Posts
Taxfile’s Autumn Newsletter 2021
Welcome to Taxfile’s Autumn Newsletter for 2021. One of our biggest yet, it includes useful tax- and accountancy-related news that you need to be aware of, ways to save time or money – and much more. Take a look!
QR Codes
You’ll find QR codes throughout the newsletter. These are a quick and easy way to access further information about the topic. Assuming you are viewing the newsletter on a desktop device or a printed* version, simply point your mobile camera phone at a QR code and then open the link that pops up. Your mobile’s browser will then take you straight to the information page. Alternatively, we supply simple link URLs to simply tap in.
Download As an Acrobat PDF & Print Out
* If you’re viewing on a small screen, it may be easier to read if you download the newsletter as an Acrobat PDF so you can print it out at full size (A4). Read more
Harnessing Technology at Taxfile
The rapid pace of technological change has caused some of the biggest shifts in how we view and process our tax returns. At Taxfile, we’re constantly striving to use technology as effectively as possible to aid us in collecting, analysing, and collaborating when working on your personal data.
Over the pandemic, we’ve had to place our reliance even further on technology to maintain our standards, with regular meetings online. We’re constantly improving the efficiency of our work pipeline and, with the ability to pull figures directly from online bank statements, we can ensure precision in the numbers we present you with. For the last two years, we’ve implemented cloud technology as both a collaborative tool between our senior and junior staff and as storage for various databases used to track everything from employee working hours to the status of your tax return. We’re expanding further on this concept in collaboration with Pure Technology by merging our existing cloud systems with our current remote work solution to form one, all-encompassing workspace environment. Hosting it in the Microsoft Cloud ensures that, with the help of our office staff, your paperwork and bookings can be sent to and viewed by your tax agent as soon as possible. This and a variety of other endeavours are examples of our ambitions to be at the forefront of innovations, and constant review of our policies ensures we remain ahead, or on track, to meet the standards set by Making Tax Digital (MTD) for its 2023 launch.
Contact South London’s Favourite Accountant
Taxfile can help you with all your tax or accountancy requirements. We offer Read more
Faiz from Taxfile – Helping the Community with Tax Problems
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
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
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
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
Tax “Payment Plans” are ENDING – Act NOW if you Owe Tax!
Are you late paying your tax? Do you owe unpaid tax for the last financial year, or earlier? Are you struggling to pay it?
Taxfile has recently been helping some of our customers with tax debts from 2019/20 and earlier. In particular, we’re helping them to arrange payment plans with HMRC as part of their ‘Time to Pay‘ scheme. This spreads the cost of those tax debts instead of paying them off in one go. This is really useful to those who are struggling financially following the pandemic. The new payment plans are only available until 1 April 2021, though, so really you should apply by 31 March 2021. Our advice is to act now if you are in a position to take advantage of the payment plans while they’re still — just about — available.
The benefits of arranging a tax payment plan now
Agreeing a payment plan with HMRC will help avoid the 5% late payment penalty that’s usually charged on outstanding tax not paid by the deadline. And, of course, spreading the cost helps those who might otherwise struggle to get together the full amount in one transaction. The HMRC interest rate seems relatively low too.
How Tax Payment Plans have gone so far
What we’ve found so far is that Read more
5% Late Payment Penalty Relief Announced by HMRC
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced that Self Assessment taxpayers will not be charged a 5% late payment penalty if they pay their tax or set up a payment plan by 1st April 2021.
Normally, a 5% late payment penalty is also charged on any unpaid tax that is still outstanding on 3rd March. But this year, because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, HMRC is giving taxpayers more time to pay or to set up a payment plan.
Taxpayers have until 28th February 2021 to file any pending tax returns and prevent being charged a late filing penalty (of £100). They then have until 01/04/2021 to pay any outstanding tax or make an arrangement with HMRC for a payment plan before they receive a late payment penalty.
We encourage any of our clients that are struggling to meet their tax obligations to set up a payment plan to spread the cost into monthly instalments. More information can be found on the Government website HERE. You will be able to spread the cost of their self assessment tax bill through to January 2022.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on 020 8761 8000 or, if you still have a 2019/20 tax return to submit, then we can help you get this in on time to avoid the £100 late filing penalty. We will be open on Saturday the 27th & Sunday 28th February.
Latest News on Gov. Grants, Support, Loans, Deadlines & More
Don’t miss our latest newsletter. Published just this week, it includes several updates on the latest Government support for small businesses during the pandemic, including:
- a possible 4th SEISS grant coming for the self-employed and …
- extensions of both the Job Retention Scheme (‘furlough’) ….
- and Bounce-Back Loan Scheme.
- There’s also a useful link where you can check what help may be available to you using a simple but genius interactive interface.
The newsletter also includes imminent deadlines that may affect you and news about a significant VAT change that will affect the entire Construction Sector.
Have you submitted your Self-Assessment tax return for the year 2019-20? It’s due in a few days! Learn more in the newsletter or get the ball rolling here.
Have you paid any tax you owe for the same period? It’s now overdue if not. Also see the newsletter for more information contact us using the yellow buttons below.
Learn much more about all these topics and more in our latest e-Newsletter, which can be viewed here. For help with any tax or accounting related issue, simply contact us and we’ll be happy to help. Choose an option below …