HMRC relishes the idea that tax payers will make errors in their tax returns and then they will pay higher taxes or be fines for making errors. The number of errors by members of the public doing their own self assessments has been rising steeply in the last few years and HMRC has been raking in fines for errors. So its very important to try to ensure you make none.

Why? - Well simply mistakes on your tax returns could cost you a lot of hard earned money.
Solution? - Avoid HMRC penalties and charges by making sure you don’t commit these mistakes during tax return time by getting an expert like Tax Affinity Accountants (one the most highly recommended accountants in the UK) to do calculate and submit the return for you and sleep easy at night knowing you paid the least tax and everything was correct according to HMRC rules.

Key things to keep in double check:

1. Numbers / digits errors. Whether it’s a National Insurance or Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number for income, incorrect numbers on any form could cost you. Be mindful when entering bank account information when opting for refund. The last thing you want is for someone else to receive your refunds. You should double check all numbers entered on your tax returns. 
   
2. Maths errors. Many taxpayers use pen an paper to work out numbers for submission. Even if you use a software package, it will still not catch errors for incorrect data entry. You should double check your numbers and then double check your calculations each time. 
   
3. Not declaring all the earned income. You must, must report all earned income on your tax return. When HMRC find out that you did not report everything, you could owe interest and penalties in addition to the tax owed on that income. UK banks these days can report income to HMRC without the account holders knowledge.
   
4. Not staying up to date with your tax code. Check the latest changes to your tax code before filing your own tax return. New laws affect many taxpayers and they are constantly changing. 
   
5. Filing an incorrect status. With many different filing status options available, the most accurate one for a taxpayer’s situation may not be easy to use. Each filing status could have an impact on the tax liability due to HMRC.
   
6. Mismatched names. This is a common mistake for newlyweds, typically when the wife takes a new last name and has not notified the NI department. Same issue may pop up for same sex marriages. The opposite applies also for divorcees who need to have a name change notified . If your name does not match the name and NI number and HMRC has on file, the tax return could be rejected or a tax refund could be delayed.  
   
7. Declaring multiple country taxes. Don’t forget that income earned in another country must be reported. If you reside in one state and work in another, a non-resident tax return must be filed in the country in which you work. Only the money earned in that country needs to be reported. However, if you fail to declare this, you could face interest and penalties, in addition to the taxes owed. 
   
8. Falling for tax schemes. One of the biggest concerns for the HMRC is tax fraud and identity theft. Taxpayers have lost thousands of pounds because criminals tricked them into believing they owed HMRC. HMRC will never send an unsolicited email or contact you through social media. HMRC does not ask for personal or financial information. If you believe you may be at risk for identity theft, you should contact the HMRC immediately along with your banks etc. 
   
9. Missing deductions or credits. While penalties and fees mentioned above could cost you, missing a deduction or tax break could cost you by lowering a refund or increasing taxes. 
   
10. Forgoting to sign and date the forms. It is an all-too-common mistake to forget to sign and date. While this may not cost you money, it will cause a delay in receiving any anticipated tax refund. Especially for those who owe HMRC and wait until the very last minute to file, forgetting to sign and date could cost you a late fee and penalty when HMRC sends it back for signature and the deadline has passed. 
    

A good tax accountant should save you much more in tax than what he/she charges. And having a Tax Affinity accountant calculate your personal and business tax situation will lead to zero mistakes on your return and a lower tax bill first time every time. Fill out our contact us page to find an office near you and we will be happy to help you sleep easier at night.

 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.

Did you know last year more than 30,000 people in the UK did their tax return between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day?

As of writing this, there are only 20 working days left until HMRC's self assessment deadline of 31st Jan 2022. Each year millions of people leave their tax return (self assessment) to the last minute and then stress out if they declared the info correctly and if the tax due is correct.

Statistically the number one worry tends to be if their submission may trigger an HMRC investigation into their tax affairs... death and taxes being the fear we suppose.

Plus in the last tax year due to Covid 19 and lockdown's there were many other sources of income  e.g. council support grants, SEISS (self employed grants), furlough, bounce back loans, universal credit, tax credits etc. Making tax returns more complicated and resulting with higher taxes due for most tax payers.

If your worried we recommend you get in touch with one of our tax experts. Because we have seen a lot more investigations this year than previous years as HMRC starts it claw back to try to shore up the UK government income and focuses even more on tax avoidance and incorrect information.

So if you have not had your 2020/21 (6.4.20 to 5.4.21) tax return (self assessment) completed then you urgently need to get in touch today as the number of working days are fast decreasing and before you know it the time will be gone and you may end up facing badly caclulated tax return paying more tax than you need to or worse a fine by HMRC for missing the deadline.

Contact us today by clicking this link or calling us on the number above. And share this page with your friends and family.

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.

Only 20 working days left until HMRC self assessment deadline.

Did you know this year over 2700 people did their tax return on Christmas day this year according to HMRC. Those that did know that they have to get it done before the deadline of 31/01/2021 and that there is only 20 working days left (as of today 31/12/20).

So if you have not had your 2019/20 (6.4.19 to 5.4.20) tax return  completed then you urgently get in touch today as the number of working days are fast decreasing and before you know it the time will be gone and you may end up facing a fine by HMRC for missing the 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./

The UK Government and the Chancellor have set out a package of temporary measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19.

This includes actions to support businesses including:

• a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• deferring VAT and Income Tax payments
• a Statutory Sick Pay relief package for SMEs
• a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England
• small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief
• grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
• the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank
• a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans
• the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme

If you need help with your applications for government grants, loans and allowances as described above then as authorised HMRC agents and expert tax accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are available to support your business at this critical time. Urgently contact us by clicking here and we will use our expertise to support your business through this difficult time.

Support for businesses through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers are able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis.

Eligibility
All UK businesses are eligible.
How to access the scheme
You will need to:

• designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change - changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation
• submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings through a new online portal (HMRC will set out further details on the information required)

HMRC will reimburse 80% of furloughed (those on payroll but not working) workers wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. HMRC are working urgently to set up a system for reimbursement. Existing systems are not set up to facilitate payments to employers.

If your business needs short term cash flow support, you may be eligible for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan.

Support for businesses through deferring VAT and Income Tax payments
Government will support businesses by deferring Valued Added Tax (VAT) payments for 3 months. If you’re self-employed, Income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system will be deferred to January 2021.
VATFor VAT, the deferral will apply from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020.
Eligibility
All UK businesses are eligible.
How to access the scheme
This is an automatic offer with no applications required. Businesses will not need to make a VAT payment during this period. Taxpayers will be given until the end of the 2020 to 2021 tax year to pay any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by the government as normal.

Income Tax
For Income Tax Self-Assessment, payments due on the 31 July 2020 will be deferred until the 31 January 2021.
Eligibility
If you are self-employed you are eligible.
How to access the scheme
This is an automatic offer with no applications required.
No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period.
HMRC have also scaled up their Time to Pay offer to all firms and individuals who are in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 and have outstanding tax liabilities.

Support for businesses who are paying sick pay to employees
Goverment will bring forward legislation to allow small-and medium-sized businesses and employers to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19. The eligibility criteria for the scheme will be as follows:

• this refund will cover up to 2 weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who has been off work because of COVID-19
• employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible - the size of an employer will be determined by the number of people they employed as of 28 February 2020
• employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed SSP (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19
• employers should maintain records of staff absences and payments of SSP, but employees will not need to provide a GP fit note. If evidence is required by an employer, those with symptoms of coronavirus can get an isolation note from NHS 111 online and those who live with someone that has symptoms can get a note from the NHS website
• eligible period for the scheme will commence the day after the regulations on the extension of SSP to those staying at home comes into force
• the government will work with employers over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism for employers as soon as possible

Eligibility
You are eligible for the scheme if:

• your business is UK based
• your business is a small or medium-sized and employs fewer than 250 employees as of 28 February 2020

How to access the scheme
A rebate scheme is being developed. Further details will be provided in due course once the legalisation has passed. Government websites will contain more details.

Support for businesses that pay business ratesBusiness rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses
Goverment will introduce a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.

Businesses that received the retail discount in the 2019 to 2020 tax year will be rebilled by their local authority as soon as possible.
Eligibility
You are eligible for the business rates holiday if:

• your business is based in England
• your business is in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector

Properties that will benefit from the relief will be occupied hereditaments that are wholly or mainly being used:

• as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues
• for assembly and leisure
• as hotels, guest & boarding premises and self-catering accommodation

How to access the scheme
There is no action for you. This will apply to your next council tax bill in April 2020. However, local authorities may have to reissue your bill automatically to exclude the business rate charge. They will do this as soon as possible.
You can estimate the business rate charge you will no longer have to pay this year using the business rates calculator.

Further guidance for local authorities is available in the expanded retail discount guidance.

Cash grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businessesThe Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme provides businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property.
For businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of under £15,000, they will receive a grant of £10,000.
For businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of between £15,001 and £51,000, they will receive a grant of £25,000.
Eligibility
You are eligible for the grant if:

• your business is based in England
• your business is in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector

Properties that will benefit from the relief will be occupied hereditaments that are wholly or mainly being used:

• as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues
• for assembly and leisure
• as hotels, guest and boarding premises and self-catering accommodation

How to access the scheme
You do not need to do anything. Your local authority will write to you if you are eligible for this grant.
Guidance for local authorities on the scheme will be provided shortly.
Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of, the reliefs and grants should be directed to the relevant local authority.
Find your local authority on Google.

Support for businesses that pay little or no business ratesThe government will provide additional Small Business Grant Scheme funding for local authorities to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief (SBBR), rural rate relief (RRR) and tapered releif. This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 to eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business costs.
Eligibility
You are eligible if:

• your business is based in England
• you are a small business and already receive SBBR and/or RRR
• you are a business that occupies property

How to access the schemeYou do not need to do anything. Your local authority will write to you if you are eligible for this grant.
Guidance for local authorities on the scheme will be provided shortly.
Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of, the reliefs and grants should be directed to the relevant local authority.
Find your local authority on Google.

Support for businesses through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan SchemeA new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, delivered by the British Business Bank, will launch early next week to support primarily small and medium-sized businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts.
The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to a per-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The government will not charge businesses or banks for this guarantee, and the Scheme will support loans of up to £5 million in value.
Businesses can access the first 12 months of that finance interest free, as government will cover the first 12 months of interest payments.
Eligibility
You are eligible for the scheme if:

• your business is UK based, with turnover of no more than £45 million per year
• your business meets the other British Business Bank eligibility criteria

How to access the schemeThe full rules of the Scheme and the list of accredited lenders is available on the British Business Bank website. All the major banks will offer the Scheme once it has launched. There are 40 accredited providers in all.

You should talk to your bank or finance provider (not the British Business Bank) as soon as possible and discuss your business plan with them. This will help your finance provider to act quickly once the Scheme has launched. If you have an existing loan with monthly repayments you may want to ask for a repayment holiday to help with cash flow.
The scheme will be available from early next week commencing 23 March.

Support for larger firms through the COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility
Under the new Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility, the Bank of England will buy short term debt from larger companies.
This will support your company if it has been affected by a short-term funding squeeze, and allow you to finance your short-term liabilities.
It will also support corporate finance markets overall and ease the supply of credit to all firms.
Eligibility
All UK businesses are eligible.
How to access the schemeThe scheme will be available early in week beginning 23 March 2020.
The Government will provide information on how to access the scheme soon - keep an eye on their website updates.

More information is available from the Bank of England website.

Support for businesses paying tax: Time to Pay serviceAll businesses and self-employed people in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s Time To Pay service.
These arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis and are tailored to individual circumstances and liabilities.
Eligibility
You are eligible if your business:

• pays tax to the UK government
• has outstanding tax liabilities

How to access the schemeIf you have missed a tax payment or you might miss your next payment due to COVID-19, please call HMRC’s dedicated helpline: 0800 0159 559.
If you’re worried about a future payment, call HMRC nearer the time.

Insurance
Businesses that have cover for both pandemics and government-ordered closure should be covered, as the government and insurance industry confirmed on 17 March 2020 that advice to avoid pubs, theatres etc is sufficient to make a claim as long as all other terms and conditions are met.
Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers. Most businesses are unlikely to be covered, as standard business interruption insurance policies are dependent on damage to property and will exclude pandemics.

If you need help with your applications for government grants, loans and allowances as described above then as authorised HMRC agents and expert tax accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are available to support your business at this critical time. Urgently contact us by clicking here and we will use our expertise to support your business through this difficult time.

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.

Changes to UK Income tax rates changes for 19/20 from 5th April 2019:

Personal allowance:
Up to £12,500, Tax 0%
Basic rate
£12,501 to £50,000, Tax 20%
Higher rate
£50,001 to £150,000, Tax 40%
Additional rate
Over £150,000, Tax 45%

Allowances:
There are many other changes with tax allowances such as Annual Investment Allowance claimable rising to £200,000 per annum.

Dividend tax rates:
The tax-free dividend allowance is £2,000
Basic-rate taxpayers pay 7.5% on dividends
Higher-rate taxpayers pay 32.5% on dividends
Additional-rate taxpayers pay 38.1% on dividends.

Corporation Tax:
Rate remains at 19%

Directors Loans:
If loaned amount exceeds £10,000 at any point during the year then 2.5% nominal interest on the whole amount plus Class 1A National Insurance contributions (13.8%), and may need to be reported on your P11D

As market leaders and experts in Tax and accounting for business, there are of course many other changes as well and these we regularly advise and update our clients as and when the tax rules change. If you would like to become a client and receive this support and updates - contact us today.

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 Espom they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting contractors and self employed people 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.

It's April and this means the end of the previous tax year and start of the next. HMRC's personal tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April each year.

The start of the new UK tax year from 6.4.18 means there are new opportunities and new rules and allowances that now apply. So, it is a good time to take a moment and work through what is best for you and your personal circumstances to make them more tax efficient and plan and budget for the coming year.

The UK government and HMRC are ramping up their collection system and enforcement to try to get as much money in to pay for Brexit and other services etc so it’s up to each individual to become more vigilant to how they may end up with less in their pocket than previously.

Checking your income tax code regularly is now a necessity. Call HMRC immediately if something looks incorrect or out of the norm. Tax codes can often be incorrectly produced if there is a slight mix up in info and recent news reports have highlighted more changed tax codes than usual.

Complete your personal tax return for 17/18 early. It’s not worth waiting till 31st January 2019 when its actually the payment deadline day to work out how much tax is due if your self-employed because if you are owed a tax refund this means waiting till Feb / March 2019. Also, if you do owe tax then you have 9 months to plan and budget to pay for the sooner you know how much is due.

The personal tax-free allowance goes up to £11,850 from £11,500 and dividend tax allowance falls to £2000 from £5000, similar movements with other allowances means it helps to plan ahead to decide which year to receive and declare income. A good tax accountant can help with this - note an average bean counter (accountant) does not normally keep up to date with rapidly changing tax rules and regulations so may not be able to help.

We always recommend you speak to an expert tax accountant - they should save you far more in tax than they ever charge plus their fees are tax deductible - so it’s a win, win situation if your serious about planning ahead and paying less tax the correct way.

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.

HMRC can open an investigation into your tax affairs at anytime, and can request to go back up to 20 years (although it is normally no later than 6 years). When you receive a letter stating HMRC are pending an investigation, it can be a very tense and stressful time even if you have done nothing wrong.

Investigations can occur for a variety of reasons. The most frequent is an obvious mistake that HMRC can see whilst looking through the information you have submitted to them. The mistake can be on any scale of seriousness so should not be taken lightly. If you spot a mistake and tell HMRC about it, they will still have to open an investigation still but it will be less severe and strict. Sometimes, a business selected for an investigation is totally random, HMRC will pick a few businesses in an area, maybe that are tax-fraud hotspots, just to make sure there is no tax evasion going on. HMRC are also the epitome of suspicious. If your sales figure has gone drastically up or down from one year to the next or are hugely different to the industry average, they will look into why this is.

The letter from HMRC will normally have clues on it as to why you are being investigated. It will also detail what direction the investigation will be taking. When you receive this letter, the emphasis is to act fast as if you do not have all the required information ready and at hand when the investigation starts, you will be seen as unorganised.

HMRC have the ability to request information from third-parties such as banks and other businesses. This is the extreme as normally they will look for co-operation, from the person being investigated, which will not only speed the whole process, but reduce any fines or penalties incurred. This can be just allowing them access to your files or it could be letting them interview you for a day. If you have made clear and obvious mistakes but do not allow HMRC access to your documents, the fine can be doubled, making it much worse for you.

The effect of not co-operating on your business is as follows:

1. The cost of the fine; which has no limit.
2. The cost of lost business and income whilst the investigation is going on. You could even be called for a police-style interview for a few days.
3. The bad publicity of tax evasion being hung over your business. This could lose potential and current suppliers or clients.
4. You will find it harder to get loans or funding from external sources. This is seen as deliberate avoidance of payment which is not the type of business they want to give a loan to. If you struggle to pay the fine, it can affect your credit rating too.

The general trend is that it is at this stage people will go and ask for professional help. The best people to see are tax accountants such as Tax Affinity Accountants who can help in various ways with the investigation. Some are below:

• Prepare you for the situation likely to be faced. Tax Accountants have gone through this process before and have seen clients both be let off and be found culpable. Tax Accountants are able to give advice on what type of thing you should say, how the investigation will pan out and what will happen if you get called for an interview. If this happens, you can be “warmed up” with some questions that HMRC will ask you and warned of the potentially probing questions they could ask to try and get what they want to hear from you.
• Collating information relevant to the investigation and ensuring only relevant information is provided to HMRC. This is where it is better to be using a Tax Accountancy firm already for your returns and accounts as they can provide you with all the information related to your investigation. Some people try to take everything they have (including receipts from shops and payslips) to investigations which are simply not needed. If you take everything, it can often dilute your argument as you are trying to argue over small details and take a long time trying to find the document in question.
• Dealing with any request by HMRC for further information. Sometimes HMRC will require more information for their investigation. However, sometimes this is a trick to try and get you to admit to what you did wrong or what you are covering up. A Tax Accountant will be able to distinguish between what is a genuine request and what is a ploy. They will also be able to provide a rapid turnaround for any information required by HMRC as all terms and requests will be understood rather than potentially misinterpreted by someone on their own making the situation look more suspicious or that they are not co-operating.
• Keeping the investigation to the point. Similar to the above, sometimes HMRC will see if there are any leads to other investigations they could do during this time. They might try to test other things which might not be picked up on by a person doing it alone. A Tax Accountant will make sure HMRC are only investigating what they said in their initial investigation letter.
• Negotiations with HMRC regarding penalties and potential interest. A Tax Accountant is in a better position to try and negotiate with HMRC over any penalty or fine imposed. People trying this on their own often get confused by the complicated HMRC phone system so end up at the wrong person.
• Creating a mutually beneficial pay arrangement between the parties. If a fine is levied against the business, if it is too large to pay at once, or if the business has a poor cash flow position at that date, a Tax Accountant can act as a third-party to try and create a suitable payment plan. This can often avoid the interest charges that HMRC try adding to the fine.

Even when the investigation has finished, there is no guarantee that you will not be investigated again. If you were randomly investigated one year and then the next year your profit figure increased dramatically, you could well actually be at risk of being investigated again. HMRC will not take to kindly either if you have already been found to be responsible in a previous investigation and then continue to make mistakes in subsequent years.

This blog might seem all doom and gloom but regulations are in place for the amount of tax that should be paid by either businesses or individuals. HMRC just apply this regulation as it would be unfair for some people to get away with not paying enough tax. If you have done nothing wrong, or even make an innocent mistake, HMRC will not be aggressive or disruptive. If you co-operative with them, they will ensure the investigation is as pain free for you as possible.

A Tax Accountant’s expertise and experience will help you greatly both financially and emotionally. As the fees that you may have to pay will be far outweighed by the amount of tax saved in direct negotiations with HMRC.

They know what the situation is and what the next move by HMRC will probably be. This means that anything unusual going on by HMRC will be noticed and prevents you from submitting too much information or making the investigation drag on longer than it should. The key is to co-operate with both your Tax Accountant and HMRC so the investigation is over quickly and as

CIS: Sub-contractor Tax in the construction industry

The Construction Industry Scheme, CIS, details payments for sub-contractors from contractors. As the name suggests, it is only applicable in the construction industry. When a contractors needs work from a different skills set (like an electrician, plasterer or plumber), the person(s) they ask to complete the work will be a sub-contractor.

The rules as to what qualifies as construction are complex and it worth seeking professional advice to ensure you are not over paying tax. If you are a sub-contractor in construction, you need register under CIS and be registered as self-employed.

As the contractor gets a sum of money for the work as an entirety, it is the contractor who is responsible for paying the sub-contractor. As it is a service based position, income tax and NI contribution are taken off the wage of the sub-contractor by the contractor and paid to HMRC at a rate of 20% of the total pay.

The tax year for any sub-contractor or self-employed persons is 6th April until 5th April the following year. During this time, all gross pay and deductions will be added together to work out a total pay. Then the profit for the sub-contractor will be worked out after deducting cost of materials and then any other business expenses such as training, travel or phone bills from the income.

If, at the end of the year, the contractor is below the personal allowance threshold (£9,440 for the year ending 2014, going up to £10,000 for the year ending 2015) they will not have to pay any tax. Therefore any tax paid by contractors to HMRC out of the sub-contractors pay will be refundable. See below example for Mr J Bloggs, a plasterer:

• Total Gross Income for Mr J Bloggs for year ending 5th April 2014: £12,000
• Total CIS deductions (tax and NI)  for the same period: £2,400
• Cost for materials and business expenses for the year: £5,900
• Profit for the year for Mr J Bloggs: £12,000-£5,900 = £6100

As we can see, the profit for the year is below the personal allowance for the year ending 2014 (£9,440). Therefore, Mr J Bloggs should not have paid any CIS deductions so he is able to reclaim the £2,400 from HMRC at the end of the year. See below example for Mrs J Smith, an electrician, when the profit for the year is above the personal allowance:

• Total Gross Income for Mrs J Smith for year ending 5th April 2014: £22,000
• Total CIS deductions paid for the same period: £4,400
• Cost for materials and business expenses for the year: £7,200
• Profit for the year for Mrs J Smith, £22,000-£7,200 = £14,800

In the above example, the profit for the year is above the personal allowance by £5,360. Therefore tax paid should equal 20% of £5,360, which is £1,072. However, we have paid £4,400 from CIS Tax deductions. This means that Mrs J Smith is eligible for a Tax refund of £3,328.

The same tax rules apply for sub-contractors and self-employed persons as those in employment meaning when you hit the upper threshold (£41,450 in the year ended 2014 rising to £41,865 for the year ending 2015) you will have to pay 40% tax on that amount. The summary is below, using the 2015 figures:

• No tax is paid on your first £10,000 earnings in the year
• 20% tax is paid on the next £31,865 of earnings (between £10,000 and £41,865)
• 40% tax is paid on any income exceeding £41,865

To try to make the above simpler, we will look at how much tax should be paid by Mrs O McKenzie who had an income (profit) for the year of £55,000:

• No tax is paid on her first £10,000 of income
• ·20% tax is paid on her next £31,865 of earnings meaning £6,373 tax payable
• 40% tax paid on her remaining £13,135 of earnings over the upper threshold meaning £5,254 tax payable
• Total amount of Income Tax payable is £11,627.

If all of her income came from sub-contracting, the amount of CIS Tax already paid would be 20% of £55,000 which is £11,000. She is due to pay £11,627 so she would have to pay HMRC an extra £627 to avoid a potential fine in the future for Tax Evasion. This profit figure is very high so most sub-contractors who register under the CIS as self-employed will get a tax refund. It is advisable that if you qualify for this scheme, you do so as it will more often than not result in you getting money back from HMRC at the end of the tax year.

There are also National Insurance (NI) contributions that need to be paid. These are more complicated as the amount you pay will vary with the amount of profit you have at the end of the year. There are different classes and different personal allowances depending upon what type status of employment you have and what your level of income is. It is worth seeking a professionals help at this point to ensure you do not make a mistake and pay the wrong amount.

If you are still confused, or think that you should get a refund, and want to know what the next step is, get in contact with us here at Tax Affinity. Use any of the contact details on the website and we will gladly assist you on the next stage.

How do you save money on Capital Gains Tax? For an Accountant this is a question which is asked regularly. But as you can always find a way to save money. Below I give you a basic insight into how CGT (Capital Gains Tax) works, some tips, exceptions and how to avoid it completely:

How does it work?  

CGT is run through the tax year (6th April one year to 5th of April the following year). It is worked out on the total of your taxable profit from any capital assets that you hold. For instance, property, bonds and shares on the stock exchange. Furthermore, it is when the amount exceeds the purchase price of a property, bond and shares/stock. The amount that is exempt (tax free) annually is £10,900 for 2013 to 2014 (which increases to £11,000 for 2014 to 2015). At present there are two different types of CGT. The basic rate taxpayers pay is 18%, although the higher rate tax payers pay is 28% and if the capital gains goes over your threshold you will pay the higher tax.

Tips to save money       

Below are some tips to keep the CGT Low as possible:

• Keep receipts and records of all assets that might get CGT.

• If you are married or in a civil partnership each spouse has their own allowance to double the amount they can keep away from the tax man.

• Paintings, antiques and other collectibles are tax efficient investments because you can sell them off as a set or individually as well.

• Unmarried partners can recommend a different home as their main home to get tax relief on both.

• And many more

Exceptions

Any profit made on selling your home is tax exempt, unless you did one of the options below:

• Rent / Let part of your property

• If you used parts of it to run a business

You can also get away with not paying tax if you make a profit on selling a car, ISA’s, Peps, UK government gifts, savings certificate, premium bonds, personal belongings that are worth £6,000 or less when you come around to selling them. Furthermore there is a 10% tax rate with the entrepreneur’s allowance, which is aimed to help people that are selling their businesses they have built up. It has a lifetime limit of £5m.

Avoid it completely

If you want to avoid paying the higher threshold of 28% there are some suggestions below:

• Spreading you gain over a longer period of time. For Example, when you want sell some shares you should sell some before 6th April and then some after because you can take advantage of two years worth of allowances (£21,800.00).

• You can deduct your capital losses against you capital gains in order to arrive at your net gains. For Example, a profit of £25,000 minus a loss of £10,000 will produce a net gain to £15,000. As you can see this has reduced it considerably and has now placed it into the lower threshold of 18%.

• The easiest, quickest and the most popular way of not paying any type of tax ( which includes CGT)is to open an ISA  as every person has a yearly allowance of £11,280 (£5,640.00 can be cash). Over 19 million of the British Public has an ISA because it keeps your income and investments away from the taxman’s grasp.  Furthermore, many investors have built up six figure sums inside ISA’s, which is all protected from HMRC.

• Make extra contributions to your pension schemes because if you add more to pensions the less income you have available to get taxed, which would come available after retirement.

• One option is for parents who have children under the age of 15 can bring down there taxable income by purchasing childcare vouchers. Every parent can sacrifice up to £243 a month of their salary for tax free childcare vouchers.

• And many more

You can defer your CGT by reinvesting it into the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). You would have a limit of £200,000. Furthermore, any profit made will be exempt if you meet the qualifying standards.

Finally, while tax avoidance is legal, tax evasion is illegal. So do not be tempted to sell assets without declaring any profit to HMRC. Defrauding the tax man can land you with a large fine or even a prison sentence.

But the advice and support of an experienced tax accountant and some sound forward tax planning can save you thousands of pounds.

By Tahir Malik at Tax Affinity Accountants

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Finance Industry to be the experts in all types of Tax including Capital Gains Tax. Helping and supporting businesses and individuals throughout the UK, they regularly help people with their CGT tax issues.

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