http://www.rowlandsaccountants.co.uk The latest news from Rowlands Accountants en-en http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/images/Rm501logoBlack.gif http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/33/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/33/ Action may be required by property owners if they are to obtain the maximum available tax relief on their expenditure on a building ... For many years, a property owner has been able to make a claim for tax relief for expenditure on fixtures as long as this relief had not previously been claimed by them.There was no time limit for the claim.Fixtures for this purpose are items such as heating and air conditioning systems, electrical systems, plumbing and units in kitchens, toilets and other simi... Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/32/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/32/ When a company undertakes R;amp;D, it may consider applying for a grant to assist with its costs.However, care should be taken when deciding whether to apply because the tax relief claim is affected by the receipt of a grant, and it may be better for your company to claim higher tax relief than to claim a grant. There are two schemes for claiming tax relief: ;middot; The Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Scheme ;middot; The Large Company Scheme The SME Scheme This scheme has very h... Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/30/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/30/ A few of the basic tax advantages of charitable status .... If your organisation is recognised as a charity for UK tax purposes, it may qualify for a number of tax exemptions.This doesn't mean that charities never pay tax. Your charity might receive taxable income or gains and if so tax will need to be paid.In addition, if your charity has business activities the VAT rules will apply to you just as they do for any other business. Applying for recognition as a charity for tax purposes In ... Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/29/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/29/ Over the last few years, the penalty regime has been ;lsquo;improved;rsquo; in favour of HMRC and to the detriment of taxpayers.As part of these improvements, important changes to penalties for late Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) returns come into effect this month. From 6 October 2011, CIS contractor monthly returns will be liable to a new penalty regime.The first return to attract a penalty under the new system will be the return due for the month ended 5 November 2011, which is due by ... Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/18/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/18/ HM Revenue ;amp; Customs (HMRC) is planning a Private Tuition ;amp; Coaching Campaign this autumn. This is the second ;ldquo;professionals;rdquo; disclosure campaign and is going to target individuals providing educational or leisure teaching, such as tutors and fitness coaches.The purpose is to encourage tutors and coaches to voluntarily disclose previously undeclared income and pay tax on it.Whilst the exact rules of the disclosure opportunity have not yet been finalised, it is expected t... Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/11/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/11/ Automatic enrolment, the employer duties and NEST Automatic enrolment, the employer duties and NEST Pension reform There will be more pensioners in the future and those pensioners will live longer. This will put a massive strain on the State pension system. To alleviate this burden, the Pensions Acts 2007 and 2008 make changes to the Basic State Pension, the State Second Pension and introduce new employer duties for pensions. The Pensions Act 2008 laid out the foundations for automati... Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/25/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/25/ Business travel in employees;rsquo; own vehicle From 6 April 2011, the approved rates for income tax purposes per business mile are as follows: Type of vehicle First 10,000 miles Above 10,000 miles Cars and vans 45p 25p ... Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/14/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/14/ Could your poor records result in you paying too much tax? In 2008, HM Revenue ;amp; Customs (HMRC) obtained new powers to enter a business premises and inspect the business record, where this is ;lsquo;reasonably required;rsquo; to check a ;lsquo;tax position.;rsquo; Previously, they had only been able to check records supporting a filed VAT return or tax return. However, now they are able to check your records of current transactions, before you have even submitted your VAT return or tax retu... Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/27/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/27/ If you have outstanding tax debts you may receive a letter, telelphone call or SMS text from one of the debt collection agencies in the following link ... http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payinghmrc/debtcollectors/ ... Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/26/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/26/ Emma Gloverexplains the advantages of owning a furnished holiday let and the proposed new rules .... In the June 2010 Budget, the Coalition government announced a review of the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) rules.The proposed revisions encourage full time, long term holiday lettings businesses, but in the same vein encourage those who work in the holiday lettings marketplace on a part time basis to increase their stake in the market in order to benefit from the reliefs. What are the propo... Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/23/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/23/ Parents joining a childcare voucher scheme after 5 April could receive only half of the savings of parents joining before April.Emma Glover explains the scheme and why you might wish to take action now. What are Childcare Vouchers? Childcare Vouchers are a government tax initiative, suitable for all employers, designed to help working parents save money on their registered childcare costs via reduced tax and National Insurance contributions. Childcare Vouchers are a great employee ben... Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/21/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/21/ In recent months HM Revenue ;amp; Customs have targeted the motor expense claims of self employed hospital consultants.They have focused in particular on the mileage originating from their homes and between NHS and private hospitals. When conducting an enquiry HM Revenue ;amp; Customs may ask you for a detailed list of journeys made each week.The list will need to include the mileage as well as the purpose of each trip. HM Revenue Customs;rsquo; view is that the first and last journey of... Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/6/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/6/ You don;rsquo;t have to be devious, move abroad or be a multi-millionaire to save tax.Emma Glover, tax partner in Rowlands, explains some simple and legitimate ideas to reduce your tax bills. Use your family Husbands, wives, partners and children all have allowances, exemptions and a basic rate band.You may be able to reduce the tax you pay by re-arranging your finances.Share income and capital gains with other family members.Note that minor children cannot be taxed on income from thei... Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/8/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/8/ Following the introduction of a new computer system by the taxman, millions of people in the UK will be receiving calculations from HM Revenue ; Customs (HMRC) before Christmas showing underpaid tax. Here we explain your options if you are one of them. You will receive a calculation ifHMRC;rsquo;s new computer system, which deals with PAYE taxpayers, calculates that you have not paid the correct tax for 2009/10 and/or 2008/09. Firstly, do not ignore the calculation . You, or an agent on yo... Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/4/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/4/ Scope of the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) The AIA now offers full and immediate tax relief (similar in effect to a repair cost) for all sizes of business, for the first ;pound;100,000 of expenditure on plant and machinery in the year. Before April 2010 the figure was ;pound;50,000. Cars and expenditure on ;lsquo;green;rsquo; technology continue to be treated separately, but the AIA is available for expenditure on all other plant and machinery, including long-life assets and ;lsquo;integ... Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/20/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/20/ Feed-In Tariffs are payments to anyone who owns a renewable electricity system, for every kilowatt hour they generate. Both private and business users are eligible for such payments. By installing FITs-eligible renewable energy systems in your home or business you can make energy, make money and make a difference to the environment! How much can you claim? You may be entitled to claim up to 41.3p/kWhr generated, depending on the type and size of your installation. In addition, you save on yo... Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/17/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/17/ The acquisition of the former Gerry Proudlock Practice in Hexham by Rowlands was finally completed on 31st March 2010. Rowlands were in negotiations with Gerry Proudlock and had reached an agreement to acquire the practice prior to his unexpected death in January 2010.Fortunately the acquisition was eventually completed as originally anticipated through Gerry executors.Gerry;rsquo;s philosophy of client care matched that of Rowlands therefore the acquisition has proved to be seamless with a... Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/15/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/15/ Emma Glover, Tax Partner, explains the Revenue;rsquo;s benchmark scale rates which employers can use to make subsistence payments to employees who incur costs of food while out working free of tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs). The system only suggests scale rates for day subsistence payments and therefore overnight stays must be dealt with separately. Benchmark system/rules HMRC has set rates for meal expenses that it will accept for all employers. As long as the employee has ... Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/16/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/16/ Firstly, a brief explanation of the new regime.Two key changes were introduced last month: The personal allowance is withdrawn on a tapered basis for individuals with income between ;pound;100,000 and ;pound;113,000.This means that the effective rate of income tax for individuals with income in range is 60%. The income tax rate for individuals with taxable income of over ;pound;150,000 is 50%. Therefore, there are two particular groups of individuals who may wish to take act... Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/13/ http://rowlandsaccountants.co.uk/news/art/13/ ;lsquo;Small;rsquo; employers can reclaim 104.5% of SMP payments to employees.To work out the average salary you would get the EWC (Expected Week of Confinement) then go back 15 weeks before baby is due then 8 weeks or 2 months prior to that. If paid weekly ;divide; the total by 8, if paid monthly add the 2 months x 6 ;divide; 52 to give an average then 9/10 of the average is paid for the first 6 weeks then the lower rate for 33 weeks. To qualify as a ;lsquo;small;rsquo; employer your Gr... Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500