Resources

R&D tax relief for SMEs

There are two schemes for claiming R&D tax relief - the Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Scheme and the R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC) Scheme for large companies.

Outcome of EU trade negotiations

Internal Market Bill becomes law

The UK Internal Market Act 2020 received Royal Assent on 17 December 2020 and came into force on 1 January 2021 following the end of the Brexit transition period. The new Act ensures that businesses can continue to trade seamlessly across all four parts of the UK as the EU’s internal market rules have come to an end. 

The UK Internal Market Act 2020 establishes 2 principles (the Market Access Principles) that apply to goods and services, ensuring the UK's shared internal market continues to operate effectively:

Child Trust Fund court fees waived

Children born after 31 August 2002 and before 3 January 2011 were entitled to a Child Trust Fund (CTF) account provided they met the necessary conditions. These funds were long term saving accounts for newly born children. The first of these children who qualified began turning 18 years of age from 1 September 2020.

More Red-Tape

True to predictions, Boris Johnson and his team achieved a trade deal with the EU to operate from 1 January 2021, and although there are generally no tariffs to pay on the movement of goods back and forth, this is far from free movement of goods.

Happy New Year

There really hasn’t been much to feel merry about during the recent holiday period.

Lock-down and the need to socially distance has kept many of us under virtual house arrest.

Thankfully, the recent announcement that the Oxford vaccine has been cleared for use offers some hope that by Easter or early summer we may be able to return to pre-COVID conditions. Can you imagine walking into a crowded bar or restaurant without the nagging fear that you may become infected?

New regulations to exempt payments made to employees for coronavirus antigen tests from NICs

The Social Security Contributions (Disregarded Payments) (Coronavirus) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 will come into force on 25 January 2021 to provide that payments made by employers to employees to cover or reimburse the costs of coronavirus (COVID-19) antigen tests are to be disregarded for NICs purposes, and so there will be no NICs liability for either the employer or the employee. The Government has also stated that a corresponding Income Tax exemption for such payments is to form part of the Finance Bill 2021.

Tax Diary January/February 2021

1 January 2021 - Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 March 2020.

19 January 2021 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 January 2021. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 January 2021)

19 January 2021 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 January 2021. 

19 January 2021 - CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 January 2021 is payable by today.

31 January 2021 – Last day to file 2019-20 self-assessment tax returns online.

Too good to be true?

Right now, any reference to a return to 2019 trading conditions seems to echo the title of this short article, too good to be true.

Common sense tells us that we are unlikely to emerge largely, COVID-free until the end of 2021 and additionally, many traders and consumers are apprehensive of the coming EU exit.

Never-the-less, we would be wise to be on the lookout for signs of optimism.

Sharing costs

Independence is a cultivated concern. We all want to be self-sufficient.

In a business environment this might manifest as having a separate Wi-Fi source even though it may be possible to share Wi-Fi with a number of business neighbours and divide the cost between you?

There will always be what-ifs to this type of co-operative effort but if the cost sharing made a joint contribution to cost savings wouldn’t it be worth exploring your options?

Retail outlets in a common location could club together to promote their mall or street.

SMP, SAP, SSP, ShPP, SPBP and SSP to rise from April 2021

According to proposals set out in a government policy paper, the revised rates for statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory adoption pay (SAP), statutory paternity pay (SPP), statutory shared parental pay (ShPP), statutory parental bereavement pay (SPBP) and statutory sick pay (SSP) for tax year 2021/22 are to be as follows:

UK VAT claims by non-EU businesses

There are special rules for businesses established outside the EU submitting a claim for VAT incurred on goods or services bought in the UK. The exact rules of what VAT is refundable can be complex. There are also a number of conditions which must be met in order for a claim to qualify.