Author Archive: Muhammad Zia

Don’t forget to claim home working tax relief

Due to the ongoing restrictions of the Government’s Coronavirus response, millions of UK workers continue to work from home.

Many may not be aware that they can claim tax relief for additional household costs if they are required to work from home regularly, either for all or part of the week.

This tax relief is not available to those who choose to work from home, only those that must do so.

This tax relief has been designed to cover additional costs, such as heating, metered water bills, home contents insurance, business calls or a new broadband connection.

A worker may also be able to claim tax relief on equipment used in their role, such as a laptop or mobile phone. Details of this can be found here.

However, the tax relief available does not cover costs that would stay the same whether a person was working at home or in an office, such as mortgage interest, rent or council tax.

Workers can either claim tax relief at a rate of:

  • £6 a week from 6 April 2020 (for previous tax years the rate was £4 a week) – no evidence is required to make this claim.
  • the exact amount of extra costs incurred above this weekly amount – this will need to be evidenced with receipts, bills or contracts.

Taxpayers get tax relief based on the rate at which they pay tax. For basic rate taxpayers (taxed at 20 per cent), for example, claiming £6 a week would mean they receive £1.20 per week in tax relief.

Employees can claim this relief by clicking here. They will need to use or set up a Government Gateway ID using their National Insurance number and information from their P60 form.

 Link: Claim tax relief for your job expenses

Voluntary and compulsory strike-off processes paused in response to national lockdown

Companies House will pause both the voluntary and compulsory strike-off processes for one month from 21 January until 21 February to support businesses affected by COVID-19, it has been announced.

The extended measure comes in response to delays to the system caused by the third national lockdown.

In a notice to customers, Companies House said reduced resources have led to delays in processing correspondence, documents and forms, which could potentially disadvantage companies during this period.

The regulator said it will continue to publish first Gazette notices for voluntary strike-off applications, but to give business owners more time to update their records, the second Gazette notice will not be published and companies will not be removed from the register during the pause.

Both the first and second Gazette notices for compulsory strike-off applications will not be published, however, and companies will not be compulsorily removed during this period.

Commenting on the changes, Companies House said: “Pausing our strike-off processes will provide companies with more time to update their records and help them avoid being struck off the register. It’ll also protect creditors and other interested parties who might have had difficulties in receiving notices or registering an objection, or whose objections have not yet been processed.

“We’ll continue to remind customers about their filing responsibilities during this period. Our digital services are available as normal, and we encourage all customers to file online if you’re able to.”

The Companies House strike-off process was also paused during the first and second national lockdown.

What is the Companies House strike-off process?

Registered businesses are removed from the official register of companies after a period of inactivity.

You can choose to close down your own limited company by getting it “struck off” voluntarily, providing it meets a strict set of requirements.

A company can also be forcibly struck off if company documents are outstanding and the regulator has received no response, or if the company has no registered directors.

Link: Companies House pauses voluntary and compulsory strike off processes

Consultations on future of Companies House could see filing deadlines slashed

A set of consultations on the future of Companies House published in December 2020, include proposals for mandatory digital filing, requirements to tag accountants digitally with IXBRL and shortening filing deadlines to three months for public companies and six months for private companies.

The Department for Business and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is also seeking feedback on extending the powers of Companies House to allow it to undertake further checks on filings before they are added to the register, with the authority to reject them where necessary.

Finally, BEIS is consulting on banning corporate directors, meaning only individuals could hold the position of a company director. At the moment, companies are only required to have a single individual director.

There is no guarantee that any of the proposals being discussed will be implemented and, if they are, it is likely to take some time.

Lord Callanan, the Minister for Corporate Responsibility, said: “Today’s proposals set out further detail on our far-reaching reforms to ensure the Companies House register is fit for the 21st century – allowing us to crack down on fraud and money laundering while providing businesses with greater confidence in their transactions.”

Link: Companies House reforms could cut filing deadlines

The advantages of electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes

Businesses looking to reward and retain staff members may wish to consider offering an electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme.

Not only are many EVs better for the environment, but they could also offer businesses considerable savings.

Businesses can use employee salary sacrifice – similar to schemes offered for pension contributions, cycle to work schemes and childcare vouchers – to fund the purchase of new EVs in a tax-efficient manner.

In principle, salary sacrifice is simple, the employee ‘sacrifices’ part of their salary and the employer invests this in a benefit – in this case, an EV. Using salary sacrifice saves the employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and Income Tax.

However, in recent years HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has taken a tougher approach to many salary sacrifice schemes, which has often made them less effective.

Thankfully, a special exemption was put in place for ultra-low emission vehicles to encourage motorists to swap their petrol and diesel cars for electric and hybrid models.

When this was confirmed it was made clear that the provision of an EV via salary sacrifice would be considered a benefit-in-kind.

Initially, the benefit-in-kind, or BiK rate, on a pure electric car was 16 per cent, which in many cases meant that there was little or no benefit.

However, following changes in April last year, all pure electric cars now have a zero BiK rate and salary sacrifice benefits can be felt in full.

The zero per cent rate also applies to hybrid vehicles that are first registered from 6 April 2020 that produce between one and 50g/km of CO2 and are capable of at least 130 miles on battery power alone.

The change in rates coincided with more complex rules regarding emission and economy tests, which determine rates for vehicles including hybrids, which may have an impact on existing hybrids acquired via salary sacrifice.

The Treasury has recognised that the older tests may unfairly disadvantage some company hybrid car users and so to achieve fairness it has reduced the BiK rates used for older car models.

This reduction will fall to one per cent in the 2021/22 financial year and will disappear altogether in the following year. This means that there will be no reduction in its BiK rate for these vehicles from April 2022.

People looking to purchase a new company car in the next year should review the Government’s latest rates, which can be found here. Be aware though that these rates change annually and may differ after April 2021.

There are several other tax incentives for both company car users and the businesses that offer this benefit, especially where it is used for business purposes, including:

  • Corporation Tax relief
  • Reclaiming VAT on a vehicle purchase
  • Lower vehicle excise duty
  • Plug-in grants
  • Tax-efficient electric car charging points

It is not surprising, as technology advances, that more businesses are considering EV salary sacrifice or the purchasing of a fully electric or hybrid fleet.

Beyond the immediate tax benefits for a company, the employer should also look at the advantages that offering a company car can have on retaining staff.

Offering EV salary sacrifice is an excellent way of rewarding employees in a tax-efficient manner that doesn’t incur significant costs for the business or the employee.

Looking further ahead, the Government is now committed to a ban on the sale of new purely petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, which is now less than a decade away.

Link: Electric Car Tax Benefits

Business insurance rates are on the rise

The impact of the pandemic has been felt in many different ways. Some of the effects have been quite immediate, but now many businesses are starting to see how the events of the last year are affecting their annual business insurance rates as well.

Before COVID-19 struck, there were already a number of factors adversely impacting the insurance industry and the market has steadily deteriorated during the last year. Beyond the pandemic, the industry has also been affected by:

  • Changes in legislation
  • A sharp rise in UK property rates
  • Flood and storm damage claims
  • Rising reinsurance rates and reducing capacity
  • Lower interest rates

The combined effect of these issues and COVID-19 has meant that many insurers are now looking to increase business insurance premiums in the year to come.

With many businesses already struggling with cost and cash flow management issues, a sudden increase in insurance rates could damage their ability to recover later in the year.

To combat some of the issues listed above, the insurance industry is reacting. One such area is specialist insurance for those in high flood risk areas, which uses a very practical approach.

If a business has previously been flooded, is at risk of flooding or has flood insurance in place, a new product has been created that is essentially a drain pipe attached to the outside of the premises.

When water levels reach a pre-agreed height on the drainpipe, the insurance policy pays out a pre-agreed sum of money immediately.

This new type of policy is not based on damage costs, like a traditional policy, and can be used as flood insurance or as cover for the excess on existing flood insurance.

This is one of several new insurance products on the market designed to reduce premiums, which is why businesses need to assess their current level of cover and the costs involved.

Link: Property insurance costs to keep rising in 2021

What you need to know about the end of the Northern Ireland grace period

It has been revealed that the European Commission is unlikely to accept the Government’s proposition of a two-year extension to the Northern Ireland grace period.

With reports suggesting that the Union will consider a three-to-six-month extension at best, what does this mean for businesses transporting goods into Northern Ireland?

What is the Northern Ireland grace period?

Announced hours before the end of the Brexit transition period, the Northern Ireland grace period exempts businesses transporting certain goods – such as meat and dairy products – into Northern Ireland from customs processes until 01 April 2021.

When will the grace period end?

The grace period is unlikely to be extended for a further two years. Reports suggest that the grace period will be extended by three months, putting the end date in July, to a maximum of six months, moving the end date to October.

What will happen at the end of the grace period?

Whether it is July, October, or somewhere in between, the end of the grace period will bring the Northern Ireland protocol into force.

The protocol was originally imposed to prevent controlled goods from moving into the European Union via Northern Ireland without following the correct customs processes.

This means certain goods coming into Northern Ireland ports will become subject to strict EU customs rules, despite the Brexit deal allowing for tariff-free trade.

The processes and new requirements include:

  • Firms sending products of animal origin – such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy – to Northern Ireland will be legally required to complete Export Health Certificates (EHC) to ensure they meet EU standards. A vet or similar professional must sign off every consignment.
    • Some meat products, like sausages, have a six-month grace period before customs processes come into force.
  • Firms will need to complete customs declarations for commercial parcels entering Northern Ireland.
  • Personal parcels carrying goods valued at £135 or less do not need to be declared, but parcels containing excise goods, such as alcohol, do.
  • More information on all of the new customs processes can be found here.

Get expert help today

To discover how these changes will affect your business, please get in touch with our expert Brexit advisory team today.

£2,000 grants for Brexit-related training or professional advice announced

The Government has announced the launch of a £20 million SME Brexit Support Fund, intended to help SMEs with the new rules that apply to trading with the EU following the end of the Brexit transition period.

The fund offers grants worth up to £2,000 to enable businesses who trade only with the EU and who are, therefore, new to importing and exporting to access support, including training and professional advice to ensure they can continue trading with the EU.

This includes training on:

  • How to complete customs declarations
  • How to manage customs processes and use customs software and systems
  • Specific import and export related issues, including VAT, excise and rules of origin.

Additionally, the grant can be put towards professional advice relating to meeting customs, excise, import VAT and safety and security declaration requirements.

Businesses are eligible for the fund if they:

  • have been established in the UK for at least 12 months before submitting an application or currently hold Authorised Economic Operator status;
  • have not failed to meet tax or customs obligations in the past;
  • have no more than 500 employees;
  • have turnover of no more than £100 million; and
  • import or export goods between Great Britain and the EU or between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

They must also meet one of the following conditions:

  • Complete (or intend to complete) import or export declarations for their own goods; or
  • Use someone else to complete import or export declarations but need additional capability to effectively import or export.

Details of how to apply are expected in the coming weeks.

Between April and July this year, new important control measures will be introduced in three stages, after which businesses will need to complete import declarations. The new funding will assist businesses in preparing for these changes.

Please contact us today for advice on continuing to trade with the EU.

Download our latest Brexit Guide to understand the complexities of post-Brexit VAT

Thousands of businesses across the UK have been having to get to grips with new rules surrounding VAT, imports and exports since the Brexit transition period ended at the start of this year.

To help, our experienced team have put together a detailed guide on post-Brexit trade and the new rules around VAT on imports and exports, which covers:

  • Import VAT
  • The impact on regular services
  • The importance of fiscal representatives in the EU
  • The rules of origin
  • The sale of digital services in the EU
  • VAT registration in the EU.

If you are finding it difficult to manage your VAT affairs as a result of Brexit or would just like to know more about how the EU-UK free trade and withdrawal agreements affect goods and services, download this guide today.

Don’t struggle in silence, if you need assistance with VAT on imports, exports or services sold in the EU, please speak to our team.