Author Archives: Steve Brown - Page 2
Claiming VAT On fuel
Self-employed businesses that are registered for VAT charge their customers VAT on sales and reclaim the VAT they are charged on their own expenses. For most expenses, the amount of…
St Leonards Modern Goods
Situated on Norman Road, St Leonards, this shop has recently celebrated its third anniversary. The shop offers a mixture of clothing, gifts and books, updating the stock on a regular…
Winner Of Her Biz Hastings: Helping To Bridge The Gender Gap
Aspiring entrepreneur Jessica Fleischer has won £1,000 in the NatWest Her Biz Women’s Start-Up Programme in Hastings. The prize will go towards start-up costs for Jessica’s new business venture, Fighting…
Avoiding VAT Surcharges
As with so many things involving HMRC, failing to file and pay your VAT on time can result in penalties. VAT penalties are referred to as surcharges and you must…
Employment Expenses
If you are self-employed, then you are allowed to deduct business expenses from your income. You then only have to pay tax on the amount after expenses. If you are…
Renewing Tax Credits
If you receive tax credits (either Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit) then the claim needs to be renewed each year. The renewal is to confirm your income for…
Tax Deductions For Construction Industry
If you are self-employed, you will normally pay all your tax through your tax return. However, if you are in the construction industry, there are special rules if you do…
Southside Wrappers
If you’ve been to the south entrance of Priory Meadow in recent months, you will probably have seen Southside Wrappers already. Their black and white trailer is a regular fixture,…
Penalties For Parents Cancelled
Parents of young children are entitled to support from the government through Child Benefit. However, in January 2013, the government decided that those on higher incomes did not need these…
Hastings & Rother Credit Union
Some people have problems with using conventional ; For some this is a simple lack of trust in those institutions but for others, especially those with limited funds, they are…
Appealing Against Penalties
The world of tax is full of deadlines and failing to meet these will often result in penalties. However, whilst HMRC might sometimes suggest otherwise, such penalties are not necessarily…
Registering For Self-assessment
We are now a month and a half into a new tax year. If you have completed a tax return in previous years, then you are likely to have already…
Tax Codes
I have employment income and I was expecting my tax code to go up. Instead it has gone down and I am now paying more in tax. Why is this?…
Home
TV series-Channel 4 Katy, her son John and her boyfriend Peter have just returned from a disappointing trip abroad. As they arrive back in Dorking, their mutual recriminations are cut…
HIP And The 1066 Card Team Up
In 2014, Chris Beveridge had an idea. He had seen how many big chains offered loyalty cards to customers, with enticing offers attached to encourage people to shop with them.…
Mortgage Evidence For The Self Employed
Whether you are looking to remortgage your existing property or get a loan for your first home, lenders are likely to want proof of your income. For those in regular…
Recovering Lost Bank Accounts
You would think that the one thing people would always keep track of is where their money is located. This does not stop many bank and building society accounts becoming…
Tax Back On Donations
If you have funds to spare, then donating to charity is a noble way of using those funds. For most people, supporting a worthy cause should be enough. However, if…
Tax Question and Answer
I’m planning to buy some new equipment for my business. Can I claim the cost for tax? As a general rule, if an expense is incurred for business purposes then…
Electric Cars
Caring for the environment has become an ever more important issue for businesses in recent years. Showing green credentials can be a great advertising point whereas failing to address environmental…
Keeping Records for Making Tax Digital
From 1st April 2019, VAT registered businesses with turnover over the registration threshold (currently £85,000) will be required to submit their information under the Making Tax Digital (MTD) regime. This…
Beware Free Gifts
As a public e-mail address, I receive a variety of ‘interesting’ offers on the Hastings Independent business account. With most of these, the nature of the content is obvious and…
Let Property Campaign Ongoing
Unlike most voluntary disclosure campaigns from HMRC, which normally run for a short period of time, the Let Property campaign is still ongoing. It was first introduced in late 2013,…
Things To Do Before The Tax Year End
The tax year end, 5th April 2019, is only a few weeks away now. However, there is still time to make some tax savings if you act quickly. The following…
Making Tax Digital Is Coming
Whilst it has been subject to several delays, the government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) system is almost upon us. It is intended that it will take effect for VAT registered…
Missed The Tax Return Deadline?
The deadline for filing 2017/18 tax returns online was 31st January 2019. The deadline for paper returns was 31st October 2018. Unless a tax return was issued late, in which…
Strange Excuses and Expenses
Though most complete their tax returns honestly and on time, every year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receives some outlandish excuses. Some of the most bizarre excuses HMRC received from…
Questions and Answers
I complete my own VAT returns for my business. Reviewing my records for my tax return, I realise I have made some mistakes. How do I go about correcting these…
Hastings Hugs
Christmas and New Year are weeks ago. Nights are long. The weather is cold and damp. The news seems to be constantly grim and depressing. What we all need is…
Brexit Preparations
With the planned Brexit leaving date fast approaching and no deal agreed, many businesses are concerned about the future. Whilst it is hoped that an agreement will be in place…
Paying your tax bill
If you took my advice from last issue, you will have now filed your tax return. If you have not done so, you need to take action as soon as…
Amended Tax Calculations
With the changes to the tax law that came in for the tax year ended 5th April 2017, significant changes were required to the tax return. Unfortunately not all of…
Prepare for a Happy New Year
No doubt most people are making plans for Christmas at present. However, if you are self-employed, there is something else you need to be planning for. The deadline for filing…
Work Christmas Party
It’s that time of year where staff look forward to having a Christmas party. Whilst businesses no doubt want to reward their staff for another year of hard work, they…
Autumn Budget 2018
On 29 October, Philip Hammond gave his autumn Budget speech. With Brexit on the horizon, this was a Budget taking place at a time of uncertainty. Regardless, Mr Hammond claimed…
St Leonards Business Receives Prestigious Award
Local business Plastipack Ltd has been awarded the 2018 Institute of Physics Business Innovation Award for the development of EnergyGuard™ Selective Transmission material in collaboration with the University of Surrey.…
Super-Complaint Launched By Citizens Advice Over Loyalty Penalty
Citizens Advice has revealed customers who stay loyal to their providers are losing out on over £4 billion a year. The national charity has lodged a super-complaint with the Competition…
Tax On Dividends
I run a small limited company with my wife. In previous years we have each taken a small salary then dividends from the remaining profits. This has previously left us…
Beware of Fake Bailiff Fraudsters
Small business owners around the UK are being warned about a telephone scam involving bogus bailiffs claiming thousands of pounds, supposedly arising from unpaid fees for online marketing. The alias…
No Excuse for Lateness
With the pressure of running a business, it is easy to overlook deadlines. As previously mentioned in these pages, the penalties from missing the tax return deadline can be high.…