News

Understanding if You Have to Pay UK Tax We get asked this question a lot. So often in fact that we decided it’s a subject worth covering in a blog. In most cases, there is a simple answer to this question. If you are not a UK resident, you won’t need to pay tax in…

Many people view paying an accountant as just another outgoing, another necessity that is paid begrudgingly along with utility bills, tax, business rates and the like. This perception is fundamentally wrong as so much of an accountant’s role in small business accounting is geared towards saving businesses money. In most cases, a good accountant will…

VAT (or value-added tax) is a tax imposed on most goods and services in the UK. There are three rates of VAT; standard, reduced and zero-rated. The differences between these rates and their impact on VAT returns are as follows: Goods and services in the UK may fall into one of these 3 different rates…

Boosting Your Business Profitability In today’s competitive business landscape, achieving and maintaining profitability is more crucial than ever. As a business owner or manager, you’re likely always on the lookout for strategies that can help increase your bottom line and improve your profit margin. This article will delve into nine practical and effective ways to…

Many businesses rely heavily on gift card sales, especially during the festive period. The law surrounding VAT on gift cards changed in January 2019 to align with the EU legislation and it is important that businesses understand how this may impact them. The EU Vouchers Directive aims to harmonise VAT treatment of vouchers across EU…

Who needs to file a Self Assessment Tax Return? The self assessment tax return is an annual requirement for people who do not pay their tax automatically through PAYE. Self assessment tax returns are often submitted electronically to HMRC, with the deadline being 31st January following the end of the tax year. Alternatively, if filing…

Jaffa Cakes: Cake or Biscuit? The age-old debate that was taken to court. Who knew VAT could be interesting? Who would have known that the bounds of confectionery, sweets, chocolates, chocolate biscuits, cakes and biscuits would be taken to court? And why is it so important whether the confectionary in question is a cake or…

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is the name of the Government’s ambition to change the way in which we record financial data and report this information to HMRC. It requires taxpayers to keep digital records, instead of manual ones, and communicate with HMRC using a different reporting system to that which is currently in operation. Why…