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If your business operates in a sector covered by the Money Laundering Regulations, you must be monitored by a supervisory authority to ensure compliance. This article outlines who needs to register with HMRC for anti-money laundering (AML) supervision.
Your business must be registered with a supervisory authority if it operates in a
Employers can generally claim tax relief on contributions made to a registered pension scheme by deducting those payments as an expense when calculating their business profits. This reduces the amount of taxable profit and therefore lowers the overall tax bill.
For businesses involved in a trade or profession, employer pension
Speculation is growing that rates or allowances applied to dividend income may change in the next Budget.
The current tax rates for dividends received (in excess of the £500 dividend tax allowance) are as follows:
8.75% for basic rate taxpayers will pay tax on dividends
33.75% for higher rate taxpayers will pay tax on
Bereaved spouses who lost service pensions before 2015 have until 15 October 2025 to claim a one-off £87,500 recognition payment.
This scheme was launched in October 2023 to help war widows and widowers who lost their service-attributable pensions due to remarriage or entering new relationships before 2015. Since the scheme was launched,
Fraudsters are continuing to target taxpayers with scam emails as the deadline for submission of self-assessment returns for the 2024-25 tax year gets ever closer. In the 12 months to 31 July 2025, HMRC received more than 170,000 reports of suspicious contact from the public, of which more than 45,000 related to fake tax refund claims.
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Issuing a VAT invoice without registration or authorisation can lead to HMRC penalties, even if it is done by mistake.
A penalty may be charged by HMRC when an individual or business issues an unauthorised VAT invoice showing or including VAT without being allowed to do so. The invoice does not need to be a formal VAT invoice; it only
Mr. Aslam, a former Metroline employee, applied to another bus company on 13 April 2019, disclosing that he suffered from partial hearing loss, depression, anxiety, insomnia and stress, and was interviewed on 14 May 2019. He disclosed that he had been dismissed by his former employer on the grounds of capability and was actively pursuing
Working capital is a simple but powerful measure of a business’s financial health. It is the difference between current assets and current liabilities. In other words, it shows what is left when a business’s short-term debts are taken away from its short-term resources such as cash, stock and money owed by customers.
If the result is
Every business has a duty to pay tax, whether that is Corporation Tax, VAT, PAYE, or personal tax liabilities for the owners. While these payments are predictable, many businesses still find themselves short of cash when the due dates arrive. One way to reduce this risk is to create a cash deposit reserve specifically set aside to cover
Paying Corporation Tax? Always use the correct reference or risk delays and penalties.
To pay Corporation Tax via online or telephone bank transfer, you can use either a UK or overseas bank account.
UK Bank Accounts
You can transfer funds using Faster Payments, CHAPS, or Bacs, either online or by calling your bank. Faster Payments
Not all goods and services carry a 20% VAT, knowing the right rate can save costly mistakes.
When a VAT-registered business issues an invoice to their customer, they must ensure that they charge the correct rate of VAT. Whilst most businesses in the UK charge VAT at the standard rate of 20% there are a number of different VAT rates and
Using your own car or bike for work travel? You may be able to claim tax relief for business mileage.
If you are employed and spend your own money on items needed for your job, you may be eligible to claim tax relief on those expenses. However, you can usually only claim tax relief on items that are exclusively used for work
Not sure if a business cost is deductible? HMRC’s ‘wholly and exclusively’ rule is the key test.
When deciding whether an expense is deductible or not it is important to bear in mind that the expenditure must be incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of your trade or employment. This is a difficult starting point as there is
Thinking of gifting income to a spouse or partner? HMRC’s settlements rules may still tax it as your own.
The settlements legislation is contained in s.624 ITTOIA 2005. The legislation seeks to ensure that where a settlor has retained an interest in property in a settlement then the income arising is treated as the settlor’s income for
Thinking of starting a company at 16? Know the rules, risks and responsibilities before you take the leap.
The Companies Act 2006 does not set a minimum age for shareholders, meaning even minors can hold shares unless a company’s articles of association explicitly state otherwise. However, the minimum age for a company director in the UK
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves has confirmed, in a video message, that the next UK Budget will take place on Wednesday, 26 November 2025.
Details of all the Budget announcements will be made on a special section of the GOV.UK website which will be updated following completion of the Chancellor’s speech in November.
HM
1 October 2025 - Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 December 2024.
19 October 2025 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 October 2025. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 October 2025.)
19 October 2025 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 October 2025.
From 13 October 2025, access to Companies House WebFiling will require GOV.UK One Login. This replaces the older Government Gateway sign-in and is part of the wider move towards a single, more secure login across government services.
When you next log into WebFiling after that date, you will be prompted to connect your existing account
Running a small business comes with plenty to juggle, and while insurance might not be the most thrilling task, it is absolutely essential. There is one policy you are legally required to have: employers' liability insurance (EL). If you employ anyone, EL covers legal and compensation costs if someone falls ill or gets injured at work.
From 2024, platforms like eBay, Vinted and Airbnb must report seller data to HMRC, so check your tax responsibilities.
If you sell goods or services on a digital platform it is important to understand your tax responsibilities. This can apply whether your sales are a part-time income source or your main income. Even casual selling online
The letters in your tax code indicate whether you are entitled to the annual tax-free personal allowance. These codes are updated each year and help employers calculate how much tax should be deducted from your salary.
For the current tax year, the basic personal allowance is £12,570. The tax code corresponding to this amount is 1257L,
Employers must ensure they are paying staff at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or National Living Wage (NLW). The NMW and the NLW are the minimum legal amounts that employers must pay their workers. The latest NMW and NLW rates took effect on 1 April 2025. The current hourly rate for the NLW is £12.21. For those aged 18 to 20, the
Gift Hold-Over Relief is a form of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) relief that allows you to defer paying CGT when certain assets, such as qualifying shares, are given away or sold for less than their market value, typically to benefit the recipient.
Instead of paying tax at the time of the gift, the gain is "held over" and passed on
Gifting assets can cut inheritance tax, but traps like “gifts with reservation of benefit” may undo the plan.
The majority of gifts made during a person's lifetime are not subject to tax at the time they are made. These lifetime transfers are known as "potentially exempt transfers" (PETs). A PET becomes fully exempt
Latest News
- Who needs to register for anti-money laundering supervision
18/09/2025 - More...
If your business operates in a sector covered by the Money Laundering Regulations, you must be monitored by a
- Tax relief for employer contributions to a pension scheme
18/09/2025 - More...
Employers can generally claim tax relief on contributions made to a registered pension scheme by deducting those
- Dividend taxes will they increase?
18/09/2025 - More...
Speculation is growing that rates or allowances applied to dividend income may change in the next Budget. The current
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