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Position available, Semi-senior accountant

Posted by: edwinsmith on March 1st, 2016

We are looking for a semi-senior accountant for a vacancy in our Reading based practice to undertake accounts preparation and tax compliance services for a range of business clients, predominantly small and medium sized Limited Companies, Partnerships and Sole Traders.  The ideal candidate will also have experience of planning and carrying out audits in a range of industries and be keen to take on the responsibility of supporting junior members of staff.

Main duties:

  1. Preparing accounts for Sole Traders, Partnerships and Limited Companies
  2. Planning, executing and completing statutory audits for limited companies, charities and other entities.
  3. Completion of Personal, Partnership and Company Tax Return forms.
  4. Preparation and completion of VAT Returns.
  5. Involvement in bookkeeping and preparing management information
The individual will:
  1. Be AAT studying or qualified
  2. Have strong interpersonal and IT skills
  3. Have previous experience in a practice environment
  4. Be seeking to pursue a career in practice

 

Study leave and training costs provided.

Competitive salary based on experience and training requirements.

How to apply

A copy of your current CV should be sent to info@edwinsmith.co.uk for the attention of Philip Nixon.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Revised advisory fuel rates 1 September 2015

Posted by: CarolineMeredith on September 1st, 2015

H.M. Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have published the latest advisory fuel rates relating to mileage payments for business travel in company cars. These are as follows:

Engine size Petrol LPG
1400cc or less 11p ↓ 7p ↓
1401cc to 2000cc 14p ↔ 9p ↔
Over 2000cc 21p ↔ 14p ↔

 

Engine size Diesel
1600cc or less 9p ↓
1601cc to 2000cc 11p ↓
Over 2000cc 13p ↓

The changes this quarter are highlighted in red above.

The new rates will be effective from 1 September 2015. However for the first month employers may continue to use the previously published rates if they choose to.

These rates will be reviewed again in August 2015 and any changes made will be effective from 1 September 2015. The revised fuel rates will be published on the fuel rates page on the HMRC website when they are released.

Advisory fuel rates can be used to calculate the following:

  1. Reimbursement to employees of fuel used for business travel in a company car;
  2. Repayment by employees of fuel used for personal travel in a company car;
  3. Allowable input VAT claims on business mileage claims in personal cars made by employees.

A more detailed explanation of the use of these rates is on the HMRC website.

The rates applying for earlier periods are also on the HMRC website.

If you have any questions regarding the use of advisory fuel rates or mileage payments please contact us.

Revised advisory fuel rates 1 June 2015

Posted by: edwinsmith on May 31st, 2015

H.M. Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have published the latest advisory fuel rates relating to mileage payments for business travel in company cars. These are as follows:

Engine size Petrol LPG
1400cc or less 12p ↑ 8p ↔
1401cc to 2000cc 14p ↑ 9p ↓
Over 2000cc 21p ↑ 14p ↔

 

Engine size Diesel
1600cc or less 10p ↑
1601cc to 2000cc 12p ↑
Over 2000cc 14p ↓

The changes this quarter are highlighted in red above.

The new rates will be effective from 1 June 2015. However for the first month employers may continue to use the previously published rates if they choose to.

These rates will be reviewed again in August 2015 and any changes made will be effective from 1 September 2015. The revised fuel rates will be published on the fuel rates page on the HMRC website when they are released.

Advisory fuel rates can be used to calculate the following:

  1. Reimbursement to employees of fuel used for business travel in a company car;
  2. Repayment by employees of fuel used for personal travel in a company car;
  3. Allowable input VAT claims on business mileage claims in personal cars made by employees.

A more detailed explanation of the use of these rates is on the HMRC website.

The rates applying for earlier periods are also on the HMRC website.

If you have any questions regarding the use of advisory fuel rates or mileage payments please contact us.

HMRC campaign – credit card sales

Posted by: edwinsmith on April 30th, 2015

HMRC are currently running a campaign aimed at taxpayers who accept card payments for goods or services who have not declared all their UK tax liabilities.

HMRC has details of all credit and debit card payments to UK businesses which they can use to identify individuals and businesses who may not have paid what they owe.  If you have not declared all your income and HMRC catch you, you will have to pay the undeclared tax, a penalty of up to double the tax you owe, and you could even go to prison if they pursue a criminal prosecution.

It is important for individuals to use this campaign to come forward and declare all their income under a ‘voluntary disclosure’ in order to obtain best terms for penalties. Under this campaign an individual will have four months to pay any additional liabilities from the date they receive HMRC’s acknowledgement of their notification.

Further information can be obtained here on HMRC website or please contact us for further advice.

Charity audit threshold increase

Posted by: edwinsmith on April 22nd, 2015

The government has increased the income threshold for the statutory audit of charity accounts from £500,000 to £1 million. This comes into effect for charity accounts with accounting periods ending 31 March 2015 onwards.

Also where gross assets of a charity exceed £3.26 million then if the income exceeds £500k (from £250k) a statutory audit will still be required.

Charities that can take advantage of the audit threshold increase will still require an Independent Examination if their gross income is over £25,000. With an Independent Examination there is less work involved than a full audit (although there are still Charity Commission Directions that need to be completed/followed as part of examination work). Unlike a full audit the internal financial internal controls operating within the charity would not be checked. Compared to an audit report the examination report will provide a more limited form of security but the report must still, as quoted from guidance below.

‘● confirm that no evidence has been found that suggests certain things have not been done by the charity, such as not maintaining proper accounting records; and

● provide a statement on specific matters that have come to their attention as the result of the examination procedures specified in the Directions.’

Please contact us  for further advice on charity accounts etc.

Filed under: Audit, Charities

Abolition of Employers National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for under 21s

Posted by: edwinsmith on April 15th, 2015

From 6 April 2015 employers with employees under 21 will no longer have to pay Employer NICs on earnings up to the upper earnings limit (2015/16 £42,385).

The zero rate won’t apply to Class 1A or Class 1B NIC’s – e.g. where employee has a chargeable benefit in kind for NIC purposes from employment.

This measure will not affect the individual’s state pension entitlement.

Employers need to be aware that this change has resulted in new NIC category letters and if employing someone aged over 16 but under 21 then a new NIC category letter will need to be selected. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the correct letter is selected.

The 7 categories are:

  1. M - not contracted-out standard rate contributions
  2. Z - not contracted-out deferred rate contributions
  3. Y - mariners not contracted-out standard rate contributions
  4. P - mariners not contracted-out deferred rate contributions
  5. V - mariners contracted-out salary related contributions
  6. I - contracted-out salary related standard rate contributions
  7. K - contracted-out salary related deferred rate contributions

Three of the new letters (V, I and K) will be removed in April 2016 in line with the ending of ‘contracted-out’ status in relation to salary-related occupational pension schemes.

For full details please refer to HMRC - Abolition of Employers NICs for under 21s

Please contact us  for further advice on operating payroll etc.

Transfer of tax allowances for married couples and civil partners

Posted by: edwinsmith on April 8th, 2015

It was announced in the 2013 autumn statement that from 6 April 2015 tax allowances could be transferred between certain married couples /civil partnerships. Where neither spouse/civil partner pays more than the basic rate of tax then a spouse/civil partner who is unable to use all their personal allowances will be able to transfer up to £1,060 of their unused allowance to their spouse/civil partner.

This benefits couples (married/civil partnerships) where one spouse/civil partner has a total income less than their personal allowance (for 2015/16 £10,600). The recipients of the allowance will be able to reduce their tax liability by up to £212 (£1,060 x 20%).

This transfer of allowances is not eligible to:

  1. Couple/civil partnerships where one/both pays tax at the higher/additional rate.
  2. Married couple already claiming the married couple allowance – this is where at least one of the couple was born before 6 April 1935.
  3. Non UK domiciled individuals who elect to pay tax on the remittance basis of tax or who would be higher rate or additional rate tax payers if their worldwide income was within the scope of UK tax.

Please contact us if you would like further assistance.

Filed under: Individuals, Tax

Revised advisory fuel rates 1 March 2015

Posted by: edwinsmith on March 31st, 2015

H.M. Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have published the latest advisory fuel rates relating to mileage payments for business travel in company cars. These are as follows:

Engine size Petrol LPG
1400cc or less 11p ↓ 8p ↓
1401cc to 2000cc 13p ↓ 10p ↓
Over 2000cc 20p ↓ 14p ↓

 

Engine size Diesel
1600cc or less 9p ↓
1601cc to 2000cc 11p ↓
Over 2000cc 16p ↓

The changes this quarter are highlighted in red above.

The new rates will be effective from 1 March 2015. However for the first month employers may continue to use the previously published rates if they choose to.

These rates will be reviewed again in May 2015 and any changes made will be effective from 1 June 2015. The revised fuel rates will be published on the fuel rates page on the HMRC website when they are released.

Advisory fuel rates can be used to calculate the following:

Reimbursement to employees of fuel used for business travel in a company car;
Repayment by employees of fuel used for personal travel in a company car;
Allowable input VAT claims on business mileage claims in personal cars made by employees.
A more detailed explanation of the use of these rates is on the HMRC website.

The rates applying for earlier periods are also on the HMRC website.

If you have any questions regarding the use of advisory fuel rates or mileage payments please contact us.

Savings interest – Changes to starting rate of tax from April 2015

Posted by: edwinsmith on March 27th, 2015

Last year the 2014 budget announced changes to the starting rate of tax for low income savers. These changes will come into effect from 6 April 2015. From this date the 10 % rate of tax on savings will be abolished and replaced with a new 0% rate. There will also be an increase in the amount of savings that can benefit from new rate, from £2,880 to £5,000.

This will mean that most individuals with a total income of less than £15,600 will not pay any tax on their savings. If someone’s total income (such as wages, pension, benefits and savings income) is less than their personal allowance, plus £5,000, they will be able to register for tax-free savings at their bank or building society. If no tax is due on savings then an individual will be able to register their bank accounts for interest to be paid without tax being deducted by completing Form 85. There is also a help sheet in this link  that will help individuals work out if they qualify for 0% starting rate

Other individuals may have some of their savings interest eligible for the 0% starting rate and some taxable at 20%. In these circumstances an individual will still have some tax deducted but be will be able to reclaim some tax from HMRC using Form R40.

For further details please see Changes to starting rate of tax for savings interest.

Please contact us for further advice or assistance with forms.

Filed under: Individuals, Tax

2015 Budget

Posted by: edwinsmith on March 20th, 2015

The key announcements in the 2015 Budget are as follows:

Personal Taxation

Income Tax

From 6 April 2016, the personal allowance will be increased by £200 from £10,600 to £10,800.

From 6 April 2017, the personal allowance will be increased by a further £200 to £11,000.

The basic rate limit threshold will be increased to £31,900 for 2016/17 from £31,785.  The personal allowance and basic rate limit will be £42,700.

The basic rate limit threshold will be increased to £32,300 for 2017/18.  The personal allowance and basic rate limit will be £43,300.

The higher personal allowance for those born before 6 April 1938 will be removed with effect from 2016-17, so that everyone regardless of their age, is entitled to the same personal allowance.

By 2020 end-of-year tax returns will be scrapped in favour of "real-time" online accounts. It is planned that individuals and small businesses will submit accounts throughout the year via computer, tablet or smartphone.

A new personal savings allowance will come into effect in April 2016. Designed to create tax-free banking for 95% of the population. Basic rate taxpayers will be exempt from paying tax on £1,000 of savings income, higher-rate taxpayers will benefit from a smaller personal savings allowance of £500, and anyone earning more than £150,000 a year will not receive the benefit of the new savings allowance.

Plans have been announced to increase the number of years in which a self-employed farmer can average profits for income tax purposes from two to five, with effect on 6 April, 2016.

A new “flexible” ISA has been introduced. This will allow users to withdraw money from an ISA without losing any of their annual allowance. So long as Isa money is taken out and replaced during the same tax year, such a move would not count towards the annual Isa contribution limit, which is due to rise in any case to £15,240 this coming April.

Pension pot lifetime allowance will be reduced from £1.25 million to £1 million.

National Insurance

Class 2 NI contributions for self-employed is to be entirely abolished in the next parliament.

No employers NI on workers under 21, from April 2015, as long as they earn under £815 a week (£42,380 a year), and a similar policy will be introduced for young apprentices from April 2016.

Benefits In Kind

In line with a 2014 budget announcement, legislation will provide a benefit charge for vans which do not emit CO2 (zero emission vans), beginning in 2015-16.

The van benefit charge for zero emission vans will be 20% of the value of the van benefit charge for vans which emit CO2 in 2015-16, 40% in 2016-17, 60% in 2017-18, 80% in 2018-19 and 90% in 2019-20. From 2020-21, there will be a single van benefit charge applying to all vans.

In line with a 2014 budget announcement, legislation will provide a statutory exemption from tax for qualifying trivial benefits in kind (BIKs) costing £50 or less. Following technical consultation on the draft legislation, an annual cap of £300 will be introduced for office holders of close companies, and employees who are family members of those office holders. Those affected by this cap will be able to receive a maximum of £300 worth of trivial benefits in kind each year exempt from tax. Corresponding legislation will also be introduced for National Insurance contributions purposes. These changes will have effect from 6 April 2015.

An exemption replaces the rules that require employers to either apply to HMRC for an agreement known as a ‘dispensation’ so that they can provide expenses and benefits free of tax and National Insurance contributions, or to report such expenses and benefits to HMRC. However the exemption will not apply where expenses are paid as part of a salary sacrifice arrangement. Following consultation, the legislation has been revised to ensure that the exemption cannot be used in conjunction with other arrangements that seek to replace salary with expenses. These changes will have effect from 6 April 2016.

Business Taxation

Corporation Tax

From 1 April 2015 corporation tax will be charged at 20% and there will no longer be the small profits rate or marginal rate of corporation tax.

R&D Tax Credits

In line with a 2014 budget announcement, legislation will restrict expenditure in respect of consumable items that qualify for R&D tax credits where a company sells the products of its R&D activity as part of its normal business. The revised definition of qualifying consumable items makes it clear that the cost of materials incorporated in such products that are then sold will not be eligible for the relief. This ensures that R&D tax credits remain well targeted in incentivising R&D investment. Draft legislation was published for consultation in December 2014. Following consultation the legislation clarifies that the restriction will not apply where the product of the R&D is transferred as waste, or where it is transferred but no consideration is received.

VAT

On 01 April 2015 the VAT registration threshold rises from £81,000 to £82,000 and deregistration threshold from £79,000 to £80,000.

In line with a 2014 budget announcement, the government will refund to charities providing palliative care the VAT they incur. The Finance Bill 2015 will include legislation to provide for refunds of the VAT these bodies incur on or after 1 April 2015 in relation to their nonbusiness activities.

Regulations will be introduced so that supplies made by foreign branches will no longer be taken into account when working out how much VAT incurred on overhead costs can be deducted in the UK. This will affect partly exempt businesses, and they will have to implement the change from the beginning of their next partial exemption tax year falling on or after 1 August 2015.

In line with a 2014 budget announcement, legislation will be included in Finance Bill 2015 to introduce a new VAT refund scheme for blood bike charities. It will enable these charities to reclaim the VAT incurred on the purchase of goods and services.

Excise Duties

Alcohol

As announced at Budget 2015, legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2015 to reduce the following alcohol duty rates by 2%.

  1. spirits;
  2. sparkling cider and perry not exceeding 5.5% alcohol by volume (abv);
  3. still cider and perry not exceeding 7.5% abv;
  4. beer between 2.8% and 7.5% abv; and
  5. wine and made-wine exceeding 22% abv.

The legislation will also reduce the duty rate for low strength beer (less than 2.8% abv) by 6%, overall duty rate for high strength beer (above 7.5% abv) by 0.75% and for still cider and perry exceeding 7.5% abv by 1.3%.

This will reduce the price of a typical bottle of spirits by 18 pence, a typical litre of cider by 1 penny, and a typical pint of beer by 1 penny. These changes will take effect from 23 March 2015. The duty rates on wine and made wine not exceeding 22% abv and sparkling cider of a strength exceeding 5.5% abv have been frozen.

Tobacco

The duty rates for all tobacco products will increase at a rate of 2% above the rate of inflation, based on the Retail Price Index (RPI), from 6pm on 18 March 2015.

Fuel

The scheduled increase in fuel duty for September has been scrapped.

Other Policies

“Help To Buy ISA”

A “Help To Buy ISA” will be launched for first-time buyers. Further information on this will follow when available.

If you require further help please contact us

 

Filed under: Budget Report