HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has released a “tax simplification” update confirming that the reporting and paying of income tax and class 1A national insurance contributions (NIC) on benefits-in-kind (BIK) via payroll software will become mandatory from April 2026. This follows the changes made during the 2022/23 reporting season whereby amendments to P11Ds had to be completed ...

Are you a director of a limited company? If yes, you should check if you are required to register for Self-Assessment and if your personal tax return includes the relevant income from your company, along with other income you have received in the year. Who should apply for Self-Assessment? Company Directors are required to file Self-Assessment Tax Returns if the following ap ...

Financial gifts can make a huge difference for children and grandchildren but care needs to be taken to ensure they are carried out tax efficiently.

Lifetime gifting could include making cash gifts from surplus income, charitable giving and taking advantage of annual exemptions and the small gifts exemption.

Self assessment taxpayers must be on the lookout for scam texts, emails and phone calls from fraudsters, HMRC was warned. HMRC has received more than 130,000 reports about tax scams in the past year, with 58,000 of those offering fake tax rebates. With around 12 million people expected to submit a self assessment tax return for the 2022/23 tax year before the 31 January 2024 ...

The frozen Savings Allowance combined with rising interest rates will push over one million taxpayers into paying tax on their savings this tax year, according to research by investment platform AJ Bell. In the 2023/24 tax year it is estimated that over 2.7 million individuals will pay tax on interest, up by a million in a year. This year's predicted total includes nearly 1.4 ...

HMRC has increased interest rates with late payment bills charged 7.5% from 11 July, the highest rate since 2001. The move follows the Bank of England's June increase in the base rate with HMRC also increasing the rate paid on repayments of tax. The Bank increased the base rate to 5% from 4.5% on 22 June, the 13th consecutive rise. The late payment and repayment interest rat ...

Almost a million young people have yet to access savings contained in Child Trust Funds (CTFs), according to a report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC said over £1.7 billion is waiting to be claimed by a million young adults, at an average value of £1,900 each. It says ‘failure in long-term planning’ by HMRC means 42% of eligible 18-20-year-olds have n ...

HMRC has extended the voluntary national insurance contributions (NICs) deadline until 2025. Extending the voluntary NICs deadline until 2025 will give people more time to consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them, and also ensures individuals do not miss out on the possibility of boosting their State Pension entitlements. The original deadline was ext ...

HMRC is planning to close its self assessment tax helpline for three months over the summer to focus call centre resources on dealing with other problem calls. All calls to the helpline will be redirected to digital services over the period to give HMRC time to deal with other more urgent phone enquiries. The helpline will be closed for three months from Monday 12 June until ...

Following the Bank of England’s latest increase in the base rate, HMRC has increased both late paid tax and the rate paid on repayments of tax. The Bank increased the base rate to 4.5% from 4.25% on 11 May, the 12the consecutive rise. The late payment and repayment interest rates follow this rise and are applied to the main taxes and duties that HMRC currently charges and pay ...