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New government proposals have been published that look at further extending debt solutions to help more people suffering from problem debts. The proposals specifically look at increasing the financial eligibility criteria for debt relief orders (DROs), helping more people deal with financial difficulties to get a fresh start. A DRO is a special way of dealing with debts aimed at those with minimal assets and low income. If an application for a DRO is accepted, the claimant will usually make payments over a specified period (usually 12 months)...

New figures published by HMRC have revealed that some 25,000 taxpayers have set up an online payment plan to manage their tax liabilities spreading payments of £69 million for up to 12 monthly instalments. This follows an increase in the limit for making an online payment plan to £30,000 (previously £10,000) that took effect from 1 October 2020. Taxpayers with outstanding tax liabilities may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs by using this service. The deadline for submitting your 2019-20 Self-Assessment tax returns online...

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is normally charged at a simple flat rate of 20% when you sell shares unless they are in a CGT free wrapper such as an ISA or pension. If you only pay basic rate tax and make a small capital gain you may only be subject to a reduced rate of 10%. Once the total of your taxable income and gains exceeds the higher rate threshold, the excess will be subject to 20% CGT. There is also an annual CGT exemption. This means that in the current tax year you can make £12,300 of gains before paying any CGT. The allowance applies to...

The approaching deadline for submitting 2019-20 Self-Assessment tax returns online is 23:59 on Sunday, 31 January 2021. The filing deadline is not just the final date for submission of your Self-Assessment tax return but also an important date for payment off tax due to HMRC. This includes the payment of any balance of Self-Assessment liability for the 2019-20 plus the first payment on account due for the current 2020-21 tax year. The 31 January 2021 is also the payment date for any CGT due on residential property sales made during the 2019-20...

There are simplified arrangements in place for the self-employed (and some partnerships) to claim a fixed rate deduction for certain expenses where there is a mix of business and private use. The simplified expenses regime is not available to limited companies or business partnerships involving a limited company. The fixed rate deduction can be used instead of working out the actual costs of buying and running your vehicle, e.g., insurance, repairs, servicing, fuel. The use of the simplified flat rates is entirely optional. However, once a...

There are a limited range of circumstances when a company can request to be removed from the register (known as being struck off). For example, a voluntary strike off can be requested by a dormant or non-trading company. A limited company can be closed down by getting it 'struck off' the Companies Register, but only if it: hasn't traded or sold off any stock in the last 3 months. For example, a company in business to sell apples could not continue selling apples during that 3 month period but it could sell the truck it once used to deliver...

Business Asset Rollover Relief is a valuable relief that allows you to defer payment of CGT on gains made when you sell or dispose of certain assets and use all or part of the proceeds to buy new assets. The relief means that the tax on the gain of the old asset is postponed. The amount of the gain is effectively rolled over into the cost of the new asset and any CGT liability is deferred until the new asset is sold. Where only part of the proceeds from the sale of the old asset is used to buy a new asset a partial rollover claim can be made....

The Government has announced an overhaul of the Prompt Payment Code (PPC). Under the new reforms, companies that have signed up to the PPC will be obliged to pay small businesses within 30 days - half the time outlined in the current Code. Despite almost 3,000 companies signing the Code, poor payment practices are still rife, with many payments delayed well beyond the current 60-day target required for 95% of invoices. Currently, £23.4 billion worth of late invoices are owed to firms across Britain, impacting on businesses’ cash flow and...

We will soon have the rights to turn derelict buildings into homes and community assets. In a recent press release the Ministry of Housing said: The public will be able to convert vacant plots of land and derelict buildings into new homes or community spaces, under plans announced 16 January 2021 by the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP. The ‘Right to Regenerate’ proposals would make it easier to challenge councils and other public organisations to release land for redevelopment - helping communities make better use of public land and give...

139 employers, including some of the UK’s biggest household names, have been named and shamed in a government press release for failing to pay £6.7 million to over 95,000 workers in breach of the national minimum wage (NMW) legislation. This is the first time in over two years that the government has named and shamed employers for failing to pay the NMW, as the naming and shaming scheme was paused in 2018 so that an evaluation into its effectiveness could be carried out. The scheme has now resumed but one key change is that the press release...