Latest Blogs

25/02/2025

Salary sacrifice to beat employer's NIC rise

Using salary sacrifice to beat the rise in employer’s NIC One of the more unpopular Budget announcements was the rise in employer’s National Insurance from 13.8% to 15% from 6 April 2025. The Class 1A rate and Class 1B rate are similarly increased, meaning that it will hit employers on the provision of both cash pay and taxable benefits. It will also make it more expensive for employers to settle an employee’s tax liability through a PAYE Settlement Agreement; Class 1B contributions apply on both the items included in the agreement in place of the Class 1 or 1A liability that would otherwise arise, and also on the tax due under the agreement.

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25/02/2025

Action you can take if you are struggling to pay your tax

Tax due under Self Assessment for 2023/24 should have been paid in full by midnight on 31 January 2025, along with the first payment on account for 2024/25. Financially, January is a difficult time for many people and they may be unable to find the funds to pay all the tax that they owe. Where this is the case, ignoring the problem will not make it go away; rather, it will make it worse as interest and penalties will be charged, increasing the amount that will have to be paid to HMRC to clear the bill.

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05/02/2025

FHL – relief for finance and investment costs

FHL – relief for finance and investment costs from April 2025 Landlords letting furnished holiday accommodation have hitherto enjoyed a range of tax benefits, including the ability to deduct interest and finance costs in full when calculating their taxable profits. However, the favourable regime for furnished holiday lettings comes to an end on 5 April 2025. From that date, landlords letting furnished holiday accommodation will be subject to the same tax rules as apply to other residential lets. While corporate landlords will still be able to deduct interest and finance costs when calculating their taxable profits, unincorporated landlords letting furnished holiday accommodation will be subject to the more restrictive interest relief rules for residential lets.

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05/02/2025

Reporting residential property gains

Owners of investment properties and second homes may decide to sell up for a variety of reasons. They may wish to take advantage of a more buoyant market as buyers rush to beat the reduction in the residential SDLT threshold from 1 April 2025. The end of the favourable tax regime for furnished holiday lets may see landlords sell up, while those sitting on a large capital gain may decide to realise that gain while the higher rate of capital gains tax on residential gains remains at 24%. Whatever the reason for the sale, where a capital gains tax liability arises on the disposal of a residential property, there is a limited window in which to report the gain to HMRC and to pay the capital gains tax due on that gain.

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17/01/2025

Gift the holiday let by 5 April 2025

Gift the holiday let by 5 April 2025 to benefit from hold-over relief The favourable tax regime for furnished holiday lettings is to come to an end on 5 April 2025. This will mean that landlords of furnished holiday lettings will lose access to a range of valuable capital gains tax reliefs, including gift hold-over relief.

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17/01/2025

Planned changes to agricultural relief

Protests by farmers following the October 2024 Budget have catapulted agricultural property relief (APR) into the spotlight. But what is the relief, who can benefit and how is it changing?

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17/01/2025

What expenses can you deduct if you are self-employed

If you are self-employed, you will pay tax on your taxable profit. In working out your taxable profit, you can deduct certain expenses that you have incurred in running your business. The basic rule is that expenses can be deducted if they are incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade.

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17/01/2025

What to do if you cannot pay your tax bill

As the cost of living crisis continues to bite, you may find that come 31 January 2025 you are struggling to pay your Self Assessment tax bill. If this is the case, it is important that you do not bury your head in the sand – the bill will not go away and, with the addition of interest and penalties, will become bigger. However, there are options available which may allow you to pay what you owe over a longer period.

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