HMRC has warned young people in the UK to 'stay vigilant' in order to avoid falling victim to 'Springtime' tax refund scams. Criminals often target young individuals or the elderly as these groups of people are likely to be less familiar with the UK tax system. During the months of April and May, criminals often bombard taxpayers with tax refund scams at the same time as genui ...

With the end of the tax year looming there is still time to save tax for 2018/19. Make full use of your ISA allowance - ISAs can offer a useful tax free way to save, whether this is for your children's future, a first home or another purpose. Individuals may invest up to a limit of £20,000 for the 2018/19 tax year. Savers have until 5 April 2019 to make their 2018/19 ISA inv ...

From 6 April 2019, new legislation will change how UK employers provide payslips to their workforces. More specifically, under the new system employers will have to deliver itemised payslips to every worker on their payroll, not just those classified as ‘employees’. Current legislation does not require payslips to be issued to contractors, freelancers, and other types of ‘non-e ...

The Insolvency Service has urged individuals saving for retirement to protect their pension pots from criminals and ‘negligent trustees'. Research carried out by the Service found that criminals use a range of tactics to convince savers to part with their funds, including persuading individuals to access their pension and invest in unregulated schemes. Pension scam victims lo ...

Since 2017, HMRC has captured millions of callers’ voice data on its Voice ID system by encouraging the caller to say a key phrase instead of the conventional password to gain access to their accounts. However, non-profit organisation Big Brother Watch warns that people have been ‘railroaded into a mass ID scheme by the back door’ and has reported HMRC to the Information Commi ...

New probate fees, due to come into force from April 2019, will see a banded system of probate fees for all estates valued over £50,000. Currently a flat fee of £155 is payable upon a probate application made by an accountant (as an authorised provider of probate services) or £215 for an application made by an individual. These fees were set in 2014 and raise £45m per year, whi ...

HMRC is urging VAT-registered UK businesses which trade exclusively with the EU to be prepared for a no deal Brexit. In a letter sent to 145,000 affected businesses, HMRC explains changes to Customs, Excise and VAT procedures in the ‘unlikely event’ that the UK leaves the EU without a Brexit deal. HMRC’s letter advises businesses to take three actions ahead of ‘Brexit Day’ on ...

HMRC have updated the list of deliberate tax defaulters. The list contains details of taxpayers who have received penalties either for: deliberate errors in their tax returns deliberately failing to comply with their tax obligations HMRC may publish information about a deliberate tax defaulter where an investigation has been carried out and the taxpayer has been charged ...

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is reminding employers that from 6 April 2019, the amount that will need to be paid into a workplace pension will increase to an overall minimum of 8%, with employers contributing at least 3% of this total amount. TPR is now starting to write to all employers to remind them of their duties. TRP website provides further information on the increases ...

The CCEW has issued an alert to charities following a National Fraud Intelligence Bureau alert highlighting the insider threat from fraudsters and cyber criminals. Research from the CCEW published earlier in the year found that in the vast majority of cases where fraud was committed in charities, the primary enabling factor was the lack of appropriate internal controls in place ...