Blog Archive for 2018

Although tax returns can seem intimidating, there are ways to prepare for an upcoming tax filing deadline without resorting to a last minute rush.

Here are a few simple steps to help you get ready.

This article outlines what you can do when you want to appeal a decision by HMRC in relation to a direct tax, such as corporation tax, income tax, and capital gains tax.

On Monday 29 October the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered the Budget for 2018. In this article, explore how the Budget will impact on self employed and small businesses.

On 6 July 2018, the draft Finance Bill 2018-19 was released, part of which included measures relating to late submission penalties. These changes represent a significant shift away from the current penalty regime.

Although your business may look to be profitable from an accounting perspective, profit is not the same thing as cash. This article explains some of the ways in which you can help boost your cashflow.

Often, small and medium-sized business owners fall into the trap of thinking that tax reliefs are only really available for huge multinational companies. Thankfully, this isn’t the case and there are plenty of tax reliefs available for SMEs as well.

Businesses that are VAT-registered with a taxable turnover over £85,000 will have to submit their VAT returns online to HMRC and will also be required to keep digital VAT records.

HMRC recently released guidance outlining how the VAT system is expected to change in the UK in the event that no deal is reached during Brexit negotiations.

In March 2018, the government released a call for evidence asking for input on whether changes could be made to the VAT threshold in order to incentivise growth for businesses.The call for evidence closed on 5 June 2018 and the government is currently reviewing the responses that it received.

The purpose of the call for evidence is summarised below, along with the measures proposed and how they could impact small businesses if adopted.

In July 2018, the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) published a paper, Platforms, the Platform economy and Tax Simplification. The paper examines ways in which the taxation system could be simplified for gig economy workers who work through an online platform, such as Uber or Deliveroo.

Although the paper contains a number of different proposals, one in particular has garnered attention – namely, the proposal to introduce an optional PAYE-style withholding system from certain workers who operate on online platforms.

When you’re running a small business, it can be difficult to know who to turn to for help with your finances. As the terms "bookkeeper" and "accountant" are often used interchangeably by the general public, business owners can understandably become confused about which one they actually need.

There’s been a lot of talk about Making Tax Digital for VAT, and understandably so – coming into force from 1 April 2019, businesses that fall within the remit of the scheme only have a few more months to get their business ready.

AccountsPortal is one of the first companies to join Stripe's new Partner Program.

Over the past few years, the interest in and use of online cloud-based accounting software has increased dramatically. We outline below why switching to an online accounting software provider could be the right move for your business and how you should go about moving into the online arena.

IR35, also known as the intermediaries legislation, is an area of legislation that’s getting a lot of attention at the moment. Whether that’s down to decisions in appeal courts as to whether the IR35 legislation should apply to contractors, such as the cases of Christa Ackroyd and Mark Daniels, or because of changes to how the legislation is enforced in the public sector, there’s plenty of news to follow.

There have been some updates to the PAYE forms on HMRC’s website, as well as some changes to the accompanying PAYE guidance. In this article, we outline what these main changes are and what they mean for you.

The government introduced two new tax-free allowances for individuals on property and trading income in the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2017.

Although these two separate allowances were designed to help simplify the UK tax system, applying these allowances can be surprisingly complex in practice.

There have been a number of changes to pensions over the years. Most recently, changes have been made to the minimum level of contributions required for automatic enrolment pensions. We outline what these changes are, who is likely to be impacted, and how your business can best prepare for the increases.

Navigating the IR35 legislation can be a minefield. In this guide, we highlight some of the difficulties that arise in applying the IR35 legislation. We also let you know what you can do if you think you fall under the provisions.

If you’re an independent contractor or freelancer, it's vital to understand the implications of IR35 so you can report and pay taxes properly and don’t suffer penalties from HMRC. In this guide we’ll break down what IR35 is, let you know if it might impact you, and what you can do as a result.