Latest News
Suspension of Business Records Checks
17 Feb 2012HMRC has announced a suspension of the Business Records Check (BRC) program until the new tax year, when they will implement a new approach.Th...
VAT Returns - On Line only
10 Feb 2012Are you already filing your VAT returns online? If not, then you need to prepare to switch to online filing as this will be compulsory for all VAT registered businesses from 1 April 2012. Do not leave this task until the last minute as it can take a few weeks to receive the unique user ID you need from the Tax Office. You will also have to create a password and set up a system to pay...
New campaigns announced by HMRC
09 Feb 2012A new campaign will be launched by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) during the next year aimed at people who fail to make tax returns and who are liable to pay tax at the highest tax rates.In two further campaigns, to be launched later in the year, the department will target tradespeople working in the home improvement market, and people who receive income from buying and selling goods direct to others, or are paid commission.
VAT rate increases across Europe
03 Feb 2012A round-up of VAT rate changes in Europe.There have been a number of changes and announcements of increases in VAT rates across Europe. The changes together with an analysis of all the VAT rates, country codes and VAT registration details are outlined below.FranceThe French government announced that it will be increasing its standard rate of VAT, currently 19.6%. The percentage increase isn’t known, but it is predic...
PAYE Changes
01 Feb 2012The PAYE system was first implemented in 1944 and has remained virtually unchanged. Unfortunately, it has become extremely cumbersome to administer and leads to many inaccuracies. Employers must report weekly or monthly on the wages paid and tax and National Insurance deducted and pay over any residual amount due at the end of the year by 19 May following the end of the tax year. Most employers are required to report online. In a fundamen...
A few days left......Tax Returns
27 Jan 2012There’s just a few days left to send your 2010/11 tax return to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), if you want to avoid a penalty.All outstanding 2010/11 Self Assessment returns must be sent online to HMRC by 31 January 2012. If you send your return after that date, you will receive a £100 penalty – even if you have no tax to pay or you pay your tax on time.
Tax Return Reminder
12 Jan 201231 January is the deadline for filing 2011 Self Assessment personal, partnership and trust Tax Returns. £100 is the first penalty for late filing even if no tax is due or tax due is paid on time. 5% penalty is applied for late ...
Boost for Small Businesses
06 Jan 2012Small and medium sized businesses in England are set to benefit from £95 million in government investment.The government funding, announced on 10 November will support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) considering investing in new capital assets. The government expects the funding to unlock around £500 million of new investment and create at least 4,000 jobs.The money forms part of the government’s £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund, which supp...
HMRC target tax evasion
06 Jan 2012HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched five new taskforces around the country to tackle tax evasion in sectors including fast food, property rentals and scrap metal dealing.Announcing the taskforces on 7 November, Exchequer Secretary David Gauke said honest businesses had nothing to worry about but warned: “We will not tolerate those who break the rules.“It doesn’t matter who you are – HMRC can and will track you down. You will ...
Fuel Rates Change
04 Jan 2012These rates apply to all journeys on or after 1 December 2011 until further notice. For one month from the date of change, employers may use either the previous or new current rates, as they choose. Employers may therefore make or require supplementary payments if they so wish, but are under no obligation to do either: Will the rate per mile figures change if fuel prices go up or down?The rates are now to be reviewed four times a year. Any changes will t...
Christmas Opening Hours
22 Dec 2011Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.Our office will be closed from the 23rd December and will re-open on the 3rd January. Should you need to contact us please send an email to info@senceaccounting.co.uk....
Penalties and Late Tax Returns
21 Dec 2011We would like to draw to your attention some key changes concerning the penalties that will be charged if your 2010/11 tax return is filed late or your tax is paid late. Help us to help you by sending in all information requested as soon as possible to enable us to complete your tax return on a timely basis, advise you as to your tax position and avoid these penalties!Late tax returnsHMRC will still charge a penalty of £100 if your return is fil...
Pension Lifetime Allowance Decrease
08 Dec 2011There is another change due in April 2012 that will affect tax relief for pension contributions. The Lifetime Allowance, which is the maximum tax favoured fund you can have in a pension scheme, will reduce from £1.8 million to £1.5 million from 6 April 2012. The maximum fund of £1.8 million will produce an indexed linked pension of around £75,000 p.a. for a man retiring at 65, using current annuity rates. So the new cap of £1.5 million is no...
HMRC to help with R&D claims
07 Dec 2011The Taxman has launched a service aimed at encouraging companies t...
VAT Rule-breakers
02 Dec 2011VAT rule-breakers have until 31 December to complete the VAT registration process under a time-limited HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) campaign.In July this year, HMRC launched its VAT Initiative in which rule-breakers were offered a special plan to put right their tax affairs. The chance to participate, and be guaranteed the conditions contained in the plan, ended on 30 September.Since the opportunity ended, HMRC has b...
The Autumn Budget Statement - 29 November 2011
01 Dec 2011Despite warnings this week that the UK was likely to ...
Over payments and refunds - PAYE
22 Nov 2011The Taxman has set his computer the task of recalculating the PAYE paid by many millions of people for the tax year 2010/11 and for the tax years 2003/04 to 2007/08. The PAYE system does not cope well when an individual has employment or pension incom...
Swiss bank accounts
15 Nov 2011HMRC will be writing to UK residents and organisations holding Swiss bank accounts with the HSBC in Geneva who may not have reported all of their income and gains.
HMRC extend Business Records Checks
11 Nov 2011HMRC have announced that they are extending their Business Records Checks programme.These checks were piloted earlier this year and involved checks on the adequacy of SMEs' business records. The pilots apparently found that around 44% of businesses visited had issues with their record-keeping, while around 12% of those visited had seriously inadequate records.HMRC are now extending this activity from mid-September to cover a number of key areas across the UK. As part of this...
Late filing regime for CIS Returns
08 Nov 2011The Treasury has made an order before Parliament to bring into force the new late filing penalty regime Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Returns. See link below :New late filing penalties for CIS from 6 October 2011 (Opens new window) ...
Budgeting for your first self employed tax bill
04 Nov 2011A new leaflet has been produced to help the newly self-employed budget for their first tax bill. It will show you how much money to set aside to meet your tax and Class 4 National Insurance bill.Please follow the link for guidance - Budgeting for your first self-employed tax bill (PDF 81K) ...
Child Trust Fund Vouchers
04 Nov 2011The Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts are opened with the voucher from the government. Many vouchers/cheuqes have not been used historically. The first vouchers were issued in January 2005. See below, the link for details and statistics issued by HMRC and ensure you do not miss out.http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_trust_funds/child-trust-funds.htm...
HMRC latest tax catch up campaign
18 Oct 2011A campaign to target private tutors and coaches who have undeclared tax liabilities is launched by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) today.The Tax Catch up Plan (TCP) is for people providing private lessons, regardless of whether they have a teaching qualification. It is aimed at those who profit from tuition and coaching, as a main or secondary income, on which the correct tax has not been paid because they have not told HMRC abo...
Fuel Rates change
14 Oct 2011The advisory fuel rates have been changed with effect for all journeys undertaken on or after 1 September 2011. To read more, please cl...
National Minimum Wage Rates Change
07 Oct 2011National Minimum Wage Rates from 1 October 2011 The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has announced the national minimum wage rates from 1 October 2011:• The adult rate will increase by 15p to £6.08 an hour.• The rate for 18-20 year olds will increase by 6p to £4.98 an hour.• The rate for 16-17 year olds will increase by 4p to £3.68 an hour.• The rate for apprentices will increase by 10p to &pou...
HMRC target tax avoidance and evasion
07 Oct 2011A crack team of more 2,000 tax inspectors is to be set up by HM Revenue and Customs to target tax avoidance and evasion.The move was announced by Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, during his speech to the Lib Dems’ autumn conference.The team of 2,250, with more than 1,000 of these jobs being advertised this month, will target an estimated 350,000 UK residents who personal wealth exceeds £2.5m.During his speech Alexander also pushed the co...
HMRC see increase in tax scam emails
05 Oct 2011HM Revenue and Customs say the number of scam “phishing” emails has increased by more than 300% over the past year.The figure comes in the lights of HMRC’s warning about the scam emails which aim to steal individuals’ bank account details.The scam messages inform the recipient that they are due a tax rebate and provide a link to a replica of the HMRC website. Visitors are then asked to enter their credit card details which are used to attempt to take ...
Sence Accounting Charity Quiz Night 2011
30 Sep 2011Sence Accounting are delighted to confirm that in their fourth year running, they have raised over £2500 at their annual charity quiz night in aid of St Giles Hospice in Lichfield.The general knowledge quiz night took place at Conkers Visitor Centre on Thursday 29th September 2011. Sence invited local businesses to enter tea...
Jointly held property tax savings
15 Sep 2011With the threshold for 40% tax reducing every year (£35,000 after deducting allowances for 2011/12), it makes sense to review who pays the higher rates of tax within a family. Can some assets be transferred to the partner who pays a lower tax rate to reduce tax?Please contact info@senceaccounting.co.uk for further information. ...
Closure of Capital allowances loophole
09 Sep 2011The government has bought forward the closure of a loophole that allowed businesses to accelerate capital allowances claims for plant and machinery and obtain advantageous early tax relief. The change was announced on 12 August by Justine Greening Economic Secretary to the Treasury, and took immediate effect. The closure of the loophole, which was originally proposed for April 2012, was brought forward because the government had become aware that an avoidance scheme was being ...
Sence welcomes new apprentice
01 Sep 2011Sence Accounting today welcome Jake Wright, their new accountancy apprentice. Jake came on work experience in July 2010 from Ashby School and liked accountancy that much he came back!Jake will be at Stephensons College on a day release each week and begins training for the AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) for the next 3 years starting on the 5th September 2011.Sence wish Jake all the best for the future and look forward to working with him....
Tax Savings for Students
05 Aug 2011Students are being reminded that they may not have to pay any tax on the money they make from summer jobs.Many college and university students take on temporary work over the summer to earn extra cash but HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) says that they may not know that – provided their total earnings for the tax year are less than the personal allowance of £7,475 – they will not have to pay any tax on the money they make.To ensure their employers do n...
Taxpayers hit by HMRC hold up
05 Aug 2011Around 500,000 people who complete self assessment tax returns will have to wait longer than normal to find out how much tax they have to pay, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced.Some of the self assessment statements due to be issued in July will now be issued later, HMRC announced on 25 July, although it said most would be sent on time. People with a unique taxpayer reference number ending with digits from 70 to 99 may be affected.HMRC usually tells people in the...
The VAT Initiative Campaign
29 Jul 2011This new HMRC campaign is an opportunity for businesses to tell HMRC by 30 September 2011 that a business should be registered for VAT. The campaign is aimed at businesses that:• have already passed, or are expecting to pass within the next 30 days, the current VAT threshold of £73,000;• have passed the VAT threshold in a previous 12 month period but did not register for VAT;• would like to register now; and• want to take advantage of ...
Rent a Room Scheme
28 Jul 2011With the countdown to the Olympics well underway, HM Revenue and Customs has issued a timely reminder to householders that events are being held at certain venues around the country, and if they are thinking of renting out a spare room to visitors, they can receive up to £4,250.00 per annum tax free under the 'Rent a Room Scheme'.People who rent, as well as own their homes, qualify for the scheme, and it is available for rooms or entire floors that are rented to a lodger, who p...
Ashby School Sixth Form Conference
08 Jul 2011Sarah at Sence Accounting is delighted to have been asked again this year to be a 'Syndicate Advisor' at the Sixth Form Skills Conference taking place week beginning 18 July 2011. Students take on board a range of real-life workplace challenges which involves team work, decision making, communication and time-keeping used in any common workplace. Sarah will bring a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to the conference from the last 22 years working in the financia...
HMRC Target Specific Businesses
06 Jul 2011New campaigns targeting VAT defaulters, private tutors and e-marketplaces will be launched by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over the next year.HMRC said it would be using tools such as web robot software to search the internet and find targeted information about people and companies.Using the software, the department can pinpoint more accurately people who have failed to pay the right tax. The web robot, used in conjunction with HMRC’s Connect computer system, also h...
Sence welcomes work experience placement
04 Jul 2011Sence welcomes a pupil from year 10 at Ashby School. The young lady wishes to become an accountant once she leaves school. A variety of tasks and job shadowing different roles have been allocated to her this week. She will leave with an understanding of how payroll works, how accounts are produced, reconciliation work, purchase ledger book-keeping and indeed an idea of what career path she can take.We wish her well with her future studies....
Women In Business Networking
17 Jun 2011This week, Sence Accounting have become members of a 'Women in Business Networking Group'. Sarah, the Business Development Manager went along to a launch meeting at the Dovecliff Hall Hotel in Burton on Trent and admired the strategy of the group. Rebecca Hogarth, business owner stated 'the one profession per group membership policy ensures that each member has the full support of their group when referring business or passing leads'. The group meets monthly in Bur...
HMRC warns of email tax credits scam
16 Jun 2011HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is alerting taxpayers to a surge of fake ‘phishing’ emails sent out by fraudsters in the run-up to the tax credits renewal deadline. The email informs the recipient they are due a tax rebate, and provides a click-through link to a cloned replica of the HMRC website. The recipient is asked to provide their credit or debit card details. Fraudsters then try to ...
VAT Rule Breakers Targeted
10 Jun 2011HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced it is to target individuals and businesses who are trading above the VAT threshold but have not registered for VAT in a new drive against rule breakers.The campaign will be launched in the summer, following discussions with interested parties to help HMRC design the campaign. The VAT threshold is currently £73,000 turnover on a rolling annual basis.Announcing the initiative on 20 May, Mike Wells, HMRC's director of risk and...
HMRC Business Record Checks
02 Jun 2011HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have begun the 'test and learn' phase of its Business Records Check (BRC) initiative.The early results, as gleaned from the letters which have been issued to businesses after the BRC visit, suggest HMRC has a template letter and is recommending improvement in common areas across the board.For example, the letters seen all recommend that sales invoices should be issued with consecutive numbers and a cash book maintained. Other recommendations sug...
Bribery Act 2010 - Implementation date announced
27 May 2011Bribery Act 2010 - Implementation date announcedAt the end of March the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) published the long-awaited supporting guidance on the Bribery Act 2010. This...
Tax Investigations Insurance
20 May 2011SOMETHING TO BE AWARE OFMost taxpayers will be aware that following the Finance Bill 2008, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have broader powers of investigation, particularly in relation to schedule 36. These include Business Assurance Visits (where a VAT officer and a colleague review records and check compliance), non-written interventions (Informal information requests by telephone) and the new Business Record Checks.HMRC recently announced that they were to raise £6...
Avoid a penalty - Filing deadline approaching
12 May 2011HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is issuing an urgent reminder to employers – file your annual return online by the 19 May deadline, or you could face a penalty.Employer Annual Returns must be sent to HMRC by the 19 May filing deadline. Failure to do so will almost certainly result in a late-filing penalty. In previous years, an extra-statutory concession gave employers extra time before HMRC charged a penalty, but this has now been withdrawn.And from this year, employe...
Loss Relief Restriction
07 Apr 2011Unfortunately, the Coalition has stuck to their proposals and restricted loss relief so that the losses from UK or EEA FHL can only be offset against income from the same business, not any other income as previously permitted. This will start from April.However, the Coalition has backed down slightly in that the proposal to change the capital allowances rules have been dropped and there will be no changes to the existing treatment. ...
PAYE Regulation Changes
06 Apr 2011From 6 April 2011 the PAYE Regulations are changing to allow confirmation of an amended tax code to be given to an individual, with their approval, over the phone instead of sending out a paper notice. For further details please link to : http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/paye-regchange.htm ...
HMRC tracks small businesses
06 Apr 2011HMRC will be targeting 50 000 small businesses each year for visits to put their accounting records under scrutiny if the records are not up to standard and they can be fined for failing to keep proper records. ...
Pensions Tax Relief
06 Apr 20116 April 2011 will bring a headache for high earners and their employers, in the shape of a drastic reduction in the Annual Allowance for tax-deductable pension contributions, from £255,000 to £50,000....
Crackdown on Late Tax Returns
04 Apr 2011Penalties rise in April 2011. Under the current system, there is a £100 fine for missing the January 31 deadline and a further £100 if it still not filed six months later. In the meantime you pay 3% on any tax due.Under the new rules, if you file late and you have tax to pay, the Revenue will still levy an initial £100 fine. It will then impose a penalty of 5% of the outstanding tax after one month. There will be a further fine of £10 per day after 3 months, u...
iXBRL - What it means to your business
31 Mar 2011You may not be aware but from the 1st January 2010 legislation came into force requiring all Limited Companies to file their Corporation Tax Returns online using Inline extensible business reporting language (iXbrl). This is a specific format and means that companies can no longer send in their returns with pdf computations or attachments, including accounts.The compulsory filing date is the 1st April 2011 so all returns being submitted electronically to HMRC after this date (year e...
Beware - fraudulent emails from 'HMRC'
31 Mar 2011The problem of fraudulent emails being sent to tax payers continues to grow. The latest emails appear to come from HMRC and offer tax rebates to taxpayers. These are not genuine HMRC messages and should be disregarded. These emails are part of a ‘phishing’ exercise that uses bogus emails and web sites to trick taxpayers into supplying confidential and bank information.HMRC have reconfirmed that they never advise tax payers of tax refunds via email and would not ask for ...
Corporation Tax – compulsory online filing
31 Mar 2011The introduction of compulsory on line corporation tax filing begins for company tax returns delivered after 31st March 2011 for accounting periods ending after the 31st March 2010. The online filing must be in a specific date format (known as In-line XBRL or iXBRL). Corporation tax payments must also be made electronically fom April 2011. There will only be two exemptions from on line filing : Where the director and company secretary are all practising members of a reli...
Changes to the advisory fuel rates from 1 March 2011
01 Mar 2011The advisory fuel rates have been changed with effect for all all journeys undertaken on or after March 1 2011. For further details please link to :http://www.hmrc.gov.uk.cars/advisory_fuel_current.htm...