IMPORTANT: Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax officially takes effect from the beginning of April 2026. If you are self-employed, a sole trader, or receive income from property, it's likely that this will affect you. Today's guide outlines key dates, the changes, who they affect, how complying with MTD will impact your business — and how Taxfile can help new and existing clients transition quickly and easily.

The post Transitioning to <em>Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax</em> – This April appeared first on Taxfile.

[Updated 1 February 2026]: If you missed the 31 January deadline to submit your self-assessment tax return, you are now into the penalty stage. HMRC applies an automatic £100 penalty to those who are anywhere from 1 day to 3 months late. Further penalties are then added if you take even longer to comply. It's even worse if you haven't paid the tax owed to HMRC by 31 January because you'll then owe interest on that too. Here's our professional advice of what to do if you're late...

The post Missed the Tax Return Deadline? What Happens Now? appeared first on Taxfile.

A major change is coming for all UK company directors in 2025. Companies House is introducing mandatory identity verification and we've created this essential guide to explain what the new director ID verification rules mean for you, ensuring you stay compliant and avoid significant penalties.

These new measures are part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA), a significant piece of legislation designed to improve the quality of data on the UK Companies Register and prevent corporate structures from being used for fraudulent activities.

This guide will walk you through the key changes, deadlines, and the exact steps you need to take.

The post Companies House ID Verification 2025: A Director’s Guide to the New UK Rules appeared first on Taxfile.

Have you ever thought about your pension? It might seem far away, but it's super important to start thinking about it now! One of the key things that helps build your future pension is your National Insurance (NI) contributions. In today's post, we explain an important deadline that you won't want to miss out on if you have gaps in your NI contributions and would like to potentially boost your state pension.

The post Don’t Miss Out! Your Future Pension Needs YOU! – Check Your NI Contributions by April 5th, 2025 appeared first on Taxfile.

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.

The post Boost Your State Pension with Voluntary National Insurance Contributions appeared first on Taxfile.

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.

The post Deadline for Voluntary Insurance Contributions Extended to 5th April 2025 appeared first on Taxfile.

^{IMPORTANT: the video mentions the original deadline in April 2023. This has now been extended to 31 July 2023.}

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.More information follows, including how to check, how to top up and more.

The post Boost State Pension by Plugging Gaps in National Insurance appeared first on Taxfile.

[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!

[av_buttonrow alignment='center' button_spacing='5' button_spacing_unit='px' alb_description='' id='' custom_class='' template_class='' av_uid='av-2y1ep2' sc_version='1.0' admin_preview_bg='']
[av_buttonrow_item label='020 8761 8000' icon_select='yes' icon='ue854' font='entypo-fontello' link='manually,tel:02087618000' link_target='' size='medium' label_display='' title_attr='' color_options='color_options_advanced' color='theme-color' custom_bg='#444444' custom_font='#ffffff' btn_color_bg='custom' btn_custom_grad_direction='vertical' btn_custom_grad_1='#000000' btn_custom_grad_2='#ffffff' btn_custom_grad_3='' btn_custom_grad_opacity='0.7' btn_custom_bg='#febe10' btn_color_bg_hover='custom' btn_custom_bg_hover='#edb009' btn_color_font='black' btn_custom_font='#ffffff' btn_color_font_hover='white' btn_custom_font_hover='#ffffff' border='none' border_width='' border_width_sync='true' border_color='' border_radius='20' border_radius_sync='true' box_shadow='none' box_shadow_style='3px,3px,2px,2px' box_shadow_color='' hover_opacity='' sonar_effect_effect='' sonar_effect_color='' sonar_effect_duration='1' sonar_effect_scale='' sonar_effect_opac='0.5' av_uid='av-kya0175q' sc_version='1.0']
[av_buttonrow_item label='Book Appointment' icon_select='yes' icon='ue85b' font='entypo-fontello' link='manually,https://taxfile.appointy.com/' link_target='_blank' size='medium' label_display='' title_attr='' color_options='color_options_advanced' color='theme-color' custom_bg='#444444' custom_font='#ffffff' btn_color_bg='custom' btn_custom_grad_direction='vertical' btn_custom_grad_1='#000000' btn_custom_grad_2='#ffffff' btn_custom_grad_3='' btn_custom_grad_opacity='0.7' btn_custom_bg='#febe10' btn_color_bg_hover='custom' btn_custom_bg_hover='#edb009' btn_color_font='black' btn_custom_font='#ffffff' btn_color_font_hover='white' btn_custom_font_hover='#ffffff' border='none' border_width='' border_width_sync='true' border_color='' border_radius='20' border_radius_sync='true' box_shadow='none' box_shadow_style='3px,3px,2px,2px' box_shadow_color='' hover_opacity='' sonar_effect_effect='' sonar_effect_color='' sonar_effect_duration='1' sonar_effect_scale='' sonar_effect_opac='0.5' av_uid='av-kya0175q' sc_version='1.0']
[av_buttonrow_item label='Get Started Here' icon_select='yes' icon='ue897' font='entypo-fontello' link='manually,https://www.taxfile.co.uk/tax-returns/' link_target='' size='medium' label_display='' title_attr='' color_options='color_options_advanced' color='theme-color' custom_bg='#444444' custom_font='#ffffff' btn_color_bg='custom' btn_custom_grad_direction='vertical' btn_custom_grad_1='#000000' btn_custom_grad_2='#ffffff' btn_custom_grad_3='' btn_custom_grad_opacity='0.7' btn_custom_bg='#febe10' btn_color_bg_hover='custom' btn_custom_bg_hover='#edb009' btn_color_font='black' btn_custom_font='#ffffff' btn_color_font_hover='white' btn_custom_font_hover='#ffffff' border='none' border_width='' border_width_sync='true' border_color='' border_radius='20' border_radius_sync='true' box_shadow='none' box_shadow_style='3px,3px,2px,2px' box_shadow_color='' hover_opacity='' sonar_effect_effect='' sonar_effect_color='' sonar_effect_duration='1' sonar_effect_scale='' sonar_effect_opac='0.5' av_uid='av-kya0175q' sc_version='1.0']
[/av_buttonrow]

The post 31st January was the Self Assessment Tax Return Deadline! appeared first on 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

The post A Personal Message from Guy Bridger at Taxfile appeared first on Taxfile.

The post HMRC Waives Late Filing & Payment Penalty for 31st January Deadline appeared first on Taxfile.