HMRC Archives | Page 3 of 13

What does it mean to be a Director?

May 23, 2023/in 2023, Directors, HM Revenue and Customs, HMRC, Limited company/by Taxfile

Your obligations as a Director can be ‘taxing’.

Running a successful limited company typically involves administrative duties outlined by Companies House & HMRC. As the director you’ll also be responsible for ensuring the finances of the company are regulated and healthy. At Taxfile we can help you focus on growing your business and take care of all your accounting needs.

In order to fulfil your obligations, after your limited company’s financial year comes to a close, it must prepare a set of final accounts and a company corporation tax return.

The company’s final accounts are prepared from the company’s financial records for the period that covers your company’s financial year and must include:

a balance sheet showing the value of everything the company owns, owes and is owed on the last day of the financial year
a profit and loss account showing the company’s sales against its running costs and highlighting the profit or loss it has made over the financial year
notes about the accounts
a director’s report (unless you’re a ‘micro-entity’)

The accounts must either meet ‘International Financial Reporting Standards’ or ‘New UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice’.

At Taxfile we can provide support for small to medium businesses that require accountants to compile and file their full company accounts ready for the shareholders, people of significance to the company, Companies House and HMRC as part of your company corporation tax return.

We can assist you with the bookkeeping and bank reconciliation to ensure that your accounting records are complete and include:

all money received and spent by the company
details of assets owned by the company
debts the company owes or is owed
stock the company owns at the end of the financial year
all goods bought and sold

As the director you are solely responsible that your accounts and tax return meet the deadlines for filing with Companies House and HMRC. From the accounts you can also deduce how much Corporation Tax to pay. The dates you will need to remember:

File the first set of accounts with Companies House 12 months after the date you registered with Companies House
File annual accounts with Companies House 9 months after your company’s financial year ends
Pay Corporation Tax or tell HMRC that your limited company does not owe any 9 months and 1 day after your ‘accounting period’ for Corporation Tax ends
File a Company Tax Return 12 months after your accounting period for Corporation Tax ends
File a Confirmation Statement 12 months after: company incorporated, company accounts submitted, or last confirmation statement

As a Director do I need to file a Self-Assessment Income Tax Return?

See our blog HERE

If you are thinking about setting up a limited company we are offering a special price of £375+VAT for the following;

company formation (including the option to have the company phrased as a special purpose vehicle for a property rental company)
we will register a single director with HMRC for self-assessment
we set up the payroll scheme
we arrange your chart of accounts on online software and set up the bank feed so transactions are automatically recorded

For more information about any of our tax- and accountancy-related services, call us on 020 8761 8000.

TODAY is the deadline for submission of your tax return. Contact Taxfile for help filing & avoid a minimum £100 fine!

31st January was the Self Assessment Tax Return Deadline!

January 29, 2023/in 2021, 2022, Accountancy, Accountants, Deadline, HMRC, Self-assessment, South London, Tax accountants, Tax advice, Tax advisers, Tax returns, Taxfile, Tulse Hill/by Mark

[As at 1 February 2023]: The 31st January was the Self Assessment tax return and tax payment deadline. Miss the deadline and you’ll be in for a £100 HMRC fine right away. Interest will also be charged from 1 February, as usual, if tax is not paid by midnight on 31 January (rules apply). Time is short, so contact Taxfile for help with your tax return as soon as possible please. Book an appointment* with one of our helpful tax advisors and accountancy experts TODAY — we’ll make it easy!

020 8761 8000 Book Appointment Get Started Here

Tax-Free Personal Allowance Thresholds & Tax Bands (2022/23 to 2016/17)

May 28, 2022/in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, Accountancy, Accountants, Annual threshold, Band rates, Dulwich, HMRC, London, Personal allowance, Personal Tax Account, South London, Tax, Tax accountants, Tax advice, Tax advisers, Tax calculation, Tax-free allowance, thresholds, Tulse Hill/by Mark

Today we look at the tax-free allowance thresholds for what’s officially known as the tax-free Personal Allowance in the tax and accountancy world.

The Tax-Free Personal Allowance

This is the amount a UK individual can earn as income before they have to pay any Income Tax. In the current tax year (6 April 2022 to 5 April 2023) individuals can earn up to £12,570 before they have to start paying Income Tax, as you’ll see in the first table. In other words, if their taxable income is two thousand pounds more than that, they’ll only have to pay income tax on the extra £2000, not the core £12,570. There are exceptions, and different rules applied before 2016/17, but our aim is to keep things simple in this guide rather than focusing on more rare exceptions. So, below, we show the Personal Allowance thresholds for tax-free income over the last 7 tax years. As you will see, the Tax-Free Personal Allowance has gradually increased over the years.

Tax Bands for Basic Rate, Higher Rate and Additional Rate Taxpayers

The tables also show the various tax bands for earnings above the Personal Allowance threshold. These are the Basic Rate, Higher Rate and Additional Rate income tax bands, with tax rates increasing the more people earn. The information might be useful if you owe income tax from previous years but bear in mind that anyone born prior to 6 April 1948 may be entitled to a larger Personal Allowance.

Please note: this guide focuses only on Income Tax. Taxpayers will also need to allow for other deductions like National Insurance, which we’ll cover in a separate guide, and things like pension contributions, any student loan interest repayments, any tax on dividends, and so on.

Tax-Free Allowance Thresholds 2022/23

For the tax year 6 Apr 2022 to 5 Apr 2023:
The first £12,570 (your Personal Allowance) is tax-free*
Earnings between £12,571 and £50,270 are taxed at 20% (‘Basic Rate’ income tax)
Earnings between £50,271 and £150,000 are taxed at 40% (‘Higher Rate’ income tax)
Earnings over £150,000 are taxed at 45% (‘Additional Rate’ income tax)

* For every £2 earned above £100,000, the Personal Allowance is reduced by £1. It therefore reduces to zero for earnings of £125,140 or more.

Tax-Free Allowance Thresholds 2021/22

For the tax year 6 Apr 2021 to 5 Apr 2022:
The first £12,570 (your Personal Allowance) is tax-free*
‘Basic Rate’ earnings between £12,571 and £50,270 are taxed at 20%
‘Higher Rate’ earnings between £50,271 and £150,000 are taxed at 40%
‘Additional Rate’ earnings over £150,000 are taxed at 45%

* For every £2 earned above £100,000, the Personal Allowance is reduced by £1. It therefore reduces to zero for earnings of £125,140 or more.

Tax-Free Allowance Thresholds 2020/21

For the tax year 6 Apr 2020 to 5 Apr 2021:
The first £12,500 (your Personal Allowance) is tax-free*
‘Basic Rate’ earnings between £12,501 and £50,000 are taxed at 20%
‘Higher Rate’ earnings between £50,001 and £150,000 are taxed at 40%
‘Additional Rate’ earnings over £150,000 are taxed at 45%

* For every £2 earned above £100,000, the Personal Allowance is reduced by £1. It therefore reduces to zero for earnings of £125,000 or more.

Tax-Free Allowance Thresholds 2019/20

A Personal Message from Guy Bridger at Taxfile

January 29, 2022/in 2020, 2021, 2022, Accountancy, Accountants, Advice, Deadline, Dulwich, Filing deadlines, Guy Bridger, HMRC, Income tax, Late return, London, Online returns, payment plans, payments on account, penalties, Self-assessment, Self-employed, Sole traders, South London, Tax, Tax accountant, Tax accountants, Tax advice, Tax advisers, Tax agents, Tax calculation, Tax returns, Taxfile, Tulse Hill/by Taxfile

Dear Taxfile Client,

We’re aware that many people are struggling right now. So, I wanted to personally touch base with you to confirm that, although the official deadline for submission of 2020/21 self-assessment tax returns and tax payments is Monday (31 January), there is now some extra time this year. This is great news for you if you are concerned about missing the deadlines or having to pay an HMRC penalty for being late. It should really take the pressure off for those who are struggling or worried.

For self-assessment tax returns, you now have until midnight on 28 February to submit. HMRC will only charge you a late filing fee if you file later than this.
For self-assessment tax payments, you now have until 1 April to make your payment (or arrange an HMRC payment plan) before incurring an HMRC late tax payment surcharge. While you will still incur interest for late tax payments from 1 February, HMRC’s interest rate is only 2.75% per annum, so even a month’s interest is unlikely to equate to much for most people.
For tax payments on account (payment in advance for the next tax year), there is no HMRC surcharge/penalty if you’re late but it does attract interest. However, again, that’s only at HMRC’s low rate, so is unlikely to amount to much for most.

We are here to help you, so don’t worry if you owe tax or are running late on your tax return. The Taxfile team can help you sort things out, particularly as we have a little longer than usual. We can work something out during February if you are worried about HMRC surcharges, interest and deadlines. Please get in touch if so.

020 8761 8000 Book Appointment Get Started Here

Lastly, don’t forget that we are open on Saturdays during January and February (by appointment) and open later (until 6pm) on Mondays and Tuesdays. Read more

Taxfile Covers Clients for HMRC Enquiries

December 1, 2021/in Accountancy, Accountants, Corporation tax, Fee protection cover, HMRC, HMRC enquiry, HMRC investigation, Payroll, Self-assessment, Tax returns, VAT, VAT returns/by Mark

Did you know that Taxfile’s clients are protected from HMRC enquiries, for example for tax returns and similar submissions we make to HMRC? Through a simple, low-cost fee, Taxfile promises to liaise with HMRC on clients’ behalves should HMRC ever want further clarification of figures submitted. This includes HMRC queries following a tax return, VAT return, corporation tax return or payroll submission made by us. Usually, protecting clients from this type of HMRC investigation could mount up in terms of cost, as it can sometimes take hours to deal with, even for tax experts like us. However, with Taxfile’s low cost cover, it’s all covered automatically (within reason, of course*).

The enquiry cover costs only …

£5 for a self assessment income tax return;
£10 for a VAT return;
£25 for a corporation tax return;
£4 for a payroll submission.

(VAT extra). Most accountants would charge you a considerable sum for this level of protection against HMRC enquiries. However, at Taxfile, we spread the cost through the whole business and, as a result, the cost to clients is a fraction of what it could otherwise be. We hope you agree that it’s a very small price to pay for such peace of mind, should the worst happen.

Tax Advisers & Accountants in Tulse Hill & Dulwich, South London

Do ask a staff member if you would like more information or, indeed, if you would like any tax or accountancy help. Telephone 020 8761 8000 or contact us here. We are Read more

New 30-Day Rules for Capital Gains on Residential Property

July 22, 2021/in 2020, 2021, 2022, Accountancy, Accountants, Annual exempt amount, Buy to let, Capital gains tax, CGT, Dulwich, Furnished Holiday Lettings, HMRC, Holiday lettings, Key dates, Land and property, Landlords, Lettings, property, Property investment, Self-assessment, South London, Tax, Tax advice, Tax advisers, Tax return, Tax returns, Taxes, Taxfile, Tulse Hill/by Mark

New rules have now come into force in relation to capital gains made on disposals of UK residential property*. Several key actions are now required if a taxable capital gain has arisen, including some that now need to be made fast:

Taxpayers need to report the property’s disposal within 30 days of the actual disposal;
They will need to pay the estimated Capital Gains Tax (‘CGT’) to HMRC within 30 days of the disposal.
Those who fill in and submit a Self-Assessment tax return will also need to include details of the disposal on their return.

Who Do the New CGT Rules Apply To?

The new rules apply whether you’re an individual, joint property owner, trustee, partner in a partnership or LLP, or a personal representative.

What Counts as a Residential Property Disposal?

The new rules apply to all UK residential property that was disposed of (taken as the date of the exchange of contracts) since 6 April 2020 inclusive, where a capital gain was made that will require payment of CGT.

To fall within the rules, a UK residential property must be one that:

is suitable for use as a dwelling, or;
is being built or adapted for use as a dwelling.

It can be one in which the the owner has never lived or has lived for only part of the period they owned it. It can also be a rental property or a holiday home.

Where a property has been used for mixed purposes, only the capital gain that’s equivalent to Read more

Faiz from Taxfile – Helping the Community with Tax Problems

June 22, 2021/in Accountancy, Accountants, Accounts, HMRC, Landlords, NI, NIC's, P60, Partnership, PAYE, Self-assessment, Self-employed, Subcontractor, Tax, Tax advisers, Tax affairs, Tax agents, tax experts, tax rebates, Tax refunds, Tax return, Tax returns, Taxes, Taxfile, Tulse Hill/by Taxfile

Hello; I’m Faiz Mazloumiar. I have been working for Taxfile since May 2005, mostly doing tax returns for subcontractors, self-employed individuals, partnerships and landlords. I specialise in helping clients who, for whatever reason, have fallen behind in their tax affairs, assisting in making disclosures to HMRC whilst trying to minimise the penalties imposed on them over the years. I always aim to put our customers first by calling HMRC to try to cancel recent years’ penalties, then I submit any outstanding tax returns. When I submit the tax returns I also do an appeal for older years’ penalties to be revoked. In many cases HMRC accept my appeals and clients get their money back for anything they have had to pay. I am always fighting for my clients and I have been known to battle on behalf of them for over a year.

I also help many people in our local community who are on PAYE but perhaps do not know if they are paying the right tax and NI contributions. It is a little like charity work. When people from the local community bring in their P60, I will check it and give them advice on how to contact HMRC and ask for a refund if they have overpaid. When new clients come with any problems, they are usually very stressed and anxious and sometimes don’t understand the intricacies of the UK tax system. We aim to help them with their tax problems, so they can leave us feeling relieved and a little happier. When I help clients they trust me and I have grown my client base only through recommendations. It is very exciting and satisfying for me to be able to help my clients and community as a whole.

Contact Taxfile, South London’s Favourite Tax Accountants

For any tax- or accountancy-related needs, contact us. We’d love to help! Call Faiz direct on 020 8655 7891 or speak to our main switchboard on 020 8761 8000. Alternatively message us your tax-related query here. We also offer a free 20-minute introductory appointment and this is available in person, through a video call (Zoom, Teams etc.) or via telephone — whichever you prefer. We are accountants and tax advisors in Tulse Hill and Dulwich, South London.

This post was brought to you by Faiz at Taxfile.

PAYE, 2021/22 Tax Thresholds, Employment Allowance & P800s

June 8, 2021/in 2021, 2022, Accountancy, Accountants, Accounts, Bookkeeping, Dulwich, Employment allowance, FreeAgent, Higher rate tax payers, Income tax, Limited companies, London, NI, NIC, NIC's, P800, Pay-as-you-earn, PAYE, Payroll, Personal allowance, Sage, Software packages, South London, Tax, Tax accountants, Tax advice, Tax advisers, Tax bands, tax rebates, Tax refunds, Taxfile, Tulse Hill, VAT, Xero/by Taxfile

My name is Daniel and I have been a part of the Taxfile family since 2007. It started as a part-time job doing bookkeeping, but as time went on, I developed new abilities and a deeper understanding of the tax world. PAYE, VAT, and Company Register are now my areas of expertise.

I understand how complicated the tax world is, so here are a few PAYE things to consider:

Understanding the tax thresholds for 2021-2022

PAYE is calculated based on how much you earn and whether you are eligible for the personal allowance.

Standard Rate: PAYE income tax is charged at 20%, less a personal allowance of £12,570, this is signified by tax code 1257L.
Higher Rate: For most, income over £50,270 to £150,000 is charged at 40%.
Additional Rate: Income above £150,000 is charged at 45%.

What is the Employment Allowance?

The Employment Allowance allows certain businesses that employ workers to reduce their annual National Insurance (NI) bill by up to £4,000 (for the 2021/22 tax year).
Eligible businesses can claim a reduction against their employer’s Class 1 NI liability up to a maximum of £4,000 each tax year. You can still claim the allowance if the liability was less than £4,000 in a tax year.

You can’t claim if you’re a company with only one employee paid above the Class 1 National Insurance Secondary Threshold (£8,840 for the 2021/22 tax year, up from £8,788 for the 2020/21 tax year) if that employee is also a director of the company.

How will I know if I haven’t paid the right amount of PAYE?

HMRC will send out a P800 tax calculation form after the tax year ends on 5 April, which you should receive by the end of November. This will show how much tax is due to be refunded, or is owed for previous years.

Another significant aspect of Taxfile is that it works with a wide range of accounts software (Sage, QuickBooks, Xero, FreeAgent, VT, Forbes, Moneysoft, and so on) and can accommodate everyone. These are just a few examples, but if you need assistance with any area of PAYE, VAT, or other types of tax, Taxfile and the team are here to help. Call Taxfile on 020 8761 8000, book a free appointment (in-person and phone or video call options are available) or simply message us your tax-related query and we’ll be happy to help. We are accountants and tax experts in South London.

This post was brought to you by Daniel at Taxfile.

Peace of Mind from Using an Experienced Tax Team

June 3, 2021/in 2021, Accountancy, Accountants, Accounts, Advice, Bookkeeping, HMRC, Income tax, London, Self-assessment, SME, Sole traders, South London, Tax accountant, Tax accountants, Tax advice, Tax advisers, Tax agents, tax experts, Tax return, Tax returns, Taxes, Taxfile, Tulse Hill/by Taxfile

When using Taxfile, you are using an experienced team that will make dealing with your tax affairs seamless. A lot of clients start by coming into our office stressed and overwhelmed, not knowing where to start. Using your current position and needs, we plan a step-by-step approach to keep you on top of your affairs and the relationship between you and HMRC harmonious. Once you are officially on board with us, we will have access to your HMRC record and, with our dedicated agent lines to HMRC, we’ll be able to speak to them on your behalf. This way, you are free from having to call them yourself and wait longer than we do for a call handler. You can also have any issues or queries explained to you in an easy to understand way by our friendly team. If you receive any letters that from HMRC and you don’t understand anything, we will be able to take a look for you and explain what it’s all about.

Any fee you pay Taxfile is tax deductible, so will be put on your tax return and result in a reduction of tax.

Our up-to-date knowledge of the tax system will give you peace of mind, alleviate any anxiety you may have and make the whole experience very different to how a lot of people find it when they are not using a team like ours. We know the best way to approach a tax situation that, without our experience and knowledge, could otherwise result in a lot more time and money being spent unnecessarily. From something as small as missing a tax return deadline, it can spiral into something a lot bigger, potentially including penalties, late payment interest, debt collection agencies being involved and so on. We inform all our clients of upcoming deadlines, for their particular tax situation, and let them know what needs doing and when, avoiding this situation and many more.

Unlike a lot of other companies, our tax experts and accountants are approachable, accessible and happy to help. We’re a unique tax advisor and accountancy practice like no other, with offices in Tulse Hill and Dulwich. We can help with any tax-related issues, including bookkeeping, filling in a tax return, limited company accounts, help accounting for property lettings, tax refunds and anything accountancy-related. Call Taxfile on 020 8761 8000, book a free 20-minute appointment with us (remote or in-person options available) or simply email us your tax-related query here.

This post was brought to you by Julie at Taxfile.

Taxes & Cryptocurrency

May 20, 2021/in 2020, 2021, Alt Coins, Bitcoin, Capital gains tax, CGT, Crypto Assets, HMRC, Income tax, Stocks & Shares, Tax, Taxfile, Trading Crypto Coins/by Taxfile

According to HMRC, ‘cryptoassets’ are cryptographically secured digital representations of value or contractual rights that can be:

transferred
stored
traded electronically

There are various types of cryptoassets including exchange tokens, utility tokens, and security tokens. HMRC does not consider cryptocurrency to be currency or money & their complete Cryptoassets Manual can be found HERE.

As far taxes are concerned, investing in cryptocurrency is akin to investing in other assets such as stocks, bonds, and the sale of rental properties. This means that capital gains and losses rules apply when you ‘dispose’ your assets, and in this case your cryptocurrency.

HMRC explains that disposals include:

selling cryptocurrency for money
exchanging cryptocurrency for a different type of cryptocurrency
using cryptocurrency to pay for goods or services
giving away cryptocurrency to another person

Any of the above situations subject any profits to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and the simple formula for calculating capital gains (or losses) is:

Fair Market Value – Cost = Profit or Loss

The fair market value is the market price of the asset at the time that you sold, traded, or disposed of it. The cost is the price you paid at the time of the purchase.

Although this is a simple and logical calculation, calculating CGT on your profits becomes a bit more complex when you have multiple transactions to account for. The UK requires a specific type of method for calculating the cost basis of your coins known as Shared Pool Accounting also known as a 104 Pool.

With the shared pooled accounting method, you are essentially Read more