Lorraine Owens discusses the necessary steps following the end of the tax year.
The end of the tax year has been and gone again. You are by now, I hope, deeply involved in analysing your records and collating the information required to determine whether or not you need to organise P11Ds for any of your employees. I have heard, on many occasions, employers say “we do...
Lorraine Owens considers changes to determining the self-employed and smartphones.
This tax update is about two recent changes which, I fear for some of you, will be advising of solutions to problems you never knew you had.
Categorisation of Earners’ Regulations
The first change relates to the recent HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announcement that the...
Lorraine Owens discusses tax code changes for payments after an employment ends
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has recently issued draft legislation for comment on proposed changes to tax codes. This is in respect of share-based earnings made after an employment has ceased, where the payments are not included in form P45.
You will be familiar with the changes...
Annual returns to HMRC for share schemes can be a minefield, says Lorraine Owens.
The HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website has recently been updated with the share plan returns for 2012. Not obviously hot news, but a useful reminder that if you have employee share schemes you should take some time to consider your reporting requirements, among other things.
Share...
Lorraine Owens discusses provisions which allow HMRC to demand security.
From 6 April 2012 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will have a new weapon in its armoury. It will be able to demand that employers pay a security where there is a serious risk that they will not pay over their Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax or Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs)....
Lorraine Owens discusses an HMRC consultation which proposes joining references.
HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) latest consultation concerns the idea of connected employers operating Pay As You Earn (PAYE) under a single reference, rather than one for each separate employer. PAYE pooling was first raised in the 2009 pre-Budget report, but was put on the back burner...
Lorraine Owens examines a court ruling which should provide employers with the hope that they can fight penalties if they have a reasonable excuse.
There are some situations in which, however hard one tries, it is impossible to see the fairness, appropriateness or reasonableness of HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) approach to the imposition of penalties. I am sure that HMRC, over the years, has “heard them all” and there...
Lorraine Owens considers the importance of correctly identifying self-employed workers. If employers do not, they may be liable for uncollected tax and National Insurance.
How the individual describes their employment status is not a factor of relevance, it is up to the engager/employer to determine it. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will hold the employer liable for uncollected Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NIC) under Pay As You Earn.
It is...
The Annual Allowance Charge has raised many questions. Lorraine Owens explains.
The Annual Allowance Charge (AAC) is something employers need to fathom, particularly with defined benefit (DB) pension arrangements. An AAC can
arise where:
• there is a lot of accrued service
• a large increase in pensionable salary is...
Tax year end is over. Lorraine Owens discusses how to make the most of this period.
This article is concerned with general compliance for all employers. The tax year end form filling is over and now is a good time to reflect on how you can improve your processes, protect your position and prevent errors and omissions in the coming year.
The three golden rules of compliance...
Lorraine Owens discusses some of the common errors found in the hospitality trade.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced that the latest tax evasion taskforce will concentrate on the restaurant trade. Any business with a high cash transaction rate will always offer more opportunity to “cook the books”. By assessing a variety of information sources to...
Lorraine Owens explains the rules surrounding the NICs break for start-up firms.
The regional employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) holiday for new businesses began on 6 September 2010 and runs until 5 September 2013.
Under the scheme start-up firms that meet the conditions may qualify for a deduction of up to £5,000 from employer NICs. This applies to...
Lorraine Owens explains the various tax treatments for providing accommodation.
Tax for employer-provided accommodation
A benefit that is common in certain industries is employer-provided accommodation. The provision is either job-related or simply a benefit. This article covers the basics and then focuses on areas for special attention.
Job-related...
Lorraine Owens explains the rules and processes surrounding directors’ loan accounts.
Directors’ loan accounts and P11Ds
If an overdrawn director’s loan account (DLA) balance exceeds £5,000 at any point in the tax year it will be treated as an employment-related loan and a Benefit in Kind (BiK) charge will arise. This is assuming that the loan is not a...
Lorraine Owens outlines the new voucher rules that employers will have to follow.
Childcare voucher exemption changes
The rules are changing for childcare vouchers and childcare where the employer contracts directly with a registered provider to offer qualifying childcare for its employees’ children.
There are no changes to workplace nursery...
