave.
From 1 August 2020, the level of the grant will be slowly reduced and from 1 September 2020, employers will need to contribute more towards the cost of furloughed employees’ wages.
In September 2020, the maximum amount a furloughed employees can be paid is £83.34 a day, while in October 2020, this figure is £80.65 a day.
Employers will have to pay National Insurance and pension contributions on furloughed employees’ pay.

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.

Extension to coronavirus Self-Employment Support Scheme from government - SEISS 2nd payment

6/21/2020

The Government and the Chancellor have confirmed that self-employed workers whose businesses have been negatively hit by coronavirus (Covid-19) would be able to claim “a second and final grant” in August 2020.

Those eligible can apply for the first grant (which was 80% of average monthly profits up to maximum of £2,500 per month for three months ie £7,500) until 13 July 2020.

In the extension, those eligible for the second and final grant (businesses adversely affected on or after 14 July 2020) can make a claim in August 2020 (to be confirmed when it will open). You can make a claim for the second grant even if you didn’t make a claim for the first grant.

The second grant will be a taxable grant worth up to 70% of your average monthly trading profits (ie £2250 per month), paid out in a single payment covering a further three months’ worth of net profits, to a maximum of £6,570 in total.

Clients are advised if they have not claimed for the first grant to do so by the 13 July 2020. And if they are adversely effected in (June, July and August 2020) then to claim for the second grant also as soon as the scheme is opened by the Chancellor and the Government.

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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