At present, there are two different types of National Insurance for the self-employed, Class 2 and Class 4. Class 2 is a fixed weekly amount, whereas Class 4 is charged based on profits. We had been expecting Class 2 National Insurance to be abolished for some time. It was supposed to be replaced by a […]
Personal tax
Deadline to register for a 2018 tax return
If you have income to report to HMRC for the tax year ending 5th April 2018, the deadline to register to complete a 2018 tax return is fast approaching. You must notify HMRC by 5th October 2018 that you will be submitting a 2017/18 tax return. Once registered, you will then have until 31st January […]
Changes to HMRC late tax return penalties
At present, the penalties for a late tax return can amount to £1,600… even if you were initially due a repayment of tax but had not submitted the return on time. However, there are plans to change the current system away from the fixed fines and instead adopt a penalty-point system instead. The new system […]
Changes to HMRC rent a room tax relief
There is a very useful tax relief for people who rent out rooms in their own home – the first £7,500 of income is tax-free. However, with the rise of many short-term letting websites HMRC is proposing to change the rules from 6th April 2019 so that these are not taken advantage of. Going forwards, […]
Changes to Capital Gains Tax on second properties
At present, when you sell a second property you have some time before the capital gains tax(CGT) is payable. For example, selling a property in July 2018 would fall into the 2018/19 tax return – the tax would not be payable until 31st January 2020. However, from April 2020 HMRC is planning to bring in […]
HMRC 31/07/18 Payments on Account
It will shortly be time to make payment of the second HMRC payment on account for 2017/18. There are two payments on account required for 2017/18, the tax year that ended on 5th April 2018. The first was paid by 31st January 2018, and the second is now falling due by 31st July 2018. Payments […]
Incorrect underpayments in tax computations
I have noticed a couple of issues with HMRC 2018 tax computations recently, relating to a figure included for unpaid tax brought forward. In both cases, the clients had an estimated underpayment included in a tax code that changed part way through the 2017/18 year. This figure was one that HMRC had estimated could still […]
HMRC 2018 Tax Return Form
Now that the 2017/18 tax year has finished, it is time to complete the 2018 tax return. Finding the form online can sometimes be a challenge – the official name for a UK tax return form is a SA100. To obtain the form and the notes, you can obtain these direct from HMRC’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-assessment-tax-return-sa100 […]
Daily fines for a late 2017 tax return are approaching
Although we have now started on completing 2018 tax returns(covering the year to 5th April 2018), there may be some people who have yet to complete the 2017 tax return. This should have been submitted to HMRC by 31st January 2018, so has already incurred a £100 fine for being late. On top of that […]