Personal Tax

HMRC have announced that they are looking closely at landlords operating short-term property lettings, which are typically booked through online property sites such as Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO and Holiday Lettings. This is in an attempt to “stamp out” what HMRC sees as tax evasion within this sector. HMRC is writing to ‘a small number of customers who might have earned income ...

The Bank of England (BoE) has raised the base rate of interest to the highest level in 14 years. The BoE raised interest rates for the tenth consecutive time on 2 February with a half point increase taking the base rate from 3.5% to 4%. The decision was taken after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of seven to two to increase the base rate by 0.5%. The ...

Workers have saved more than £114 billion into their pension pots since pensions automatic enrolment was implemented ten years ago, according to data published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The data showed that more than 10.7 million employees were paying into a workplace pension in 2021. The proportion of young people saving into a pension has more than doubl ...

The Department for Work and Pensions has published its annual rate increases for 2023/2024. These changes will take effect in April 2023.  The rate for statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and parental bereavement pay will increase to £172.48 per week (previously £156.66). The rate for statutory sick pay will increase to £109.40 per week (previously £99 ...

HMRC has issued a new round of one-to-many letters aimed at persons of significant control (PSCs) who have declared income of under £100,000 or who have not submitted a tax return.

The government had previously announced that there would be a cut in the basic rate of income tax, from 20% to 19%, from April 2024. This was to be accelerated so that it took effect from April 2023. However, whilst the government aims to proceed with the cut in due course, this will only take place when economic conditions allow and a change is affordable. The basic rate of in ...

HMRC will raise interest rates on tax debt from 11 October following the 0.5% increase in the base rate. This means that the late payment interest rate will increase to 4.75% from 11 October 2022. The rate last increased to 4.25% on 23 August. This is the highest rate since the height of the financial crisis in January 2009. Late payment interest is payable on late tax bills ...

In September 2021 the government published its proposals for new investment in health and social care in England. The proposals were intended to lead to a permanent increase in spending not only in England but also by the devolved governments. To fund the investment the government introduced a UK-wide 1.25% Health and Social Care Levy based on the National Insurance contributio ...

Economic analysts have warned that the rate of inflation could keep rising in 2023 as a result of rising energy prices. Think tank the Resolution Foundation stated that inflation could go above 15%, whilst investment bank Citi said that it is ‘entering the stratosphere’ and could reach 18.6%. Predictions outlined by the Bank of England (BoE) have suggested that inflation coul ...

The Treasury Committee has urged the government to provide assurance that it is not ‘flying blind’ into a potential Emergency Budget this September. In a letter sent to Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, Mel Stride, Chair of the Treasury Committee, asked whether the Treasury is working with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on a forecast to be published with any potential Emer ...