Accountancy News and Advice

If you’re a creditor of a business, owed money or have assets tied up in a business that enters Administration, a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner may provide you with a specialist service designed to deal with the aftermath of business failure.

Are you considering whether or not to declare bankruptcy? Perhaps you are facing foreclosure on your home, or you have lost control of your debts, it is vitally important for you to understand what your options are.

What is statutory redundancy? Who pays for it? What are settlements? Find out in the latest blog from Kirk Hills, chartered accountants in Exeter.

What is insolvency, what causes it, and is it different to bankruptcy? Find out in the latest blog from your local chartered accountants, Kirk Hills.

Last week HMRC published the October 2021 Employer Bulletin. Published six times a year, the bulletin offers both employers and agents the latest information on topics and issues which may affect them, according to the GOV website.

The autumn budget is set to take place on the 27th October 2021, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirming the date earlier this month. However, the government is yet to share any details around what they may announce on the day.

At the end of last month, HMRC announced that Making Tax Digital (MTD), has been postponed a year until April 2024.

The Self-Assessment Tax Deadline (31 January 2021) is fast approaching but our team remain fully operational as we work to submit all of our client’s returns in a timely manner. However, you may be unsure what expenses are allowable on your return or whether you need to submit a return at all.

Over the past month as the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 reaction strategy adjusts to tackle the virus once more, how has the support the government are offering businesses changed? In order to help you understand the current support available we have summarised the key information below.

The anticipated support for self-employed individuals was announced by the Chancellor some weeks ago. A further extension has now been announced with a further update promised to be released on 12th June. To help you we have highlighted the key information below:

On Monday 17th August self-employed individuals will be able to begin submitting their claim for the second payment from the Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS). A claim can be made regardless of whether the first instalment was applied for.

Announced a few weeks ago, many businesses are unaware of a grant that they can claim to support their businesses. This grant has been put in place for small to medium size businesses.

The trainee kickstart scheme is a government plan to give young people a work opportunity whilst benefiting employers with the chance to experience fresh faces and fresh ideas from future applicants.

We now know that from the 1st of July 2020, an element of flexibility will be introduced to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Last week further details on how this will work were released, including all of the new rules. The key points of the new rules are set out below.

In addition to the Government announced help for small and micro businesses, Exeter City Council have now released their discretionary business grant scheme. This is Government funded monies where local discretion has been allowed.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme set in place in the early stages of the social distancing measures in place across the country has been reviewed and amended by the Chancellor.

Announced by the Chancellor on the 12th May 2020, the Furlough Scheme put in place due to the Coronavirus pandemic will continue until the end of October.

As many self-employed amongst you prepare to make your claim for the Government announced Income Support Scheme, we have created this guide to help you expediently submit the required information.

Monday 27th April 2020 saw the Chancellor announce a new measure aimed at supporting small businesses recover from COVID-19. Small businesses will now be given the opportunity to borrow (without giving security)

The advice regarding Directors’ salary for 20/21 has altered, please read the information below direct from our team of accountants. When it comes to tax-efficient salary levels for 20/21 there are now three national insurance thresholds you need to be aware of.

Yesterday saw the launch of the CJRS portal through the government gateway, HMRC have stated that the portal can cope with high levels of traffic and that claims will be paid six to ten days after submission.

On the 7th April 2020 the government announced that it is supporting employers paying sick pay to employees, where the employees have been forced to take sick pay because of Coronavirus. Until now, how that claim could be made has not been announced.

There is something of a conundrum being circulated around the effect of holidays on furloughed staff.

Amongst a range of measures introduced by the Government amid the Coronavirus, recent communication has alluded to the sense that additional measures to assist ratepayers with business rates will be unveiled. The details of these measures are yet to be revealed, however, we have detailed all of the given information to date below.

Interpretation around furloughing yourself as a Director of a Limited company and being able to claim under the CJRS scheme is coming to light.

Whilst the current difficult times are seeing many businesses come together to help support and lift one another, there are unfortunately some who have taken these unprecedented times as a green light to begin pushing their fraudulent schemes.

The advice in this article is correct as of Tuesday 30th March 2020. Please check our COVID-19 Business Portal for the latest information.

Amongst a range of introduced measures to help businesses, the Government has also ordered a moratorium (temporary ban) on commercial landlord sanctions for 3 months, this includes forfeiture or CRAR (Commercial rent arrears recovery).

This scheme is being delivered by the British Business Bank in order to support SMEs in accessing bank lending and overdraft facilities, during this difficult time.

One of the key measures introduced by the Government was the ability for businesses to now defer their Value Added Tax (VAT) payments for 3 months. Furthermore, for the self-employed Income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system will be deferred to January 2021.

Businesses across Exeter and of course worldwide, are experiencing a sharp and immediate downturn in business as a direct result of COVID-19.

We are all now aware that we are living in challenging and uncertain times. Whilst we all worry about the possible consequences of COVID-19 on our health and wellbeing, the economy is also taking a massive hit.

From the 6th April 2020, eligibility rules for claiming the Employment Allowance (EA) are changing. This will mean that professional bodies will need to provide updates to their members, whilst tax agents and advisers need to make sure their clients are ready for the change; this is something we will be doing following this update.

Two things in this life are certain in this life: death and taxes. If you manage a small business that operates in the UK, mistakes relating to your taxes could lead to the death of your company. With this in mind, it’s imperative that you avoid the potential pitfalls.

Every business owner can appreciate the importance of smooth payroll systems from the employee’s perspective, but mastering this part of accountancy and cash flow management can have a telling impact on the company too.

If you’re involved in small business or accounting, there’s no way you’ve been able to avoid the juggernaut that is Making Tax Digital. This is one of the biggest contributors to the massive changes made to the way businesses keep their records.

New legislation is changing the way businesses in the construction industry process their VAT liability and it’s important to be aware of how this could impact you. Coming into force on 1st October 2019, the VAT reverse charge policy doesn’t have a transitional period. This means you’ll need to be up-to-date and ready to apply the VAT reverse charge in appropriate circumstances from 1st October onwards.

There is new legislation from HMRC that has come about, and it means that if you have a taxable turnover that hits above the VAT threshold of £85,000, submitting your returns should be via software. VAT records should also be kept digitally for easier access.

Having already given employers and employees an incentive to switch to electric vehicles, the Government has extended its new zero-emission vehicle policy even further. The latest change means that there will be a 0% benefits in kind rate for electric cars throughout 2021/2022.

One of the most significant milestones that a business will run into is hiring its first employee. The growth that your business undergoes to get to this point just shows how successful you have been in getting your startup moving, so congratulations!

The world of self-assessment can be ever-changing and for many, it can seem more complicated than it is. We have outlined some of the most frequent questions we have encountered from clients, to help you understand this process much better.

With limited time available, we understand that running payroll as a small business owner is a task that you seldom have time for. With many of you having to know an increasing amount about all aspects of your business, pressure can soon mount up and time left to do essential work such as payroll is non-existent.