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The new 40% First Year Allowance (FYA) for qualifying main-rate plant and machinery expenditure first announced at Autumn Budget 2025 has now come into force.
Effective from 1 January 2026, the new FYA applies to qualifying main-rate plant and machinery expenditure. It was also announced at the recent Autumn Budget 2025 that the main
The government recently announced significant changes to the planned reforms to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR). The threshold for 100% relief will be increased from £1 million to £2.5 million when the changes take effect from 6 April 2026. The change will be introduced via an amendment to the Finance
HMRC’s figures show thousands of taxpayers are filing over the festive period, but leaving your return until late January risks penalties, stress and avoidable payment problems.
A new press release by HMRC has highlighted that 4,606 taxpayers took the time to file their tax return online on Christmas Day with a further 10,479 taxpayers
While company cars often come with tax implications, there are specific situations where the associated benefits may be exempt. There are circumstances where it can be possible to offer employees car benefits that are exempt from tax.
Exempt expenses and benefits include the following:
Business-only use: This rule has been the subject
Providing the right information when you start a new job helps ensure your tax code is correct from the first pay day and avoids the risk of paying too much tax.
When starting a new job or taking on additional employment, your new employer will usually send your income details to HMRC, which are used to calculate your tax code. If this
Verifying a VAT number before reclaiming VAT can protect your business from rejected claims, repayments, and unnecessary penalties.The online service for checking a UK VAT number is available at www.gov.uk/check-uk-vat-number. This online tool allows businesses and individuals to verify the legitimacy of a UK VAT registration number,
The trivial benefits legislation provides a simple and practical tax exemption that allows employers to give small non-cash benefits to employees without triggering tax or National Insurance charges.
To qualify as a trivial benefit, the cost to the employer must not exceed £50 per item. The benefit must not be cash or a cash voucher and
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the initiation of legal or arbitral proceedings by an employer against a ‘whistleblower’ who has made a protected disclosure constitutes an actionable detriment under the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 1996, effectively overriding the defence of Judicial Proceedings Immunity, or JPI. In November 2021, the
Making mistakes in business is unavoidable. No matter how experienced or careful someone is, decisions are made with imperfect information, time pressure and changing conditions. What separates resilient businesses from those that struggle is not the absence of mistakes, but the ability to learn from them and adapt.
The first step is
For many individuals and business owners, paying tax is one of the largest regular financial commitments they face. Yet tax bills often arrive as a shock, not because the amounts are unexpected, but because the funds have not been set aside in advance. Developing a disciplined approach to saving for tax can remove stress, protect cash
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) last met on 18 December and, in a narrow 5-4 vote, decided to reduce the interest rate by 25 basis points, bringing it down to 3.75%. All four dissenting members voted to keep the rate at 4%. This marks the sixth interest rate reduction since August 2024.
Inflation continues to fall,
Are you ready for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for IT)? This new way of reporting will become mandatory in phases from April 2026. If you are self-employed or a landlord earning over £50,000, now is the time to prepare for digital record keeping, quarterly updates and the new penalty system that will apply under MTD for IT.
The
As we move into the start of 2026, it is not that long until the current 2025-26 tax year comes to an end and there are a number of payroll annual reporting obligations that must be completed. This includes sending a final PAYE submission for the tax year. The final Full Payment Submission (FPS) needs to be submitted on or before your
For eligible businesses, the VAT Annual Accounting Scheme can reduce paperwork, smooth cash flow and replace quarterly returns with a single annual submission.
The VAT Annual Accounting Scheme is open to most businesses with a taxable turnover of up to £1.35 million per year. Businesses using the scheme are required to submit one VAT
Owning more than one home can create valuable Capital Gains Tax planning opportunities, but only if you understand how and when to nominate a property for Private Residence Relief.
Typically, you do not have to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) when you sell a property that has been your main family home. In contrast, properties that have only
Employees with company cars may be paying unnecessary tax on private fuel, when reimbursing the cost of private fuel in full can often remove the car fuel benefit charge altogether.
Where an employee is provided with a company car and fuel for private use, the default position is that the employee must pay the car fuel benefit charge.
With the 31 January deadline approaching, thousands of taxpayers are using HMRC’s Time to Pay service to spread the cost of their self-assessment tax bill rather than facing immediate payment pressure.
HMRC has reported that thousands of people have set up payment plans to help spread the cost of their self-assessment tax bill. Taxpayers
As part of the Budget measures, the government confirmed plans to make some changes to the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).
From 6 April 2026, HMRC will be able to take immediate action where a business makes or receives a payment that it knew, or should have known, was connected to fraud. In these circumstances, HMRC will have the
An extension of First-Year Allowances (FYA) for zero-emission cars and charge points was announced as part of the recent Budget measures.
This means that the 100% FYA for qualifying expenditure on zero-emission cars, and electric vehicle (EV) charge points will now be available until 31 March 2027 for Corporation Tax purposes, and until
If you live abroad and sell your UK home, you may have to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on any gain made since 5 April 2015. Only the portion of the gain made after 5 April 2015 is liable for tax. One of the most commonly used and valuable exemptions from CGT is Private Residence Relief (PRR), which applies when a property has been used as
Writing-down allowances (WDAs) are a type of capital allowance that let you deduct a percentage of an asset’s value from your taxable profits each year. In some cases, you may be able to claim more relief using other capital allowances, such as the Annual Investment Allowance or first-year allowances.
There are two rates of WDA for plant
Students that work may need to pay Income Tax and National Insurance. Employers are required to calculate the amount of tax they need to pay on the basis that the students would be working for the rest of the tax year.
This means that an overpayment of income tax can often occur when a student or temporary worker earns more than their
As an employee, you pay tax on certain company benefits, such as cars, accommodation, and loans. Your employer calculates the tax you owe and deducts it through Pay As You Earn (PAYE). The amount of tax depends on the type and value of the benefit.
Some company benefits are tax-free, including childcare support and meals provided in
A recent ruling has increased the scope of statutory protection for whistleblowers to include covered detriments against co-workers under the Employment Rights Act 1996. A Mr. Rice was dismissed by his company owner on the grounds of redundancy in February 2021. Mr. Rice asserted that his dismissal was automatically unfair, given that it
Latest News
- New First Year Allowance from 1 January 2026
08/01/2026 - More...
The new 40% First Year Allowance (FYA) for qualifying main-rate plant and machinery expenditure first announced at
- Changes to Agricultural and Business Property Relief reforms
08/01/2026 - More...
The government recently announced significant changes to the planned reforms to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and
- Did you file your tax return over the festive period?
08/01/2026 - More...
HMRC’s figures show thousands of taxpayers are filing over the festive period, but leaving your return until late
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