Tax update – Autumn Statement 2015

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Summary

The Chancellor, George Osborne, delivered his Spending review and Autumn Statement Speech on 25 November 2015. This article outlines the changes relevant to small-business owners.  The few ‘headlines’ were

  • an extra 3% stamp duty land tax charge on the purchase of additional residential properties from 1 April 2016
  • a requirement to make a payment on account in respect of capital gains tax within 30 days of the disposal of residential properties from April 2019
  • the changes announced to tax credits in Summer Budget 2015 have been abandoned.

More information on the tax proposals scheduled for inclusion in Finance Bill 2016 will be published in the Government’s ‘Overview of Legislation in Draft’ on 9 December.

Making tax digital

As announced at Summer Budget 2015, the government wants to digitise the tax process. The aim is to modernise the tax system and provide a more real-time working basis of individual and business tax affairs, which one would expect, will lead to the advance of tax payments in many cases in due course. Key details so far are:

  • digital tax accounts are to be introduced for all small businesses and individuals by 2016/17
  • by 2020 most businesses, landlords and the self-employed will be required to update HMRC quarterly regarding their tax affairs. The details of how this will work in practice have not yet been decided
  • the intention to consult on ways to simplify tax payments with suggestions of tax payable as profits arise (as announced for capital gains tax arising on the disposal of residential property with payment due 30 days after completion from April 2019).

Employees and pensioners will not be required to update their digital tax accounts quarterly unless they have secondary incomes of more than £10,000 per year.

Simple assessment

The Government is to simplify the tax payment process for taxpayers within the Self-Assessment system where HMRC already holds all the data it needs to calculate the tax liability. Rather than requiring the taxpayer to file a return, instead HMRC will send a legally enforceable payment demand, which the taxpayer can challenge or appeal. This is expected to be introduced from 2016/17.

Residential property

An additional 3% on top of current SDLT rates from 1 April 2016 will be charged on the purchase of additional residential property (e.g. buy to lets and second properties over £40,000), though exclusions to certain corporates and funds are expected.

Dividends for company owners

There was no further commentary with respect to the Summer Budget 2015 announcement regarding the increase in dividend tax rates and the dividend allowance due to apply from April 2016, so the expectation is that these will be introduced in the Finance Bill 2016 as previously announced

Pensions

Further to the announcement at Summer Budget 2015, the Government has now consulted on fundamental changes to pension tax relief. One of the options is that instead of receiving tax relief on the contribution, the savings would work more like an ISA, with a Government top-up and tax-free extraction on retirement.

The Government will provide an update on this at Budget 2016.

Self-Assessment time limits

Draft legislation is to be published ahead of Finance Bill 2016 to clarify that the time allowed for making a self-assessment is four years from the end of the tax year. No further information is included in Autumn Statement documentation but it is possible that this has been prompted by a recent case on tax administration.

Conclusion

There wasn’t a great deal in the Autumn Statement that we didn’t know about, or expect. This article is not a comprehensive review, but concentrated on the issues relevant to small-business owners. If you’d like to know more you can read the government’s documents here.  If you’re concerned that any of the changes mentioned may affect you please get in touch.

Summer Budget 2015 – Small business essentials

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The Summer Budget 2015 will have an impact on all UK businesses, and many individuals.  Changes are being introduced from April 2016.  What follows is a summary, with extracts, from the Summer Budget 2015 Policy Paper, published 8th July 2015.

Income Tax and Individual Taxpayers

The personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17 (it is currently £10,600). The higher rate threshold will increase from £42,385 to £43,000.

The effective inheritance tax threshold will be £1 million, where a main residence is passed to descendants. This will be paid for by the introduction of a taper to the annual allowance for pensions tax relief for people whose total income is above £150,000 per annum.

Insurance premium tax will increase from 6% to 9.5%

Businesses

Corporation tax will be cut from the current 20% to 19% in 2017, and 18% in 2020.

The Annual Investment Allowance will be £200,000 from January 2016. This allowance means businesses can claim capital allowances on tangible fixed assets of up to £200,000 in the year of purchase, rather than spreading the tax relief over several years.

From April 2016, companies where the director is the sole employee will no longer be able to claim the Employment Allowance (the £2,000 reduction in employer’s national insurance contributions).

In the March Budget 2015, the government announced it would transform tax administration for individuals and small businesses over this Parliament, leading to the end of the tax return. Small businesses will be able to manage their tax through a digital account linked to business software. HMRC will begin discussions with businesses and software providers about how best to integrate tax reporting and payment with everyday business activity, to inform a roadmap the government will publish by the end of 2015 setting out the policy and administrative changes needed.

Sunday trading – The government will consult on devolving powers on Sunday trading to city mayors and Local Authorities. This will look at allowing mayors or councils to extend Sunday trading for additional hours within parameters that they would determine.

Enterprise Zones – The government will hold a bidding round for a new programme of Enterprise Zones for this Parliament.

Tax lock – The government will legislate to set a ceiling for the main rates of income tax, the standard and reduced rates of VAT, and employer and employee (Class 1) NICs rates, ensuring that they cannot rise above their current (2015-16) levels. The tax lock will also ensure that the NICs Upper Earnings Limit cannot rise above the income tax higher rate threshold; and will prevent the relevant statutory provisions being used to remove any items from the zero rate of VAT and reduced rate of VAT for the duration of this Parliament. (Summer Finance Bill 2015)

Business tax roadmap – The government will publish a Business tax roadmap by April 2016, setting out its plans for business taxes over the rest of the Parliament.

Self-employed National Insurance contributions – The government will consult in autumn 2015 on abolishing Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs) and reforming Class 4 NICs for the self-employed

Simplified expenses: legislative amendments – The government will amend the simplified expenses regime introduced in Finance Act 2013 to ensure that partnerships can fully access the provisions in respect of the use of a home and where business premises are also a home. (Finance Bill 2016)

Business skills, infrastructure and regional development

To support innovation throughout the country, the government will invest £23m in 6 Next Generation Digital Economy Centres over 6 sites (London, Swansea, Newcastle, Nottingham, York and Bath), leveraging £22 million of additional funding, and partnering with LEPs, regional councils, and local SMEs. These centres will exploit opportunities across sectors of the digital economy including the creative industries, finance, healthcare and education.

The so-called Northern Powerhouse seems to fail to recognise that the UK doesn’t end at Leeds. Although there is mention of upgrading the final stretch of the M1/A1 route between Newcastle and London to motorway. The government will look into the case for renaming the A1(M) north of Leeds as the M1. The A1 will be dualled north of Newcastle as far as Ellingham,

Employers

The Employment Allowance will rise from £2,000 per year to £3,000 from April 2016. This reduces the cost of Employer’s National Insurance contributions. Most small businesses will be eligible, but as mentioned above, the allowance will no longer be available to companies where the sole director is the only employee.

A National Living Wage is being introduced for workers aged 25 and over. National Living Wage – The government will introduce a new premium for those aged 25 and over starting at 50 pence leading to a new National Living Wage (NLW) of £7.20 in April 2016. The target is £9.00 per hour by 2020.

National Minimum Wage – The combined 50 pence premium with the 20 pence minimum wage increase on the current rate will benefit 1.7 million workers and means that a current NMW worker working 35 hours a week will see their annual salary increase by over £1,200 from April 2016.

Taxation of employee benefits and expenses – As announced at Autumn Statement 2014, from April 2016 the government will simplify the tax system by introducing a statutory exemption for trivial benefits in kind costing less than £50. (Finance Bill 2016)

Apprenticeships levy – The government will introduce a levy on large UK employers to increase the number of apprenticeship starts. In England, employers will be able to access this funding for apprenticeship training. Details including rates and implementation will be set out in the Spending Review.

Dividends

Dividend tax credits will be replaced with a tax-free Dividend Tax Allowance of £5,000, and new dividend tax rates. The tax rates will be 7.5% for basic rate taxpayers, 32.5% for higher rate taxpayers, and 38.1% for additional rate taxpayers.

Landlords

Tax relief on mortgage interest for individual landlords will be restricted to the basic rate of income tax.

Individuals renting out a room in their main residence will benefit from an increase in Rent-a-room tax relief to £7,500 from April 2016 (currently £4,250).

Reform of the Wear and Tear Allowance – From April 2016, the government will replace the Wear and Tear Allowance with a new relief that allows all residential landlords to deduct the actual costs of replacing furnishings. Capital allowances will continue to apply for landlords of furnished holiday lets. The government will publish a technical consultation before the summer. (Finance Bill 2016)

Further information

The full Summer Budget can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-budget-2015/summer-budget-2015

If you are concerned about how any of these changes could affect you please contact us.

 

Payroll changes 2014-15

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Payroll changes 2014-15Payroll changes 2014-15 are the usual updates to tax codes, tax rates and NIC rates.  Good news includes a delay in the implementation of late filing penalties under the RTI system, and a £2,000 reduction to employer’s NIC.  On the downside, employers will no longer be able to reclaim SSP paid to employees.

 

RTI LATE FILING PENALTIES

The penalties for late filing of the FPS files which were due to commence April 2014 have been postponed until October 2014.

The FPS files are the Real Time Information (RTI) reports sent each pay period and are due on or before the pay date. The fines are per late FPS and depend upon the number of staff you have:

Staff Monthly Penalty

  • 1 to 9 employees  £100
  • 10 to 49 employees £200
  • 50 to 249 employees £300
  • 250 or more employees £400

The penalty notices will only be sent out quarterly ,so the bill could be quite high when you receive it.  Payment is due within 30 days of the notice.

Where an FPS is late for more than 3 months and the information is not included on a later submission a further charge is made – 5% of the Tax/NICs which should have been on the submission.

SSP RECLAIM ABOLISHED

From April 2014 the reclaim of SSP will be abolished. You still need to keep a record of SSP paid in the normal way but there will be no reclaims at all. Reclaims for SMP, SPP and SAP remain the same.

TAX RATES 2014-15

The new standard tax code is 1000L

Tax Bands:

  • 20% £1 to £31,865
  • 40% £31,866 to £150,000
  • 45% £150,001 and above

NIC Thresholds 2014-15:

Payments start from the primary threshold: weekly pay of  £153, monthly £663, annual £7,956

Employees deductions are 12% on amounts above the primary threshold, up to £805 weekly/ £3,489 monthly then 2% on all other earnings

Employers liability: 13.8% on all earnings above the secondary threshold (values are the same as the primary threshold mentioned above).

The threshold for statutory payments is £111 per week.

SSP rate £87.55 per week

SMP/SPP/SAP standard rate £138.18

Student loans are recovered at 9% on earnings above: weekly £325.19 , monthly £1,409.16 or annual £16,910.00.

£2,000 NIC ALLOWANCE

HMRC are introducing a £2,000 Employers Allowance to be offset against your Employer’s NIC. Most employers are eligible for this and we will be taking it into account on your monthly PAYE Summaries.

There are a small number of employers who are not eligible and you can check your entitlement by logging on to the following website:

https://www.gov.uk/employment-allowance-up-to-2000-off-your-class-1-nics

Budget 2013

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The Budget 2013 introduced a new National Insurance for employers. The increase in personal allowance to £10,000 has been brought forward a year, to 2014. There will be very few changes to tax rates.

Employer’s NI (National Insurance) Contributions 

A completely new measure introduced in this budget is the employment allowance.  This will be a deduction in employer’s NIC of £2,000 per year for all businesses and charities from April 2014. It is intended that this will be easy to administer, and the Government will be consulting with stakeholders on the practical aspects. It should be easy to administer, and be done through the normal payroll and RTI (Real Time Information) reporting process.

Currently employer’s NI contributions reduce profit and business tax liability.  If all else is equal, employers will pay £400 more tax (at a rate of 20%). So the true saving for many employers will be £1,600.

Income Tax

The increase in the personal allowance to £10,000 is being introduced a year earlier than anticipated and will come in from April next year. When there is a rise in the personal allowance this usually means the Chancellor lowers the threshold for the higher rate of tax, so that it only benefits people on lower incomes. There have been no changes to income tax rates.

The basic personal allowance is available to people born on or after 6 April 1948. In the current year, 2012/13, it is £8,105; in 2013/14 (as previously announced) it will be £9,440. Once the personal allowance has reached £10,000 in 2014/15, it will then increase in line with inflation based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in future years, starting from 2015/16.

VAT

The annual turnover threshold for VAT registration will go up from £77,000 to £79,000 from April 2013. The deregistration turnover limit will go up from £75,000 to £77,000.

Corporation Tax

The main rate of corporation tax is already scheduled to decrease to 23% from 1 April 2013. From April 2014 it will go down to 21%, and from April 2015 to 20%. There is no change to the rate for small companies, which remains at 20%.

Capital gains tax

The annual exempt amount in 2013/14 will be £10,900, increased from £10,600 in 2012/13. The exemption for most trustees will be £5,450.  There are no changes to capital gains tax (CGT) rates.

Small Company Shareholder/Directors’ Loans

The Government will close three loopholes to counter attempts to avoid the tax charge on loans from close companies to individuals with a share or interest in the company. The measures will have effect from 20 March 2013 and are expected to bring in just under £70m annually in the four years beginning 2014/15.

Later this year the Government will consult on the structure and operation of the tax charge on loans from close companies to their participators (shareholders). If legislation is needed it will be in the Finance Bill 2014.

The full Budget can be accessed at hm-treasury.gov.uk

If you would like any help with budget 2013 changes please contact us.

Budget 2012 Summary

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Budget 2012

This is a brief overview of the Budget 2012, concentrating on the points that affect small business owners.

Corporation Tax

The published reduction in corporation tax will not affect companies with profits below £300,000 per year. The rate for small companies will not change from 20%.

From April 2013 there will be a favourable 10% rate of corporation tax on profits earned from patents and other intellectual property.  Companies will need to keep clear records of relevant costs and income, separate from any other trading or income streams.

Research and Development Tax Relief

Changes will be made in the Finance Bill 2012, expected to receive royal assent in July 2012.  Changes will apply from 1st April 2012, and are:

  • the rate of relief will increase from 100% to 125%,
  • a reduction in the rate of tax credit payable, from 12.5% to 11%, to keep the cash payment on claims the same in relation to the expenditure,
  • the cap on payable tax credits at the amount of PAYE/NIC paid will be abolished,
  • the requirement for a minimum spend of £10,000 will also be abolished.

Tax simplification

There are proposals to simplify accounting requirements for small unincorporated businesses, and to simplify expenses for all small businesses.  The changes have not yet been confirmed, as they are still in consultation, but they will apply to businesses below the VAT threshold.

Business Rate Relief

The current small business rate relief holiday will be extended for 6 months from 1st October 2012.  The government will also give businesses the opportunity to defer 60 per cent of the increase in their 2012-13 business rate bills as a result of the RPI uprating, to be repaid equally across the following two years.

Personal Tax

Changes to personal tax allowances were announced, as well as the phasing out of the age related allowance.

 

2011/2012

2012/2013

2013/2014
Personal   allowance

7,475

8,105

9,205
Age   related allowance 65-74

9,940

10,500

10,500
Age   related allowance 75 +

10,090

10,660

10,660
Income   limit for personal allowance

100,000

100,000

100,000
Income   limit for age-related allowances

24,000

25,400

25,400
Basic   rate band (20%)

35,000

34,370

32,245
Higher   rate band (40%)

150,000

150,000

150,000
Additional   rate

50%

50%

50%
Dividend   additional rate

42.5%

42.5%

37.5%

 

National Insurance

The following rates and limits for class 1 NIC will apply from 6th April 2012

Weekly rates

2012/2013

2013/2014
Lower earnings limit

£102

£107
Primary threshold (employee)

£139

£146
Secondary threshold (employer)

£136

£144
Upper earnings limit

£817

£817
Primary main rate

12%

12%
Primary residual rate

2%

2%
Secondary rate

13.8%

13.8%
Class 1A rate on employment benefits

13.8%

13.8%

 

For self-employed people the rates of NIC are increasing slightly

2011/2012 2012/2013
Class 2 weekly rate £2.50 £2.65
Class 2 small earnings exception £5,315 £5,595
Class 4 lower profits limit £7,225 £7,605
Class 4 upper profits limit £42,475 £42,475
Class 4 rate between lower and upper profits limits 9% 9%
Class 4 rate above upper profits limit 2% 2%

 

Class 2 NIC is payable either monthly by direct debit, or twice yearly in July and January.

Class 4 NIC is calculated on taxable profits, and paid with your income tax.

VAT

With effect from 1st April 2012 the VAT registration threshold will be £77,000.  The deregistration limit will be £75,000.

Further Information

More information can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk, and on the Treasury website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.  If you would like advice on how the changes may affect you please contact us.

New Tax Year & Budget 2011

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Income Tax and National Insurance (NIC) 2011/12

The personal tax allowance for the 2011/2012 tax year will be £7,475. This is an increase of £1,000, meaning that basic rate taxpayers will pay £200 less tax. Higher rate taxpayers will not feel this benefit, because they will start to pay 40% tax on earnings above £35,000 (previously £37,400).

Employers’ and employees’ national insurance (NI) contributions are increasing by 1%. However the level at which you start to pay NI (primary rate threshold) is increasing as well. This means that an employed taxpayer on £20,000 per year will be £38 better off, while a higher rate taxpayer on £45,000 will pay £71.44 more, and someone on £60,000 will pay £221 more.

Self-employed individuals

Self-employed people will pay £2.50 per week in Class 2 NIC, an increase of 50p per week. The level at which the self-employed start to pay Class 4 NICs will rise from £5,715 to £7,225, but the rate also increases from 8% to 9%.

A self-employed person earning £20,000 will pay £12 per year more in NICs, earning £45,000 will pay £164 more, and earning £60,000 will pay £314 more.

Owner/Directors of small limited companies

If your limited company is your only source of income, continuing to pay a personal allowance salary and dividends appears to be good for the immediate future, although I always worry how long this will last. In fact with the rise in the personal allowance to £7,475 and the rise in the primary NI threshold to £139 per week ( £7,225 pa), there is room for paying up to £7,225 in salary (that’s give or take £600 per month) without incurring income tax or NICs but still preserving your basic state pension rights!

BUDGET 2011

This is a very brief summary of key announcements in the Budget on 23rd March 2011, concentrating on aspects relevant to owners of small businesses.

The full budget can be found at: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_document.htm.

Income Tax

The personal allowance for those under 65 will be £8,105 in 2012/13. Higher rate tax (40%) will be payable on income over £34,370. No changes to rates of income tax and class 1 national insurance have been announced.

Mileage Rates

Mileage allowance for the first 10,000 miles per year will increase from 40p to 45p per mile from 6th April 2011.

Capital Gains Tax

The annual exempt amount for capital gains tax will be £10,600 from 6th April 2011.

Business Rates

The small business rate relief scheme was due to end on 30th September 2011, but has been extended for another year.

Companies

As promised in 2010, the small companies corporation tax rate will be 20% from 1st April 2011. The widely reported 2% decrease applies only to corporation tax payable by large companies (those with a taxable profit of £1.5 million).

Over the next three years there will be no new UK regulations for companies with fewer than 10 employees, micro-businesses and start-ups.

There will be an increase in R&D tax credit to 200% from April 2011, and 225% from April 2012.

VAT

The VAT registration threshold increases from £70,000 to £73,000 from 1st April 2011.