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If you are an employer, you may need to keep an eye on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) levels.  The current levels are: £6.19   the main rate for workers aged 21 and over £4.98   the rate for 18-20 year olds £3.68   the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18 £2.65   the apprentice …

If you work for yourself, there’s a good chance that you will be able to claim motor expenses for running your business.  You may visit customers, suppliers, trade fairs, exhibitions, the bank and a whole host of other places in the course of running your business.  There are a couple of different ways to claim …

When you own a property which is let out to tenants, this is known as a buy to let.  If you receive income from a buy to let, you need to register for self assessment, which will mean that you will have to complete tax returns each year. Your net property income is assessed for …

The 2013 Tax Returns cover the year to 5 April 2013.  They will be issued in early April 2013 and the deadline for submission is 31 October 2013 (if submitting by paper) or 31 January 2014 (if submitting online).  We are always advising clients to get their tax returns, or any filing with HMRC really, …

  When you start self employment, tax rates start having more relevance.  Unlike PAYE, where your taxes are taken off you by your employer throughout the year, self employment will result in a tax bill at the end of the year.  If you are currently self employed, either as a sole trader or a partner …

The Chancellor announced his 2013 Budget on 20 March 2013.  The following are some of the major announcements which are relevant to the self employed and small business: Income Tax The personal allowance threshold is due to increase to £9,440 from 6 April 2013 and then to £10,000 from April 2014. The 40% tax rate …

In conjunction with the article ‘limited company – common myths’, we thought it may be useful to highlight some of the myths of self employment, many originating from speaking to someone ‘down the pub’! If you’re self employed, you can claim for much more than an employee There is an element of this, which can …

  The intention of the Flat Rate Scheme is to simplify the process of reporting VAT for businesses.  VAT payable becomes simply a factor of VAT inclusive sales for a quarter – removing the need to analyse input VAT on purchases.  See here for our recent blog on the Flat Rate Scheme. There is also an …

We speak to a lot of businesses, and the clear (and probably obvious) message is that they don’t like paying tax.  They may recognise the importance and the reason for paying tax, but it still doesn’t make it any more palatable.  However, there are quite a few ways to legally reduce your business tax bill, …

Nobody starts a business with the intention of failing, but the facts indicate that quite a few new businesses fail within the first 2 years.  This is startling, why should this be? The following are some of the more common reasons. A Man With a Plan Every business should have a business plan, to show it …