Spring Budget 2024 – High Income Child Benefit Charge Income Tax
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) came into force January 2013 and has applied to taxpayers whose income exceeds £50,000 in a tax year and who are in receipt of child benefit. It was announced as part of the Spring Budget measures that the income threshold at which HICBC starts to be charged will be increased from £50,000 to £60,000 effective from 6 April 2024.
The HICBC is charged at the rate of 1% of the full Child Benefit award for each £200 (2023-24: £100) of income between £60,000 and £80,000. (2023-24: between £50,000 and...
Tax on savings interest
If you have taxable income of less than £17,570 in 2023-24 you will have no tax to pay on interest received. This figure is calculated by adding the £5,000 starting rate limit for savings (where 0% of the interest is taxable) to the current £12,570 personal allowance. In addition, there is also a Personal Savings Allowance (PSA). This allowance ensures that for basic-rate taxpayers the first £1,000 interest on savings income is tax-free (effectively allowing qualifying basic-rate taxpayers to receive up to £18,570 in tax-free interest per year). For higher-rate...
Tax-free child care
HMRC is reminding parents that they may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) to help pay for school holiday childcare costs.
The TFC scheme can help parents of children aged up to 11 years old (17 for those with certain disabilities). The TFC scheme helps support working families with their childcare costs. There are many registered childcare providers including childminders, breakfast and after school clubs and approved play schemes signed up across the UK. Parents can pay into their account regularly and save up their TFC allowance to use during school holidays.
The TFC scheme provides...
Spring Budget 2024 – NIC changes
As had been widely expected, the Chancellor announced further changes to National Insurance contributions (NIC) rates for employees and the self-employed.
There will be a further 2% cut in the main rate of Employee National Insurance from 6 April 2024. This will see Class 1 NICs reduced by 2% from 10% to 8%. This is on top of the earlier reduction, announced as part of the Autumn Statement measures, which reduced Class 1 NICs from 12% to 10% on 6 January 2024. When both of these changes are taken together, the Treasury say this will save the average worker on £35,400 over £900 a...
Check your National Insurance record
There is an online service available on HMRC to check your National Insurance Contributions (NIC) record online. The service is available at https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record
In order to use this service, you will need to have a Government Gateway account. If you do not have an account, you can apply to set one up online.
By signing in to the 'Check your National Insurance record' service you will also activate your personal tax account if you have not already done so. HMRC’s personal tax account can also be used to complete a variety of tasks in real time such as...
Spring Budget 2024 - VAT registration threshold changes
The taxable turnover threshold that determines whether businesses should be registered for VAT increased to £90,000 from 1 April 2024. The previous limit was £85,000. The taxable turnover threshold that determines whether businesses can apply for deregistration was also increased from £83,000 to £88,000 on the same date. It had been previously announced that the rates would be frozen until 31 March 2026. However, the Chancellor’s announcement makes the first change in 7 years to the rates and has been designed to help SMEs.
Businesses are required to register for...
Company confirmation statement changes - Corporate Governance & Regulation
As well as filing accounts with Companies House, there is an important requirement to check that the information Companies House has about your company is correct every year. This is facilitated by the filing of an annual company confirmation statement. Companies House can prosecute a company and its officers for failing to file a confirmation statement and the company can be struck off.
Companies House guidance on the confirmation statement entitled Filing your company's confirmation statement has been updated with new measures introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate...
Assistance with debt management
Earlier this month, saw the 10th anniversary of the StepChange Debt Charity’s annual Debt Awareness Week. This is designed to shine a spotlight on the causes of problem debt.
The focus on this year's campaign is looking at the main barriers to getting debt advice. This includes understanding that many people can take too long to get the help they need because they:
- Don’t understand what debt advice is and how it works;
- Are dealing with anxiety, stress or a mental health condition;
- Are worried about my credit file;
- Never have enough time to get debt advice; or
- Feel ashamed and do...
What are the off-payroll working rules?
The rules for individuals providing services via an intermediary such as a personal service company (PSC) are complex. The rules apply if the worker who provides services to a client through their own intermediary would have been an employee if they were providing their services directly to that client.
The off-payroll working rules usually shift the responsibility for deciding whether the intermediaries’ legislation applies, known as IR35, from the intermediary itself to the client receiving the service. In most cases, the client will be responsible for determining the employment status...
HMRC helpline changes on hold
HMRC has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown on plans to close the Self-Assessment, VAT and PAYE helplines from early April until September this year. HMRC has now confirmed that these helpline changes have been abandoned following feedback from many concerned stakeholders, including MPs, accountants and members of the public. This means that the helplines will remain open as usual for the time being.
However, these moves indicate that a significant shift towards online self-service options will become the norm in the longer term. HMRC has also said that they will continue encouraging...
Tax Diary April/May 2024
- 1 April 2024 - Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 June 2023.
- 19 April 2024 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 April 2024. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 April 2024).
- 19 April 2024 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 April 2024.
- 19 April 2024 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 April 2024 is payable by today.
- 30 April 2024 – 2022-23 tax returns filed after this date will be subject to an additional £10 per day late filing penalty for a maximum of 90 days.
- 1 May 2024 - Due date for corporation...
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