Latest News

Tax Essentials – Guest Houses and Owner Occupied Hotels

The decision to purchase a guest house or hotel can be a stressful time for most, and understanding your options is crucial to achieving your future aspirations.  The day you commit to buy a business is the first day of your commercial journey, from which you should have a clear strategy and be making decisions based upon your eventual goals and ambitions.

New Tax Rates in Scotland from 6 April 2018

As of the 6th of April 2018, the tax rates in Scotland will be changing. Essentially, those that pay tax at the intermediate rate or above will generally pay more tax than their neighbours south of the border. Brendan Kelly details the changes to each tax band.

Making Tax Digital – a New Year resolution for 2019!

HMRC is introducing a fundamental change to the way in which VAT returns are being submitted from April 2019.  Are you ready for Making Tax Digital in April?

New VAT Specialist Brings Health Check Service to Tax Team

Armstrong Watson’s award winning tax consultancy team are celebrating with the recent appointment of Steve Ferrie to the firm.  Steve joins as a VAT Consultant following a 39 year career with HMRC, primarily as a VAT Inspector.

Disbursements VAT case for law firms – Frequently Asked Questions

Following on from our briefing note released in September on the recent ruling issued by the First Tier Tribunal on the Brabners case, we have received various queries on the subject. For reference, a copy of that briefing note can be found here

To ensure that the answers to these queries are available to all, this second briefing note addresses those frequently asked questions.

Is it time to review your Employer Records?

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can conduct an Employer Compliance Review at any time.  When did you last review your records to ensure you are up to date and following all relevant regulations?

Conducting a review in advance of any notice from HM Revenue & Customs will give you peace of mind and may also highlight opportunities to make changes to the remuneration packages for both directors and employees.

Disbursements VAT case ruling goes against Law Firm

A recent ruling in the first tier tribunal has gone against law firm Brabners, resulting in an HMRC VAT assessment of £68,000 being upheld.  This case should be of significant interest to all law firms providing conveyancing services and recharging fees incurred for property searches.

The case revolves around the treatment of electronic property searches procured from well known provider Searchflow.

Inheritance tax and ensuring tax-efficient succession of the family business

If you are planning to pass on your family business you will need to consider the most tax efficient way of doing so and much will be determined by the availability of Business Property Relief (BPR).

The 100% rate of Business Property Relief (BPR) from Inheritance Tax (IHT) has been with us now for many years – though its continuation cannot be guaranteed for the future. However, not all businesses will qualify - and certain business assets will only attract 50% relief.

Making Tax Digital – are you ready for the biggest change to business administration since VAT?

In the Budget in March 2015, the then Chancellor George Osborne announced that the annual Self Assessment Tax Return was going to be abolished, and individuals and businesses were being brought into the digital age with ’Making Tax Digital’. This has been described as the biggest change to business administration since the introduction of VAT in 1973. Instead of completing an annual Self Assessment Tax Return, information will be submitted to H M Revenue and Customs (HMRC) via a ‘Personal Tax Account’ throughout the year.

Preparing for Making Tax Digital with Xero

Today, we announced jointly with Xero, the migration of several thousand internal clients from Sage onto Xero’s online platform in readiness for the roll-out of HMRC’s new Making Tax Digital rules which come into effect in 2018. The migration confirms our status as Xero’s largest UK accounting partner and one of the UK’s most digitally progressive firms.

The incentive for our uptake of online accounting software was also driven by a need to invest inour future and also to future-proof our clients’ businesses.