Rising house prices and increases in other assets have seen HMRC launch more investigations to ensure individuals are paying the correct amount of inheritance tax (IHT), with the number of tax probes up by 5% this year. There were 5,400 investigations into IHT returns in 2017/18, an increase from 5,100 on the previous year. If an investigation finds that IHT has been underpai ...

The government has decided not to proceed with plans to abolish Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from April 2019. Class 2 NICs are currently paid at a rate of £2.95 per week by self-employed individuals with profits of £6,205 or more per year. The government had planned to scrap the Class 2 contribution and had been investigating ways in which self-employed indi ...

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, has announced that the Budget will take place on Monday 29 October. Breaking with the tradition of a Wednesday in November, perhaps in a bid to avoid the ongoing Brexit negotiations, the government is expected to set out its plans ‘to build a stronger, more prosperous economy, building on the recent Spring Statement and last yea ...

The government has issued some ‘no deal’ Brexit technical notices, with the aim of helping both businesses and individuals to prepare in the event of a UK-EU agreement not being realised. The government has published the first 25 notices. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab was keen to emphasise that reaching a deal remains the ‘overriding priority’. However, until a Withdrawal Agre ...

HMRC has published the latest edition of the Employer Bulletin. This guidance for employers, and their agents, includes articles on: Reporting your payroll information accurately and on time   Irregular payments and completion of Full Payment Submissions Starter Declaration on a Full Payment Submission (FPS) PAYE Settlement Agreements and Scottish Income Tax National Liv ...

HMRC is working with more than 150 software suppliers who have said they will provide software for Making Tax Digital for VAT (MTDfV) in time for April 2019. From 1 April 2019, businesses will be mandated to use the MTDfB system to meet their VAT obligations under MTDfV. Only businesses with a taxable turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) will be required to use ...

According to the latest statistics 121,500 first-time buyers have saved a total of £284,000,000 following the introduction of a relief for first-time buyers under the Stamp Duty Land Tax rules which apply in England and Northern Ireland. Over the next five years, it is estimated that this relief, part of the UK government’s housing policy will help over 1 million people getting ...

HMRC has launched a consultation on draft proposals to ban pensions cold calling. Under the proposals, unsolicited marketing calls relating to pensions could be banned, alongside cold calls that offer a ‘free pension review’. The government also outlined its intention to ban cold calls that promote retirement income products, such as drawdown. The consultation closes on 17 A ...

What is the Requirement to Correct? The purpose of the Requirement to Correct (RTC) legislation is to require those taxpayers with undeclared offshore tax liabilities to disclose such liabilities to HMRC on or before 30 September 2018. Those who fail to do so will face severe financial penalties. The Common Reporting Standard (automatic exchange of financial data on a global ...

HMRC has highlighted that three million UK couples have already taken advantage of Marriage Allowance but a million more are still eligible for the tax break. The Marriage Allowance allows certain couples, where neither pay tax at more than the basic rate, to transfer 10% of their unused personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner, reducing their tax bill by up to £238 ...