Late last year the NCVO published an updated version of the Charity Governance Code as part of its commitment to review the Code every three years to ensure that it reflects any changes in society. Following consultation, two key areas of the Code have been updated. Firstly, the focus of Principle 3: Integrity has been broadened. Previously it was primarily concerned with prot ...

The fourth Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant is now live and HMRC has set out the penalties for abuse of the scheme. An overclaimed SEISS grant includes any amount of grant which the self-employed individual was not entitled to receive or was more than the amount HMRC said the applicant was entitled to when the claim was made. Overpayments must be notified to ...

A new helpsheet has been published by CCEW, the Fraud Advisory Panel and others that aims to highlight some of the key areas where charities may be vulnerable to fraud as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies the following headline risks for 2021 to be aware of: Cybercrime Insider (or Staff/Volunteer) fraud Procurement fraud Financial statement fraud. T ...

Employees who are working from home will need to make new claims for tax relief for the 2021/22 tax year, HMRC has stated. From 6 April 2020, employers have been able to pay employees up to £6 a week tax-free to cover additional costs if they have had to work from home. Employees who have not received the working from home expenses payment direct from their employer can apply ...

On 19 April, a government-backed mortgage scheme to help people with 5% deposits get on to the housing ladder was made available to lenders. First announced at the 2021 Budget, the scheme will help first-time buyers or current homeowners secure a mortgage with just a 5% deposit to buy a house worth up to £600,000. The government says this will provide 'an affordable route to h ...

CCEW has published a series of simple, easy to understand ‘5-minute’ guides designed to help trustees understand their responsibilities for the management of the charities they are involved with. Five guides have been published, which cover the basic requirements of: Financial oversight Achieving a charity’s purposes Good decision making Addressing conflicts of interest ...

Since the introduction of the new 30-day window for capital gains tax (CGT) reporting and payment in April 2020, HMRC has issued over £1.3m in late filing penalties. The new law that was introduced on 6 April 2020 means that anyone selling a second home must declare and pay any CGT that is due, via HMRC’s new ‘CGT on UK property account’, within 30 days of completion or face p ...

On 21 April, the online service for applications for the fourth Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant was opened for claims, HMRC confirmed. All applications must be submitted by the individual self-employed worker and cannot be handled by accountants or tax advisers. The fourth grant will be 80% of three months' average trading profits, to be claimed from late ...

For many reasons the last year has been unique, and the impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing has been considerable. This is especially so for those working in the charity sector, where the focus will often be on trying to help others that are reliant on the charity for the help and support they need. This can often lead to very stressful situations, to the detriment o ...

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has urged HMRC to rethink the requirement for companies to report quarterly under Making Tax Digital for corporation tax (MTD for CT). In response to HMRC's consultation on expanding the MTD initiative to corporation tax, the ICAEW suggested that HMRC should reconsider reporting requirements 'at the very least ...