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Make your accountant your best friend

How to get the most out of your accountant

If your view of your external accountant has been simply to drop your books off with them once a year, wait for the number crunching to be done, pay your tax and then go your separate ways for another year, then think again. You may be missing out on a potentially good friendship.

Self Assessment Deadline

So you’ve missed the Self Assessment deadline, what happens next?

31^st January has passed, and with that another Self Assessment season has come to an end, but for those who didn’t get their Tax Return to HMRC in time, what happens to them?

Pensions, Tax and Payroll – Businesses benefit from expert insight

There has been lots of press recently around the need for businesses to ensure their automatic enrolment duties are fulfilled correctly, and the danger of not getting it right which could have a big impact upon employees.

How Xero can help increase the UK GDP

I was lucky enough to be at the 4th official UK Xerocon at the Battersea Evolution last month, my how things have moved on since my first Xerocon at the ICAEW Chartered Accountants Hall. Back in 2012 there were just over 200 attendees. This year had a massive 1,300 delegates, unquestionably the biggest accounting gathering in the UK.

Challenges for hospitality and tourism businesses across Cumbria - Flooding, funding and the National Living Wage

The government has pledged £3m to support Cumbria and Lancashire following the devastating effects of recent flooding to these areas. Of this funding £1m will be spent on a PR campaign to encourage families to holiday in the North of England over the Easter holidays. However, the British Hospitality Association and Cumbria County Council say this is insufficient given the cost of the damage amounts to £500m in these areas alone.

Will any of these changes affect you financially?

As if last year wasn’t hectic enough, there is another raft of changes that come into effect from 6 April this year that could affect a number of our readers. Given that these can have potential taxation implications it’s worthwhile being aware of so that action can be taken in good time.

Personal Savings Allowance

This is brand new and will affect all taxpayers with cash savings not held in an Individual Savings Account (ISA).

Significant changes to the taxation of dividends come into effect from 6 April 2016

Significant changes to the taxation of dividends come into effect from 6 April 2016, which can be summarised as follows:

Love is in the air…..but how does that impact your tax affairs?

With Valentines Day having just passed and whilst romance is still in the air I thought this was an ideal time to talk about marriage - more specifically the tax implications of being married or entering into a civil partnership. You may or may not be surprise to hear that as a Tax Adviser clients often ask 'are there any advantages to being married?' and the answer is yes there can be. Here are five (quite unromantic!) ways you could be better off by saying ‘I do’:

HM Revenue & Customs campaigns and enquiries

In recent times HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have introduced a number of ‘disclosure campaigns’ to allow individuals and businesses to register with HMRC of their intention to disclose income which they have earned without suffering tax.

Campaigns in the past have targeted plumbers, electricians and individuals with offshore interests and the most recent press release clearly shows why HMRC favour such campaigns with over £610 million being raised from voluntary disclosures and a further £395 million from follow up activity.

An uncertain end

When a company comes to the end of its useful life - a standalone project completed, the owner retiring - it may be closed down. Where the company still has assets these need to be transferred out to the shareholders. This can be done by voting dividends or winding the company up as a voluntary liquidation. In the former the shareholders will pay income tax on receipts, in the latter Capital Gains Tax (CGT). For a trading company, the CGT route is often more tax efficient thanks to reliefs such as Entrepreneurs’ Relief.