The voluntary and community sector will be able to apply for grants from HMRC to support their work with taxpayers who need extra assistance with their tax affairs. Eligible organisations need to bid for the funding, worth £1.8 million a year from 2024 until 2027, up from the current annual grant of £1.66 million, through HMRC's voluntary and community sector grant funding pro ...

Rules of Intestacy
UK intestacy rules are the laws that apply when someone dies without leaving a Will. In the absence of a valid Will, it is these rules that decide how a person’s estate (an estate is another word for everything they owned including money, property, possessions and debt) is distributed after they die. In other words, an individual who dies without having a Will in place is described as having died intestate, which means that the estate will be distributed according to the rules of intestacy.

HMRC increases late payment interest rate to 7.5%
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 Child Trust Funds still unclaimed
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 ...

Ward Williams wins the final at Weybridge Rowing Regatta
For the ninth year running, Ward Williams took part in the Weybridge Rowing regatta on Friday 4th August. The regatta is organised by Weybridge Rowing Club, along the River Thames. The Regatta was created as a community initiative for local businesses to meet, network and compete in a sporting environment. This year the crew was made up of Ashley Clarke, James Roberts, Alista ...

HMRC extends deadline for voluntary NICs to April 2025
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 closes self assessment helpline for three months
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 ...

Charity News: VAT update
Charities that are registered for VAT should be aware that from the start of this year the way penalties are issued for submitting late VAT returns and for paying VAT late have been amended. A new points-based system has been introduced which is designed to be more lenient for the occasional error but still penalises those who repeatedly fail to comply with their obligations. C ...

Charity News: Fundraising update
The Fundraising Regulator has published research that shows that the majority of charities are not complying fully with the requirement to disclose details of the fundraising activities in their annual report, requirements that affect charities in England and Wales with income over £1 million. Compliance was better for those charities that pay the fundraising levy, but of them ...

The duties of a Company Director
Have you ever considered what your responsibilities are as a company director? It is important to remember that as a company director good governance and board effectiveness are key requirements when making management decisions. The appointment of a new director should be more than just a tick box exercise. It is also important to remember that a director’s prime responsibil ...