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There are special procedures for importing goods into the UK. Following the end of the Brexit transition period, the process for importing goods from the EU effectively mirrors the process for all other international destinations. Businesses, especially those that only trade with EU, should be aware of the rules and be working accordingly. Businesses can make customs declarations themselves or hire a third party such as a courier, freight forwarder or customs agent to do the paperwork. HMRC lists the ...
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When VAT registered traders issue an invoice to a customer, they must seek to ensure that the correct rate of VAT is charged. Whilst most businesses in the UK charge VAT at the standard rate of 20% there are a number of different VAT rates and exemptions that need to be observed. In the UK, there are three separate VAT rates, the standard rate @ 20%, the reduced rate @ 5% and the zero rate @ 0%. Also, there are ...
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There are special rules concerning the liability to IHT on a transfer made during a person's lifetime. Most gifts made during this period are not subject to tax at the time of the gift. These lifetime transfers are known as 'potentially exempt transfers' or 'PETs'. The gifts or transfers achieve their potential exempt status if the taxpayer survives for more than seven years after making the gift. If the taxpayer dies within three years of making the gift, then the ...
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There are a number of ways a director can extract money from their limited company. The money can usually be withdrawn in one or more of the following ways. For most directors, the optimum way to minimise personal tax liabilities will be using a combination of these methods.

1. Salary, expenses and benefits
2. Dividends
3. Director’s loan

Salary, expenses and benefits Directors must ensure they are employed as an employee of their company and their salary is paid via PAYE ...
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The Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) is a benefit for those usually aged over 18 who are either not working or who are currently working less than 16 hours per week. Applicants must be capable of working and actively looking for work. There are three different types of JSA. However, two of these JSAs, the contribution based JSA and Income-based JSA are no longer available to new applicants. The New Style JSA replaced the contribution-based JSA and works in the same way ...
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Travel options for going abroad are slowly starting to reopen. From 17 May 2021, international leisure travel from England will no longer be illegal but strict border control measures remain in place. There are 3 different levels of restrictions for travelling abroad and returning to the UK based on traffic light system designation of green, amber and red countries. Business travel is also expected to show some slow growth spurts as the requirements become slightly less onerous. Given these changes, ...
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The instructions to tax your car on the GOV.UK website is reproduced below: To tax your car, motorcycle or other vehicle you will need to use a reference number from:

• a recent reminder (V11) or ‘last chance’ warning letter from DVLA
• your vehicle logbook (V5C) - it must be in your name
• the green ‘new keeper’ slip from a logbook if you have just bought it

If you do not have any of these documents, you will need ...
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As lockdown is being eased and opportunity to holiday opens, we felt it might be useful to set out bank holiday dates for the UK regions for the rest of this year. England and Wales - 2021 Date Day Holiday 31 May Monday Spring bank holiday 30 August Monday Summer bank holiday 27 December Monday Christmas Day (substitute day) 28 December Tuesday Boxing Day (substitute day) Scotland - 2021 Date Day Holiday 31 May Monday Spring bank holiday 2 August ...
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In most cases, individuals hold cryptoassets (such as Bitcoin) as a personal investment, usually for capital appreciation in its value or to make purchases. They will be liable to pay Capital Gains Tax when they dispose of their cryptoassets. This includes:

• selling tokens
• exchanging tokens for a different type of cryptoasset
• using tokens to pay for goods or services
• giving away tokens to another person (unless it is a gift to your spouse or civil partner)

If the ...
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HMRC’s online guidance note for residence, domicile and the remittance basis: RDR1 is intended for UK residents and non-residents and covers the residence, domicile and remittance basis rules from 6 April 2013 and onwards. For most taxpayers, it will be clear whether they are resident in the UK. However, for taxpayers with complex circumstances the statutory resident test (SRT) will help provide more clarity as to their residency status in the UK. UK residents are usually taxed on the arising ...
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The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is a set of special rules for tax and National Insurance for those working in the construction industry. The CIS covers all construction work carried out in the UK, including jobs such as:

• site preparation
• alterations
• dismantling
• construction
• repairs
• decorating
• demolition

Exceptions to the definition of construction work includes professional work done by architects and surveyors, carpet fitting, scaffolding hire (with no labour) and work on construction sites that’s clearly not construction. The ...
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We would like to remind readers that existing legislation is in place to ensure that COVID support grants are treated as taxable income in the same way as other taxable receipts. The grants are treated as income where the business is within the scope of either Income Tax or Corporation Tax. This treatment extends to the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme, any coronavirus business support grant scheme ...
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When an employee incurs costs for the provision of mobile phones to employees it is important to understand the correct tax treatment of these expenses. This includes costs for phones provided to employees and reimbursement of employee’s own phone costs. As a rule, the provision of one mobile phone to a director or employee for private use is exempt from reporting requirements, tax and National Insurance. The exemption covers the phone itself, any line rental and the cost of private ...
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HMRC has begun sending the annual tax credit renewal packs to some 2.5 million tax credit claimants and is encouraging recipients to renew their tax credits claim online. The packs are being sent out over the next 6 weeks and should be with recipients by 4 June 2021. A renewal is required if the pack has a red line across the first page and it says, 'reply now'. Families and individuals that receive tax credits should ensure that they renew ...
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A new scheme, aptly named Breathing Space, was launched 4 May 2021. Breathing Space will give those facing financial difficulties space to receive debt advice, or mental health crisis treatment, without pressure from creditors or mounting debts. Under the scheme, people will be given legal protections from their creditors for 60 days, with most interest and penalty charges frozen, and enforcement action halted. They will also receive professional debt advice to design a plan which helps to get their finances ...
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A salary sacrifice arrangement is effectively an agreement to reduce an employee’s entitlement to cash pay, usually in return for a non-cash benefit. This can include items such as company cars, childcare vouchers and additional employer pension contributions. The tax and NIC advantages of certain benefits provided as part of a salary sacrifice arrangement were removed from 6 April 2017. The change effectively removed the Income Tax and employer NIC advantages of certain benefits provided as part of salary sacrifice ...
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HMRC must be informed when a non-trading or dormant company starts trading again and becomes active for Corporation Tax. Companies can use HMRC Online Services to supply the relevant information. When a company has previously traded and then stops, it would normally be considered as dormant. A company can stay dormant indefinitely, however there are costs associated with doing this and certain filings must still be made to Companies House. The costs of restarting a dormant company are typically less ...
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The transfer of a business as a going concern (TOGC) rules concern the VAT liability of the sale of a business. Normally the sale of the assets of a VAT registered or VAT registerable business will be subject to VAT at the appropriate rate. Where the sale of a business includes assets and meets certain conditions the sale will be categorised as a TOGC. A TOGC is defined as 'neither a supply of goods nor a supply of services' and ...
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As with Income Tax personal allowances, taxpayers have an annual exempt amount for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) which is forfeited if not used. The annual exemption for individuals in 2021-22 is £12,300. Whilst most taxpayers are aware of their annual tax-free allowance and the exemption for the qualifying sale of the family home there are other items that are exempt from CGT. These include:

• your car
• personal possessions worth up to £6,000 each, such as jewellery, paintings or antiques
...
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If you have taxable income of less than £17,570 in 2021-22 you will have no tax to pay on interest received. This figure is calculated by adding the £5,000 starting rate limit for savings (where 0% of the interest is taxable) to the current £12,570 personal allowance. However, it is important to note that if your total non-savings income exceeds £17,570 then the starting rate limit for savings is unavailable. There is a tapered relief available if your non-savings income ...
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