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From April 2025, more low-income workers on Universal Credit can join Help to Save. Save up to £50/month and get a 50% bonus - up to £1,200 over 4 years. A simple way to build your savings. The eligibility rules for the Help to Save scheme were extended on 6 April 2025. This means that the scheme is now open to more than 550,000 across the UK. The scheme is now available to anyone working and receiving Universal Credit. The Help to Save scheme is intended to help those on low incomes to boost their savings. Eligible users of the scheme can...

Skip the phone queues. Your Personal Tax Account lets you manage everything from tax codes to refunds online. Quick, secure, and all in one place. If you haven’t signed up yet, now’s the time. Your Personal Tax Account (PTA) is a simple and secure way to manage your tax affairs online. If you want to complete tasks like checking your tax code, claiming a refund, or updating your details, this can all be done in one place. This offers a practical alternative to contacting HMRC by phone or post, helping you stay on top of your finances with...

MTD for Income Tax kicks off in April 2026 for those earning over £50k. Digital records, quarterly updates, and tougher penalties are on the way. If this affects you, it’s time to get ready. Designed to modernise the tax system and improve accuracy, MTD will significantly change how Income Tax is reported and paid. With less than a year until the first group of taxpayers must comply, now is the time to prepare. MTD for Income Tax will become mandatory for self-employed individuals and landlords with annual business or property income...

A reminder that increases to the rate of National Insurance contributions (NICs) that are paid by employers came into effect on 6 April 2025. The main rate of secondary Class 1 NICs has increased to 15% (from 13.8%). This applies to earnings above the secondary threshold for employees. In addition, both Class 1A and Class 1B employer NIC rates—typically applied to benefits-in-kind and PAYE settlement agreements—have also increased in line with the main secondary rate. The Class 1 NICs secondary threshold, the level at which...

From April 2025, holiday lets lose their special tax treatment. Landlords must prepare for new Income, Capital Gains, and Corporation Tax rules. Here's what’s changing. The repeal of the Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) regime, a long-standing arrangement that offered tax advantages for individuals and companies letting out properties on a short-term basis, has now come into force. The removal of these benefits will affect both Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax from 6 April 2025, and Corporation Tax (including chargeable gains) from 1 April...

The new VAT road fuel scale charges applicable from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2026 have been published. The changes amend the VAT scale charges for taxing private use of road fuel to reflect changes in fuel prices. HMRC has released new VAT fuel scale charges effective from 1 May 2025. If your business provides fuel for private use, updated rates apply from your next accounting period. Here’s what’s changed. The new fuel scale charges must be used by companies from the start of their next prescribed accounting period beginning on or after 1 May...

A school inspector dismissed for brushing water off a pupil’s head won his unfair dismissal claim against OFSTED. Mr. Hewston worked as a Social Care Regulatory Inspector and, on the 8th of October 2019, during a school inspection, he brushed water off the head and touched the shoulder of a young boy who had been caught in a rainstorm. The school reported the incident to OFSTED as a case of ‘inappropriate touching’ in an 11-page letter. Disciplinary proceedings were instituted, and he was summarily dismissed for gross misconduct, despite his...

Want to make the most of your pension savings? You could claim up to 45% tax relief on contributions, plus carry forward unused allowances. Here’s how to boost your retirement pot with generous HMRC incentives. Tax relief on private pension contributions is generally available up to 100% of your annual earnings, subject to specific limitations. The relief is applied at your highest rate of Income Tax, which means: Basic rate taxpayers are eligible for a 20% pension tax relief. Higher rate taxpayers can claim a 40% pension tax...

Struggling with unpaid invoices? If you've paid VAT to HMRC but never received payment from your customer, you may be able to reclaim that VAT. Learn how bad debt relief works and whether switching to cash accounting could ease your VAT woes. The VAT bad debt relief provisions enable businesses to reclaim VAT that has been paid to HMRC when a customer fails to pay for goods or services within a reasonable period. This typically applies when an invoice has been issued, but payment has not been received for an extended period (usually six months...

Use a company car for personal trips? Avoid a hefty tax charge by reimbursing your employer for private fuel by 6 July 2025. It’s called “making good” - and it could save you a chunk in tax if your private mileage is low. To avoid the car fuel benefit charge, an employee must "make good" the cost of all fuel used for private journeys no later than 6 July following the end of the relevant tax year. This means that the employee needs to reimburse the employer for any private fuel used during the 2024-25 tax year by this...