The benefits or otherwise of voluntary VAT registration
Many businesses strive to keep their turnover under the VAT registration limit (currently £90,000) because not only are they wary of the additional administrative costs but also because they believe that adding VAT to the invoice will make their business...
Looking ahead to MTD for landlords
The way that many landlords will report details of their income and expenses to HMRC is changing from April 2026 onwards. This is when Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) comes into effect. Landlords who fall within the scope of MTD for...
Investing in woodlands – Tax implications of an unusual type of investment
Drive along a country road and you may come across signs advertising 'Woodlands for sale'. Such signs invite investment in commercial woodlands which can come with valuable tax breaks. Tax on profits Profits from selling the timber, whether felled or standing, are...
Starting a business as a sole trader
When starting a business, there are various decisions to make and tasks to perform. One of the first questions to address is whether to run the business as a sole trader, whether to set up a partnership with others or whether to form a company. The way in which a...
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...
Beat the SDLT deadline
There is a stamp duty land tax (SDLT) deadline on the horizon – from 1 April 2025, there are changes to both the residential SDLT threshold and that applying to first-time buyers. Completing a purchase before that date could save the buyer £2,500 in SDLT. For a...
Deferring Class 1 National Insurance contributions
Where an employee has more than one job, they may be able to defer the payment of Class 1 National Insurance contributions in one or more of those jobs to ensure that the contributions that they pay for the year do not exceed the annual maximum. If earnings in one job...
Planned changes to agricultural property 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? Nature of APR APR and its companion relief, business property relief (BPR), are...
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. Nature of the...
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...