The Scottish government announced that they will introduce a new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) relief for first-time buyers of properties up to £175,000. The relief will raise the zero tax threshold for first-time buyers from £145,000 to £175,000, and according to the Scottish government 80% of first-time buyers in Scotland will pay no LBTT at all. The Scottish gove ...
Proposals to extend pensions auto enrolment to younger workers
The government has announced proposals to extend pensions auto enrolment to include younger workers and to amend the way in which contributions are calculated. According to the press release: ‘The review’s recommendations, which will now be progressed and legislated for where necessary, will see: automatic enrolment duties continuing to apply to all employers, regardless o ...
HMRC warning about iTunes gift card scam
HMRC are urging people to stay safe from a phone scam that is conning elderly and vulnerable people out of thousands of pounds. The scammers are preying on victims by cold calling them and impersonating an HMRC member of staff. They advise the victim that they owe a large amount of tax which they can only pay off by digital vouchers and gift cards, including Apple’s iTunes vouc ...
Paying HMRC? Not at the post office or by credit card
With many individuals having tax payments to make at the end of this month it is important to be aware that HMRC have announced that they will no longer accept payments made at the Post Office or by credit card. HMRC have announced that with effect from 15 December 2017 it will no longer be possible to make payments to HMRC at a post office. The reason for this change is that ...
Scottish Draft Budget
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay delivered the 2018/19 Scottish Draft Budget on Thursday 14 December 2017 setting out the Scottish government’s financial and tax plans. The Scottish government has the power to set the rates and bands of income tax (other than those for savings and dividend income) which apply to Scottish resident taxpayers. Since 6 April 2016 the rates and band ...
Non-resident Landlord Scheme
Non-UK resident individuals face a UK tax charge on their UK source income only (and capital gains tax on the sale of residential dwellings situated in the UK – see below). If an individual is eligible to claim the tax free personal allowance in the UK (by virtue of the terms of a Double Taxation Agreement or citizenship etc.), they pay income tax in the UK on the proportion o ...
Delay in the abolition of Class 2 NIC
The government has announced that it will introduce legislation, to abolish Class 2 national insurance contributions (NIC) and to make further proposed NIC changes in 2018. The measures the legislation will implement, will now take effect one year later than previously announced, from April 2019. These measures include the abolition of Class 2 NIC paid by self employed individ ...