The Shrewsbury Accountants Blog – Taxassist Accountants in Sundorne

May 31, 2011

Nigel from TaxAssist Accountants in Shrewsbury points out that it is now possible to reclaim National Insurance charged on overseas property owned by companies

HMRC have changed the rules on claiming a refund of Class 1A national insurance contributions (NIC) in connection with homes owned outside the UK through a company.

In 2008  HMRC changed the law so that the use of overseas property, such as a holiday home, no longer gave rise to a tax charge.  This was because HMRC recognised that it was unfair to penalise people who had been forced to purchase their overseas property through a company due to property ownership rules in the overseas jurisdiction.

Unfortunately, at that time, it was not possible to reclaim the Class 1A NIC paid by the company because the rules covering national insurance did not allow this. However, from 6 April 2011 the NIC rules have been changed to allow the overpaid Class 1A NIC to be refunded.  The claim must be made in writing by 6 April 2015.

If you need further advice, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our contact details can be found on our web-site.

May 27, 2011

Tax-efficient salaries and dividends for owner managed companies by Nigel Lomax of TaxAssist Accountants in Shrewsbury

Just a quick recap, following questions for some of my clients:

If you are the owner of a limited company, the most tax-efficient remuneration package for the 2011/12 tax year is an annual salary of £7,200 and dividends in  of £31,700 (profits allowing). This assume you have no other income. At this level, you will have no income tax to pay. The limited company will have been taxed on the dividend income.

There are some formalities about dividend vouchers and board minutes which we would be happy to advise on.

May 24, 2011

A warning about new VAT penalties from Nigel of TaxAssist Accountants in Shrewsbury

The so-called “period of grace” that HMRC allowed businesses to send in paper VAT returns has now expired and penalties will be charged for not filing on-line.

Please be aware that every time you send in a VAT Return on paper instead of online you will get a penalty.

The amount of each penalty will depend on your annual turnover (excluding VAT) based on the 12 months figures up to and including those on the paper return which triggers the penalty.

Where your annual turnover is less than £100,000, the fine will be £100 per return. For businesses with a turnover above this but less than £5.6m, the fine will be £200 per return.

We file all our clients VAT returns on-line for them and would be very happy to help.

May 23, 2011

News for owner-managed businesses from TaxAssist Accountants in Shrewsbury

If you do not receive our news for owner-managed businesses by e-mail, I have copied it below. Enjoy …

01743 366669

FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION

Welcome to the May edition of News for Small Business where this month our focus is on the new tax return penalties to be enforced by HMRC as part of their toughened stance on tax evasion.

‘Notice to complete a tax return’ letters have landed on the desks of small business owners across the UK and in our article below we have explained the new penalties and the impact that they will have…

Businesses flock to govt’s Red Tape Challenge site

More than 6,000 respondents have aired their views on the government’s new red tape website… read more

HMRC announces tax evasion crackdown

The department has hired additional officers in a bid to recoup an extra £500 million in tax… read more

Employer Annual Return reminder

HMRC is urging taxpayers not to delay filing their P35 and P14 documents… read more

Business confidence is ‘bouncing bank’, says FSB

Business confidence is bouncing back but job creation “remains weak”, the FSB has claimed… read more

Tax Return Penalties Introduced

Small business owners across the UK will have received their notice to file a tax return this April and, whilst the filing process may have become second nature for some, HM Revenue & Custom’s (HMRC) new penalties should encourage taxpayers to tread carefully this year for fear of facing a potential penalty of £1,300.

Previously, failing to adhere to the deadlines led to a £100 penalty. However, under the new rules not only will you receive an automatic £100 penalty, you will also be required to pay £10 per day (up to £900) if the return is more than 3 months late. Should your return be more than six months late you will receive an additional penalty…….read more

May 2011

ABOUT US

TaxAssist Accountants are the largest network of accountants who focus their accountancy skills specifically on small businesses and taxpayers in the UK.

OUR SERVICES

We specialise in

Accountancy

Tax Returns

Payroll

Tax Advice

VAT returns

CIS

Bookkeeping

WHO WE HELP

As a network we look after over 36,000 clients including.

Sole Traders

Partnerships

Limited Companies

Start up Business

Over 200 TaxAssist Accountants are located across the UK offering local accountancy services to small business owners.

NEWS

For more news affecting small businesses, please click below:

Tax News

Tax Tips

Questions & Answers

CONTACT US

01743 366669

FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION

Nigel Lomax

TaxAssist Accountants

1 Sundorne Avenue

Shrewsbury

Shropshire

SY1 4JW

www.taxassist.co.uk/nigellomax/

DISCLAIMER: Advice shared in this newsletter is intended to inform rather than advise. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this newsletter, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.

01743 366669

FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION

©2011 TaxAssist Accountants. All Rights Reserved.

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May 22, 2011

Some advice about tax credits from Nigel of TaxAssist Accountants in Shrewsbury

HM Revenue and Customs have been writing to tax credits claimants recently saying that as no tax credits are due, their claim will not be renewed for the next year.  It is important to respond to HMRC and simply request that a declaration form is sent and that the claim is renewed.

This is important as new claims for tax credits can generally only be backdated by up to three months. It will be too late to make a claim at the end of a tax year for the whole tax year, even if income for the year turns out to be low enough to have qualified.  Where income is currently too high to qualify for an award, making a claim to safeguard tax credit entitlement – a ‘protective claim’ – will mean that the claimant is ‘in the system’. It is possible to claim even if income is too high, provided the claimant meets all the other necessary conditions to qualify for tax credits.

A protective claim produces a nil award of tax credits, but this can be amended at a later date if the claimant’s income reduces unexpectedly. This could happen, for example, as a result of redundancy, or one partner giving up work to have a baby, or due to bad debts, losses or a sizeable capital allowances claim in an unincorporated business. If the claimant is not already in the tax credit system, a new claim can only be backdated up to three months.

Thanks to ICAEW and TaxTV for the prompt and content.

May 11, 2011

Please have a look at our free benchmarking report suggests Nigel of TaxAssist Accountants in Shrewsbury

We are currently offering a free bench-marking report worth £200 for all new limited company clients.

The report allows the company to rank elements of its financial performance (including sales growth and gross profits) against its competition.

Please click on the link below to see an example of the report, which gives a “traffic light” style overview of performance.

Free business bench-marking report

May 10, 2011

You may be interested in our no-nonsense client guides says Nigel of TaxAssist Accountants in Shrewsbury

We have a wide variety of clearly written guides to explain some of the most common issues encountered by small businesses. An example is the excellent explanation of the mechanics of the UK self-assessment tax system. It is a must-read for anyone newly self-employed. The guide can be accessed from the link below.

Personal_Tax_Self_Assessment client sheet

A full list of other guides can be accessed by clicking the link below. If you would like one, please contact us.

list of client guides

May 9, 2011

A quick reminder about new rights for agency workers by Nigel of TaxAssist Accountants in Shrewsbury

The Government has just  published guidance to help employers and the recruitment sector prepare for the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations, which will come into force in the UK on 1 October 2011.

The key changes as result of the Regulations will be that after a 12 week qualifying period an agency worker will be entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as if they had been directly recruited by the hirer to the same job. These include key elements of pay, duration of working time, night work, rest periods and breaks, annual leave and paid time off for ante-natal appointments. The Regulations also include new entitlements for agency workers from day one of their assignment with regards to access to facilities at the workplace and the right to be notified of any relevant vacancies

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