Boost Your State Pension with Voluntary National Insurance Contributions

Boost Your State Pension with Voluntary National Insurance Contributions

/in , , , , , , , /by

Boost Your State Pension with Voluntary National Insurance Contributions

As we approach retirement, ensuring a comfortable financial future becomes a top priority. The state pension, a crucial source of retirement income, is dependent on the number of qualifying years of National Insurance (NI) contributions you have made. While gaps in your NI record can diminish your state pension entitlement, there’s a solution: voluntary NI contributions.

To receive the full state pension, you need 35 qualifying years of NI contributions. These years typically accumulate as you work, with contributions automatically deducted from your salary. However, there may be instances where you may not have earned enough to make mandatory NI contributions, leading to gaps in your record. Read more

Pension Contribution Deadline Extended

Deadline for Voluntary Insurance Contributions Extended to 5th April 2025

/in , , , , , , , , /by

Deadline for Voluntary Insurance Contributions Extended to 5th April 2025

The original deadline for buying National Insurance ‘credit’ was 31st July 2023, but you can now ‘buy’ incomplete years to boost your state pension until 5th April 2025. The extension was approved by the Government, giving HMRC more time to deal with the process.

You can view our original blog on what you need to do to plug the gaps in your National Insurance contributions here.

Boost State Pension by Plugging Gaps in National Insurance

Boost State Pension by Plugging Gaps in National Insurance

/in , , , , , , , , /by

IMPORTANT: the video mentions the original deadline in April 2023. This has now been extended to 5th April 2025.

Do you have gaps in your National Insurance record? If so, it could mean that you could get a lower State Pension when you reach state retirement age, particularly if you are aged between approximately 45 and 70 at the moment. Generally speaking, you need 10 years of contributions for a basic state pension and around 30 to 35 years for a full state pension. It does vary by circumstance though and, even with gaps, some people might have enough qualifying years for the full state pension already.

Urgently Check Whether You Have National Insurance Gaps

Our advice is to urgently check whether you do have any gaps in your National Insurance record. If so, in many cases it would be wise to make some one-off payments to plug any gaps for the years 2006 to 2016. However, there is limited time to do so despite the deadline for this opportunity having been extended from early April to the end of July 2023 [UPDATE: This has now been extended again to 5th April 2025]. Thereafter, the chance to fix all 11 years from 2006 to 2016 will be gone forever. Read more

TAX HELP! Your 1-stop tax shop

Taxfile: Your One-Stop Tax & Accountancy Shop

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

TAX HELP! Your 1-stop tax shop

Taxfile has over 100 years of combined tax and accounting experience. It’s incredible to think that the key personnel have administered over 30,000 tax submissions in the past 20 years! Beginning way back in 1994 (and continuing as Guy Bridger Limited from 1997), we originally started business offering only CIS sub-contractor returns but quickly developed the service to help the self-employed, local businesses and higher rate taxpayers with their tax computations. Along the way we added tax and accounting services for taxi drivers, cab drivers, landlords and more. We also offer Capital Gains tax expertise and tax investigation help and, more recently, professional help with disclosures, written tax advice and tax planning for things like inheritance.

We have exceptional accounting experience in all key tax and accounting areas including:

Taxfile helps individuals as well as businesses. Our customers are very varied, turning over anything from £10,000 to over £1 million a year. A few are high wealth individuals who no longer need to work but still need to account for their taxes etc. Some customers have retired, others operate small businesses and some don’t even live in the UK but may have assets here. So, whatever your income, assets or situation, the message is that if you need ANY tax-related help, you’ve found the right place in Taxfile.

Taxfile also has the back-up and expertise of professional bodies on tap (so nothing is too complicated for us) and also has excellent relations with the tax authorities — we’re very well trusted by HMRC. Guy even helps in the local employment zone, which aims to improve business in the Tulse Hill and West Norwood area. So, Taxfile is very much part of the local community, particularly in South London (but expanding to other areas too — keep an eye on this blog for forthcoming information about that in the very near future).

Whatever help you need with tax and accountancy-related matters, call Taxfile on 0208 761 8000 and we’ll be delighted to help you. Alternatively, Read more

Autumn Newsletter 2016

Taxfile’s Autumn Newsletter 2016

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Taxfile's Autumn Newsletter 2016

Taxfile's Autumn Newsletter 2016Hot off the press is our brand new Autumn newsletter for 2016. If you haven’t yet seen it, take a look because it’s jam-packed full of useful information that’ll help you keep your tax affairs and accounts in order, save you money and keep you up to speed on tax matters. Here’s a quick flavour of what’s included (or click the thumbnail image to view or download the newsletter):

  • Act fast to save money on your 2015-16 tax return – see the newsletter’s first article.
  • Sub-contractors working in the construction industry are invited to claim their CIS tax refunds through Taxfile, so they have their refund in time for Christmas!
  • Help if you’re late with any previous years’ tax returns and tax payments — and how you already owe HMRC at least £1300 if you haven’t filed your 2014/15 tax return or paid tax for that year.
  • Try the UK’s Number 1 cloud-based accounts package FREE, for a month. No credit card required – cancel at any time – full details are included in the newsletter. [UPDATE: Please note that this offer has now expired].
  • Help if your tax affairs are in a mess — are you late filing returns or paying tax? Are you worried about HMRC penalties? Are you a foreign worker, working in the UK, and need to get your tax records up to date following the Brexit decision? We’re here to help!
  • Taxfile are Finalists in the ‘Independent Firm of the Year, Greater London’ category of the British Accountancy Awards 2016.
  • Free tax enquiry Fee Protection Insurance for Taxfile customers who file their tax returns by the statutory deadline through Taxfile.
  • How online banking may save you time and money.
  • Introduce a new client to Taxfile and save 10% on our fees!
  • Saturday opening at Taxfile (Tulse Hill office) throughout November and December.
  • Help with all your tax and accounting needs – check out our list of all the things we can help you with — now including auto enrolment!
  • And a ‘thank you’ to all Taxfile customers … Read more
Help for Auto Enrolment

Professional, Affordable Help with Auto Enrolment

/in , , , , /by

Help for Auto Enrolment

Good news – one less burden for Employers!

If you are an employer, you’ll no doubt know about the new Automatic Enrolment scheme that was recently imposed on UK businesses. For most employers, it’s yet another unwelcome administrative burden. However, it’s not all bad news; in fact, Taxfile has some excellent news to share with you …

As you probably know, compliance with the new Automatic Enrolment scheme is not optional. Virtually every UK employer has to choose and commit to a Workplace Pension Scheme, liaise with every employee, administer all the paperwork and comply with the various rules, regulations and deadlines. It’s a massive administrative burden. However, the good news is that Taxfile can handle it all for you! Our prices are incredibly affordable too. So — it’s a no-brainer!

Let Taxfile handle your Auto Enrolment for you

For a simple, affordable fee, Taxfile can help your company or organisation with:

  • Monitoring, compliance and administration of your Auto Enrolment duties. We’ll handle it all, on your behalf;
  • Registering your compliance with The Pensions Regulator at the correct intervals;
  • Integrating Auto Enrolment pension payments into your company payroll (if we handle payroll for you), so the right level of pension contributions, tax and NI is paid in relation to salaries;
  • If you and all your employees are eligible and want to opt out of Auto Enrolment, we’ll help you accomplish that too, within the rules.
  • If you’ve missed your ‘staging date’ and want to minimise any penalty and get back on track, we can also help with that.

With Taxfile handling it all for you, you can get on with

Read more
Free accounting software package

AMAZING OFFER! Save Time, Money & Space with a FREE Sage Bookkeeping & Accounts Package!*

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Free accounting software package[UPDATE: Please note that this offer has now expired]. Taxfile’s customers can benefit from an incredible offer on a range of Sage accounting packages at the moment. We’re offering a FREE or, in effect, heavily subsidised* Sage accounting package to all active Taxfile customers, whether existing or new. There are various different packages available so we’re sure we’ll have one which will suit every customer perfectly. The list of benefits is almost endless — here are just a few:

  • Firstly we’ll GIVE* Taxfile customers the package — you don’t have to pay Sage at all;
  • Say hello to quick and easy bookkeeping and record-keeping;
  • Quick and easy cash flow management tools;
  • Cloud-based record keeping means you can access accounts records from anywhere with an internet connection;
  • Automatic bank statement integration makes bank reconciliation a breeze, helping when receipts go missing and even recognising – and accounting for – regular transactions;
  • A mobile app module allows you to simply snap a photo of your receipt and it uploads to your Sage account (say goodbye to physical receipt storage!);
  • Less paperwork!
  • Automatic tax computations performed by the software;
  • Report and analysis options;
  • VAT handling;
  • Automatic VAT return options (or let us handle it for you as you prefer);
  • Shows you the taxes and National Insurance due so you can easily pay them on time;
  • Fast and easier tax returns;
  • Help from Taxfile at any point and from Sage’s own helpful videos;
  • Helps you stay in line with UK laws, taxes and regulations;
  • No experience needed;
  • Perfect for the self-employed, start-ups and small businesses;
  • Taxfile will even be happy to set you up;
  • Integrated invoicing and quotation options available (even from your mobile phone!);
  • A quick and easy payroll bolt-on is also available for limited companies, with payslips, RTI, Auto Enrolment integration etc.;
  • Auto enrolment communications included if you have a company pension scheme;
  • Option to automatically integrate online e-commerce records into your Sage account;
  • Fast and easier company accounts preparation;
  • … and much more!

But there is more major benefit – collaboration with us, your accountant!

The Sage packages we supply are not only free, or in effect heavily subsidised depending on the package involved, but also allow us, your accountant and tax adviser, to collaborate with you within your Sage package with your permission. So where you cannot do something yourself, we can log in using our own integrated Sage administration system to get involved on your behalf, for example to set things up for you, run reports, activate VAT returns, tax returns, end of year accounts, payroll and so on. It’s amazing really! So you do as much or as little as you want to … and we cover everything else!

You save money!

Using the easy but powerful Sage bookkeeping and accounting packages supplied by Taxfile
means that you’ll save money. It’s as simple as that. Customers using such packages makes our job easier, reducing our chargeable hours working on your accounts, so quite simply saves you money!

You also save time!

Our Sage packages will save you SO much time you’ll never look back! Once you’ve tried our Sage packages for a while you’ll Read more

The Chancellor’s Budget, March 2014

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

The Chancellor, George Osborne, has now presented his March 2014 Budget to Parliament. There was lots of talk about the economy, growth forecasts, supporting UK businesses and employment – as well as some obvious political spin bearing in mind the European and General Elections are just around the corner – however we thought we’d concentrate on the most important changes, mainly in relation to tax itself as that’s what is going to affect Taxfile customers and readers the most. So here is our snapshot:

For individuals:

  • The threshold before earnings are subject to income tax (the ‘tax-free personal allowance’) is set to rise to £10,500;
  • The higher rate of tax will kick in for earnings above £41,865 from April 2014, rising again to £42,285 in 2015;
  • The first part of the ‘Help to Buy’ equity loan scheme for those aspiring to buy a new home is to be extended until 2020 (previously 2016);
  • The Stamp Duty on homes worth over £500k is to increase to 15% for those which are bought by companies;
  • Inheritance tax will be scrapped for members of the emergency services who “give their lives protecting us”;
  • Cash and Shares ISAs will be merged into a single New ISA (“NISA”). The annual tax-free limit for the NISA will be £15k (£4k for junior equivalent) from 1 July 2014.
  • From April 2015, pensioners will no longer be forced to buy an annuity with their pension fund. They will now be able to cash in as much or as little as they want to from their pension pot.
  • From June 2014, the amount people will be able to invest into Premium Bonds will increase to £40k (from £30k). From 2015 this will rise again to Read more