You are thinking about providing free meals to your employees to help them with the rising cost of living. You can buy in bulk and can access discounts not normally open to individual employees. But how do HMRC view this?  Naomi Swan CA, looks at this below. Food inflation While the headline rate of inflation...

All women in the UK are entitled to a total of 52 weeks of maternity leave from work – made up of 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks additional maternity leave. There are two types of maternity benefits available, Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) which is paid by an employer and Maternity Allowance (MA)...

From 1 April 2023, companies with profits in excess of £50,000 will see their corporation tax liabilities increase. This also means that relievable expenses will be more valuable, so what can you do to save as much as possible? Kenny Logan from our Edinburgh office explains. New rates From 1 April 2023 a new set...

You are planning to join a local business association to help with networking and promotion. This includes access to a monthly dinner with a guest speaker. Does the business entertainment aspect affect the tax deductibility?  Kenny Logan from our Edinburgh office discusses. Quite often, business organisation meetings are also social occasions where food and drinks...

Next quarterly or monthly VAT return must be filed using MTD-compatible software From Tuesday 1 November 2022, businesses will no longer be able to use their existing VAT online account to file their quarterly or monthly VAT returns. Businesses that file annual VAT returns will still be able to use their VAT online account until...

A set of draft company accounts have been prepared and they show that the director shareholders received “unlawful dividends”. What are the tax consequences of this and how can they best be managed? Jane McWilliam provides advice. The last couple of years have been tough with many businesses having had significant contractions in profits compared...

As of 6 April 2024 most self employed traders and private landlords will be required to comply with HMRC’s new MTD for ITSA rules. Who is required to comply? All individuals who are subject to income tax on the profits of a trade, profession, vocation or property business who have a total turnover from all...

The way we allocate profits to tax years for sole trade and partnership businesses is set to change in the 2023/24 tax year. The current system used to allocate profits was designed in the 1920s and creates a situation whereby businesses that do not have an accounting period that is aligned with the tax year...

The UK government has recently run a public consultation on a potential new Online Sales Tax. The consultation period ran from February 2022 to 20 May 2022. The results are currently under review. COVID has had a big impact on how we shop, work and generally interact, but even before COVID the retail sector in...

Your accounting period is due to end soon and your fellow directors want to pay a bonus so the company can reduce its corporation tax bill. However, they don’t want to pay tax on it until the following year. Is this possible? Brona MacDougall advises on the timing and rules that you should be aware...