Posts

Furlough Scheme Extended until End of September

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

Furlough Scheme Extended until End of September

In The Chancellor’s 2021 budget speech it was announced that the furlough scheme would be extended until the end of September 2021, to protect the jobs and livelihoods of the UK population during the pandemic.

The Government will pay employees 80% of the hours not worked through to the end of June 2021.  As the country opens up it will then offer 70% with the employer to contribute the other 10%, then in August through to the end of September they will ask the employer to pay 20% while the Government covers the remaining 60%, so the employee continues to receive the 80% of their income for the hours not worked.

If you or your business need help setting up a payroll and help with the furlough scheme, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 020 8761 8000.

Mortgage Holidays ENDING

/in , , , , /by

Mortgage Holiday Deadline Looming

Could you do with a few months’ mortgage holiday?

The availability of a three month mortgage holiday was first announced in March 2020, as part of a package of support for individuals as COVID-19 spread rapidly through the UK.  For the 1.8M people that took up the initiative in March, the holidays came to an end in June 2020, while the pandemic still raged on.

Mortgage lenders then announced their own support if your income had been affected by the pandemic, with a repayment holiday of up to a maximum of six months.

If you have not taken any holidays on your mortgage payments yet, you can apply for a payment holiday of up to six months in total.  However, you should continue to make payments if you can afford to.  The deadline for applying for a repayment holiday is 31st March 2021, so act now if you have not applied for a mortgage holiday and are still suffering a cash flow constraint due to the pandemic. Applying by end of March can still get you a mortgage holiday until 31 July 2021.

Your payment holiday can be up to a maximum of six months. If you have already taken the full six-month payment holiday, you cannot apply for another one, however your lender might be able to help you in other ways.  Contact them so you don’t miss a mortgage payment and adversely affect your credit rating.

If you have already taken a payment holiday but not for the full 6 months, then this can be extended up to the maximum term. However, it’s in your best interests to start your repayments again if you can afford to.

Note that cancelling your direct debit is not a payment holiday and will be counted as a missed payment if it has not been agreed with your lender — possibly resulting in your credit file being adversely affected and impacting your ability to re-mortgage.

The main options your lender may consider for repayment once your mortgage payment holiday period is over are:

  • Spreading your deferred payments over the outstanding term of your mortgage by increasing your monthly mortgage repayments.
  • Increasing the length of your mortgage term, resulting in a smaller increase in your monthly repayments.
  • Making interest-only or capital-only repayments during your mortgage holiday.

There is help for you out there and it can be flexible, but ultimately it needs you to ACT NOW. Call your lender by 31 March or you will simply miss out.

Bounce Back Loan Applications & Top-Ups ENDING

/in , , , , , , /by

Bounce Back Loan Scheme: applications & top-ups deadline (31 March 2021)

Applications for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) come to a close on 31st March 2021.

The purpose of the scheme was to allow small businesses, regardless whether they were sole traders, partnerships, or limited companies, a way of getting a cash flow worth 25% of their turnover (within the range of £2-£50k) to support them during the pandemic.  This is a great way to get a cash injection with a very small interest repayment (2.5% over 6-years, where the Government will pay the first 12 month’s interest on your behalf).

The deadline for Bounce Back Loan applications is Wednesday 31st March 2021.  If you have not applied for the BBLS and need money to pay tax debts or to get your business moving again, then we recommend you make an application directly with your bank before time runs out.

If you have already taken out a BBLS, you can apply for a top-up to their existing Bounce Back Loan if you originally borrowed less than the maximum amount available to you.  The top-ups are only available from your existing BBLS lender & you can apply for the lesser of £50k or 25% of the annual turnover the borrower certified in their original successful BBLS application form, minus the value of the original loan given to you.

If you need any assistance with your application then please do not hesitate to contact us on 020 8761 8000.

Guy Tells No. 10 to Extend Self-Assessment Deadline

BREAKING NEWS: No. 10 Heeds Guy’s Plea — & Extends Self-Assessment Deadline!

/in , , , , , , /by

HMRC Heeds Guy's Plea & Extends Self-Assessment Deadline!

[BREAKING NEWS:] 11 days ago we published a post confirming that Guy Bridger, Taxfile’s founder, had personally delivered a postcard to No. 10 Downing Street, making the case for an extension to the Self-Assessment tax return deadline until the end of February. In Guy’s postcard to Boris Johnson, he had argued that there was simply too much pressure on people during Christmas, the New Year and the month of January, due to the bottleneck caused by the Self Assessment tax return deadline.

Well, in some very welcome good news, it seems the Government has listened to Guy’s plea. This afternoon HMRC confirmed:

“Self Assessment customers will not receive a penalty for filing their 2019-20 tax return late, as long as they file online by 28‌‌ ‌February.”

They went on to say:

“We are still encouraging customers who have not yet filed to do so by 31‌‌ January, if possible.”

This is great news for the people of the UK, in what are otherwise challenging times. Tens of thousands of accountants across the nation will also be hugely relieved. We also suspect that under-pressure HMRC staff will be happy about this development.  Accountants and taxpayers across the UK may well be queueing to buy Guy a drink when the pubs re-open!

It’s important to realise, however, that the tax owed for the tax year 2019-20 will still be due by 31 January. HMRC will charge interest from 1 February as usual. Guy’s company Taxfile is here to help compute the figures, though. For those who wish to take advantage and submit tax returns online during the February extension, but also want pay tax by 31 January in order to avoid interest, we have now published some further guidance here on what to do. That new guidance will help even if you’re not yet 100% sure of the figures, so take a look via that bold link.

Contact Taxfile for Help with Tax Returns & Any Tax-Related Issue

To contact Guy Bridger or any of the helpful tax experts at his company Taxfile, simply get in touch. We’re here to help!

Book an Appointment
Send us a Message
T: 020 8761 8000

 

You can learn more about Guy Bridger, his involvement at The Office of Tax Simplification and his company Taxfile here. If you would like to read Guy’s original article about the postcard given to Boris Johnson, click here.

Guy Tells No. 10 to Extend Self-Assessment Deadline

Guy Tells No. 10 to Extend Self-Assessment Deadline

/in , , , , , , /by

Guy Tells No. 10 to Extend Self-Assessment Deadline

[THERE IS BREAKING NEWS ABOUT THIS POST – CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS]

Guy Bridger, Taxfile’s founder, has personally delivered a post card to Boris Johnson. He recently slipped it under the door of Number 10 Downing Street (there is no letterbox!).

The Issue with the Tax Return Deadline – & Guy’s Suggested Solution

In his communication to Boris, Guy suggested that the tax return filing deadline should be permanently extended, for example to the end of February, instead of 31 January as it is currently. In his proposed scenario, people would have longer to file their tax return. As well as taking the pressure off over Christmas, New Year and during January, this later deadline would also mean less likelihood of receiving a surcharge on the possible tax debt they owed for the last tax year’s calculation. Taking this a step further and with the help of video journalist David Gyimah, Guy has also been making a documentary about the tax return filing deadline and the immense pressure it puts people under during Christmas and the New Year — and especially during the entire month of January.

In contrast, limited company businesses currently have 9 months in which to file their accounts to Companies House and at the same time pay their taxes. Interestingly, they have 12 months to file their Corporation Tax return.

Guy & Taxfile

Guy has worked in South London for 25 years, dealing with members of the public and their tax responsibilities. At Taxfile, he has long-serving, thoughtful staff on hand six, sometimes seven, days a week every January. This is a measure of just how much work the current tax return deadline causes during this key accounting month every year. Taxfile makes it their task to remind — even nag — every customer about the deadline, as most of them will have to submit a Self-Assessment tax return by 31 January.

Consulting with the Office of Tax Simplification

Guy Bridger’s last visit to the Treasury was when he worked with The Office of Tax Simplification, resulting in the recognition that people actually prepare their self-employed accounts on a cash basis.

When Guy worked with John Whiting there, the other theme he was interested in was the idea that people who were sole traders perhaps didn’t need to form a limited company. This was because, in agreement with John and many members of the consultation body, it was our view that Read more

Act NOW & get 5% Off 2019-20 Self-Assessment Tax Return Fees

Act NOW & get 5% Off 2019-20 Self-Assessment Tax Return Fees

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

Act NOW & get 5% Off 2019-20 Self-Assessment Tax Return Fees

Have you contacted us about your 2019-20 Self Assessment tax return yet?

If not, please get in touch early this month (November). You’ll save 5% or more¹ by acting right away. You’ll also avoid the coming bottleneck if you act now. So, please get in touch:

We’ll then confirm the next steps.

1. If you supply everything in time for us to submit your tax return by 30 November 2020, you’ll save 5% off our standard tax return fees. You’ll save even more compared to the higher prices that we’ll need to impose closer to the self-assessment deadline. Our prices will also increase very soon to cover weekend working and overtime to cater for those who leave it to the last minute. Please bear in mind that the pandemic lock-down will make things even harder than usual, so please act now and plan ahead.

2. Worried about COVID? There’s no need! We can do ‘virtual’ meetings instead, for example by telephone, Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Skype, Facetime or whatever suits you best. So, we don’t even need to meet face-to-face. Just give us a call on 020 8761 8000 to discuss your preferences. We’re here to help!

Taxfile are accountants and tax advisors in South London, with offices in Tulse Hill and Dulwich.

How To Help Your Accountant Save You Money

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

How to help your accountant save you money

There are many benefits of helping your accountant by providing complete and organised records from the outset.

Here are some of them:

  • If you get your records to your accountant on time, you will give them enough time to work on your case without unnecessary pressure and file everything on time (don’t forget you are not their only client).
  • By providing organised and detailed records, you’ll understand your business performance better and it will save them time from processing and reorganising untidy paperwork.
  • By providing complete records of your business expenses, they can claim what is allowable and potentially reduce your tax bill.

When preparing your financial records you need to remember:

  • Separate your business from your personal finances.
  • Stay on top of your records and ensure they are orderly with no gaps in the dates.
  • Keep receipts and purchase invoices; you will need to provide proof of all expenditure and year-end creditors.
  • Bring bank statements for the complete period and downloads of your bank feed in .csv format if possible.
  • Sequential invoices for each sale, dated, to prove year-end debtors and accrued income.
  • Depending on your business, you may also need to keep records for things such as payroll, cash books, stock takes, travel and credit card statements.

Taxfile offer the full spectrum of accountancy services.

In an ideal world:

  • It is much better to keep on top of these things monthly than leaving it until the end of the year, where you may have lost or forgotten data around expenses, sales, or other financial details.
  • You would have a software package to help you track your bank, expenses, and sales.

At Taxfile we provide the full spectrum of accountancy-related services; integrating your business with accounting software like Xero, oversee your bookkeeping, run VAT returns and payroll, to filing your year-end accounts, corporation tax return & director(s) tax return(s).

Call  us on 0208 761 8000 if you would like to streamline your businesses finances and alleviate some pressures from your financial duties as a director. Alternatively, book an appointment with us here or drop us a message here — we’d be delighted to hear from you.

Small Trader? Make the Most of These 2 Allowances!

Small Trader? Make the Most of These 2 Allowances!

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

Small trader? Make the most of these 2 allowances!

Small traders with very modest incomes are currently eligible for a couple of very useful allowances. Both of these could save them money — and some paperwork:

1. Tax-Free Allowance for small traders

If you receive income of no more than £1000 per annum (before expenses) from property or trading income, you don’t need to tell HMRC, you don’t need to pay tax and usually you don’t need to do a self-assessment tax return. If you have both types of income and each earns you no more than £1000 gross per annum, you are usually eligible for the tax-free allowance in BOTH cases! There are exceptions, of course, but these are the general guidelines. Income from property or land speaks for itself, while ‘trading‘ would include things like self-employment, hiring out personal equipment or services like gardening, window cleaning or babysitting. Partnerships are not eligible.

2. Trading Income Allowance

If you are paying tax but have expenses below £1000 per annum, you could reduce the tax by claiming for ‘Trading Income Allowance’ instead of claiming for the actual expenses themselves. In effect, it’s like claiming for £1000 worth of expenses rather than the lower amount of expenses that you’ve incurred in reality. This aspect is all explained in greater detail, with a simple example, in our previous Trading Income Allowance article here.

It’s important to know, though, that you cannot claim both the Read more

Making Tax Digital – A New Time Line

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

Making Tax Digital (‘MTD’) was announced as the new initiative by HMRC to revolutionise and modernise the tax system in the UK.

MTD centres around keeping digital financial records that can then be accessed by software to calculate and submit taxes through to HMRC. The goal is that there will be direct ‘digital link’ between the financial record and the software used to calculate and submit the records and therefore ensuring an accuracy in the figures being generated.

With initial teething problems, MTD for VAT started back in April 2019, and as a result of various delays around Brexit & COVID-19, it still has not sailed out of its ‘soft-landing’ period.

On 21st July 2020 the Treasury published a 10-year plan to modernize the UK’s tax system which outlines a blueprint for the transition of the UK’s tax system into the digital age.

MTD for VAT

Introduced in April 2019, MTD for VAT had a soft-landing period where the rules for this ‘digital-link’ were relaxed.  Prior to COVID-19, April 2020 was the date stipulated where all digital links were to be in place for submissions.

As a direct consequence of COVID-19, it has been now been stated that as of 1st April 2021, the ‘soft-landing’ period comes to an end and all VAT registered businesses submitting VAT returns will need to ensure they have these digital links in place for their submissions.

Furthermore, from April 2022, MTD for VAT will apply to all VAT registered businesses and not just those that have a turnover greater than the VAT threshold.

MTD for Income Tax

The 10-year plan targets 6th April 2023 for self-employed businesses and unincorporated landlords to begin reporting Read more