Practical guides, tax tips, and deadline reminders — written in plain English by our Worcester and Birmingham teams. No jargon, just the stuff you actually need to know.
Pension contributions benefit from tax relief. However, the amount of the relief is capped at the lower of 100% of earnings (or £3,600 where this is higher) and the available annual allowance.
The approved mileage allowance payments (AMAP) system allows employers to make tax-free mileage allowance payments to employees who use their own vehicles for work.
A simple assessment is issued when HMRC already holds sufficient information to calculate a taxpayer’s liability, but cannot collect it automatically. Rather than requiring the individual to complete a tax return
VAT-registered businesses can generally reclaim VAT on goods and services purchased for business purposes. However, for a claim to succeed HMRC requires valid evidence to support those claims.
Having made the big decision to start a self-employed business, there will be countless decisions and administrative tasks to attend to. Informing HMRC of the new venture may not be high priority, particularly where income is uncertain.
On 21 May 2026, the Chancellor announced a temporary reduction in the rate of VAT applied to children’s meals and admission to certain attractions.
A landlord will need to consider whether it is better to pass on an investment property during their lifetime or on their death. Here, we look at the associated tax implications.
Taxpayers within Self-Assessment must make payments on account towards their next tax and Class 4 National Insurance bill if the tax that they owed for the previous tax year was £1,000 or more
HMRC use a range of communication methods, as do fraudsters. Consequently, it can be difficult to be certain that a call, email, letter or text which seems to come from HMRC actually does. How then do you tell if the communication is genuine?
This includes statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP), statutory adoption pay (SAP), statutory shared parental pay (SSPP), statutory parental bereavement pay (SPBP), and statutory neonatal care pay (SNCP).
HMRC publish mileage rates for petrol, LPG and diesel and electric cars. The rates are known as the advisory fuel rates and are updated quarterly with effect from 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December.
In a personal or family company, there are often transactions between the company and the director(s). For example, the company may meet personal expenses on the director’s behalf, or the director may loan money to the company to help cashflow.
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) is a tax which claws back child benefit where the recipient or their partner has adjusted net income of £60,000 or more in the tax year.
The cash basis is a simple basis of accounts preparation under which income is only recognised when received and expenses are only recognised when paid. There is no need to match income and expenses to the period
Where a business is run through a personal or family company, the directors/shareholders will need to extract profits if they are to be used personally. There are various ways in which this can be done, and popular options include paying a small salary and extracting further profits as dividends.
The property allowance is essentially an additional personal allowance for income from property.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment (MTD for ITSA) is now a reality for individuals who had combined trading and property income of at least £50,000
The 2025/26 Self-Assessment tax return must be filed online by midnight on 31 January 2027.
Where a business is operated through a limited company, profits need to be extracted if they are to be used personally
Cash ISAs may be with a bank or building society or with National Savings and Investments.
The Employment Allowance is a very valuable allowance which allows eligible employers to reduce their secondary Class 1 National Insurance bill by up to £10,500 in 2026/27.
Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) applies where a property in England or Northern Ireland is sold for valuable consideration.
One of the key requirements under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment (MTD for ITSA) is the need to keep digital records of income and expenses....
Unincorporated landlords who had combined property and trading income in 2024/25 of £50,000 or more must comply with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax...
From April 2026, many businesses may find that their business rates increase. This is as a result of the revaluation of properties for business rates...
It is reasonable to assume that if a person pays too much tax, HMRC will automatically send the overpayment back to them. Unfortunately, this is not the case,...
The 2025/26 tax year comes to an end on 5 April 2026. If you are thinking of selling assets that may realise a gain and have yet to use your 2025/26 capital...
Complete guide to filing your self-assessment tax return for 2026/27. Deadlines, what you need, common mistakes & how a Worcester accountant can help.
Guide to finding the right accountant for your small business in Worcester or Birmingham. What to look for, questions to ask & red flags to avoid.
MTD explained for small businesses. What's changed, who it affects, software requirements & how to prepare. Expert guidance from Worcester accountants.
Essential guide to charity accounting and SORP compliance. Fund accounting, Gift Aid, annual returns & trustee responsibilities explained by specialist Worcester accountants.
A new 40% first-year allowance (FYA) is to be introduced from April 2026. It will apply to main rate expenditure on new assets, excluding cars. Both companies...
Complete guide to the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS). Registration, deductions, monthly returns & compliance for contractors and subcontractors.
Essential tax guide for UK landlords. Section 24 mortgage interest, capital gains tax, allowable expenses, SPV structures & tax planning strategies.
In her tax-raising Budget on 26 November 2025, the Chancellor announced that the dividend ordinary rate and the dividend upper rate are to rise by two...
Corporate landlords will not be hit by the property tax rises that will apply to unincorporated landlords from 6 April 2027; they will continue to pay...
During the Chancellor's Budget speech, savers received the unwelcome news that the rate of tax on savings income is to increase and the cash ISA limit to...
The rate of SDLT payable on the purchase of a property depends on whether it is a residential property or not, and if so, whether the supplement...
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