main office: 0117 3790810
If you are an employee or worker, you will be on a PAYE (pay as you earn) tax system, meaning tax is deducted straight from your salary – unlike the self-employed, who have to calculate and pay their own tax.
For many, this ease of use means that tax codes and deducted earning are rarely checked, which could result in over taxation.
In this blog post, we’ll cover how to find your tax code, what it means and what to do if you think you are being over taxed.
A key employment case against taxi app company ‘Uber’ has resulted in their claims of their drivers being ‘self-employed’ being rejected, with Uber drivers now being classed as ‘workers’ as opposed to self-employed.
But what does this new employment status mean, what are rights are workers entitled to and what is the so-called ‘gig economy’ – find out in our blog, with a handy infographic showing the rights of employees, workers and the self-employed in the UK.
For many businesses, a question they will face at some point as their business grows and becomes more complex is whether to keep their accountancy in-house or to outsource to an external accountant.
On one hand, an in-house accountant is likely to cost more but allows for better communication and quicker answers. On the other hand, outsourcing your accountancy gives you access to a team of experts and knowledge that an in-house accountant may not possess, but it may slow down communications.
With so many different factors to consider, let’s take a look at the main benefits and pitfalls of both outsourced and in-house accountancy.
As part of the Spring Budget, Philip Hammond announced that the main rate of National Insurance Contributions (NIC’s) for the self-employed would increase, with Class 2 NIC’s being abolished, and Class 4 NIC’s rising to 11% by April 2019.
Fortunately for the over 4.6 million Self Employed workers in the UK, the plan to hike NIC’s was scrapped. So, what is NI? What is it used for? And how much do the Self-Employed Pay?
From April 1st 2017 the national minimum wage and national living wage will be going up for workers in the UK. Find out more about the increase in this blog post, including the new rates and how you can ensure you are being paid the correct amount by your employer.
As part of the spring budget, the chancellor has pledged that small businesses and landlords that fall under the VAT threshold will have an extra year to prepare for MTD; this is considered great news for the 3.1 million small businesses that fall into this category.
The announcement comes after many small business owners voiced their concern about the digital tax timeframes, with many citing they would need to make substantial investments on administration, software and technology upgrades in order to be ready to switch on the MTD deadline. Find out more about these changes, and what they mean for small businesses and landlords.
So you’ve had your big idea, then after researching your business idea, determining your target market and sizing up your competition, you are ready to set up your business. But there is st
ill a long road ahead of you before you can consider your new business a success.
In this blog post, we’ll cover a number of topics you need to consider before starting your business and things to be aware of when you begin trading.
Continue reading
As part of the Autumn Statement, the government announced that from the 1st April 2017, flat rate VAT will be changing to a uniformed level of 16.5% for businesses that fall into the category of ‘limited cost businesses’. The current rates vary depending on the trade sector of the business but can be anything from 4% to the standard rate of 14.5%.
The flat rate tax scheme was introduced to help small businesses save time by simplifying the accounting process for VAT, making it easier to work out the VAT that they have to pay.
In this blog, we will look at why this change was made, important timescales and how this change will affect you.
HMRC have been dealing with a lot of cases challenging Entrepreneurs Relief claims on ‘Phoenix Companies’. The practice of ‘Phoenixing’ involves Directors setting up a company for a contract, then subsequently closing it down when the contract ends enabling them to claim ER tax on the business assets above the Capital Gains Tax allowance.
The directors then open up another company when they get a new contract and repeat the process. Unfortunately, poor advice has led some company Directors to carry out this practice without being aware of the negative light it is seen in by UK Company Law or for UK Tax.
In this blog, we look at ‘phoenixing’ and the new targeted anti-avoidance rules (TAAR) set in place to prevent people taking advantage of this practice and thus benefiting from lower tax rates.
If you’re a business owner, you should be aware of the big changes coming to the tax system –
with the HMRC aiming for a completely digital tax system by 2020.
This change is designed to make it quicker and easier for businesses and individuals to manage their taxes. The switch will require business owners to change their approach to tax slightly, with the biggest difference being the quarterly updating of their details to HMRC.
In this blog, we will cover what the changes to the tax system will mean for businesses, and what you can do as a business owner to ensure you are prepared for digital tax.