News
The Chancellor has announced cuts to national insurance contributions (NIC) for self-employed taxpayers and employees. The headline news from the Autumn Statement was the reduction of primary Class 1 and Class 4 NIC and the removal of compulsory Class 2… more
The Chancellor has announced cuts to national insurance contributions (NIC) for self-employed taxpayers and employees. The headline news from the Autumn Statement was the reduction of primary Class 1 and Class 4 NIC and the removal of compulsory Class 2 NIC. The main rate of primary Class 1 NIC paid by employees on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 per year will be reduced from 12% to 10%. Instead of waiting until the start of the next tax year, this change will be effective from 6.1.24, so you will need to update your payroll software before the January pay run to… more
You now have more time to consider whether making voluntary contributions is right for you. HMRC has given taxpayers an extra two years to plug any gaps in their NIC record from April 2006. The deadline for making voluntary contributions… more
You now have more time to consider whether making voluntary contributions is right for you. HMRC has given taxpayers an extra two years to plug any gaps in their NIC record from April 2006. The deadline for making voluntary contributions has been extended from 5 April 2023, as previously reported, until 5 April 2025. The deadline was first extended to 31 July 2023 and HMRC reports that tens of thousands of people have opted to make voluntary contributions since then. You normally need 35 complete years of NIC (payments or credits) in order to receive the maximum state retirement pension… more
The traditional way to hide sales from HMRC is to take payment in cash and not put it through the books. Nowadays technology helps dishonest traders to hide sales by using electronic sales suppression (ESS) software. The sale is not… more
The traditional way to hide sales from HMRC is to take payment in cash and not put it through the books. Nowadays technology helps dishonest traders to hide sales by using electronic sales suppression (ESS) software. The sale is not recorded on the normal till record and the payment may also be diverted to a non-business bank account by manipulating the card-reader. Last year HMRC raided 90 businesses involved in designing and marketing ESS software and as a result has a list of the names and addresses of businesses who bought that software. Users of ESS software may receive a… more
It is easy to forget the hidden tax rises which are created by frozen and cut allowances, so here is a quick reminder. The tax-free personal allowance will be frozen at £12,570 for six years from 2021- 22 to 2027-28… more
It is easy to forget the hidden tax rises which are created by frozen and cut allowances, so here is a quick reminder. The tax-free personal allowance will be frozen at £12,570 for six years from 2021- 22 to 2027-28 and the related marriage allowance is fixed at £1,260 for the same period. Although income tax rates have not changed, the threshold at which taxpayers start to pay higher rate tax will be frozen at £50,270 for the six years to 2027-28. With inflation running at around 10% this will pull more people into paying 40% tax every year. The… more
