Autumn Newsletter 2023

Deadline extended for voluntary NIC payments

HMRC has given taxpayers an extra two years to plug any gaps in their NIC record from April 2006. The deadline for making voluntary contributions has been extended from 5 April 2023, as previously reported, until 5 April 2025. The deadline was first extended to 31 July 2023 and HMRC

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Keeping a child benefit entitlement

Claiming child benefit is, after the initial claim, an incredibly straightforward process (subject to the issues raised above regarding higher earners). However after sixteen years of automatic claiming it is easy to forget to update HMRC on whether you will continue to be entitled for a further two years. This

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Merged R&D relief scheme

If your company undertakes research and development (R&D) you will usually benefit from generous tax relief. HMRC has published draft legislation for a new merged R&D scheme which would unify the existing R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) which currently applies to large companies and the small or medium entity (SME) relief

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Influencers subject to tax on non-cash gifts

There is currently no legislation specifically targeted at social media influencers, however the fast-growing industry is very much on HMRC’s radar. Earlier this year HMRC sent nudge letters to thousands of influencers as well as gamers and online traders on sites such as Etsy and Facebook Marketplace to remind them

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Relaxation of rules on self assessment for child benefit

In families where child benefit is claimed, it is important that the individual or couple receiving the child benefit keeps a close eye on their income level. If the higher earner has income of more than £50,000 some or all of the child benefit received will need to be repaid.

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HMRC demands more data

HMRC has confirmed that requirements to report additional information will come into effect from the 2025-26 tax year or possibly a later period. HMRC has set out its intention to collect data relating to trade sectors; locations; occupations; hours worked; shareholdings and dividends paid; and self-employed trading dates. Draft legislation

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Nationwide Building Society bonus

The Nationwide Building Society has paid what is described as a ‘fairer share’ of £100 each to around three million of its customers. To qualify for this payment the customer must have held a qualifying current account plus either a savings account (including ISAs) with a balance of at least

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Pensions update – changes to income tax for beneficiaries

In Spring Budget 2023 the Chancellor announced a welcome change to the tax treatment of pensions – the scrapping of the Lifetime Allowance (LTA). The LTA stood at £1,073,100 when the process began on 5 April 2023 with the removal of the LTA charge. This means that withdrawals can now

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