Here are some of the highlights from the Chancellor of the Exchequer's 2018 Budget (published on 29 October 2018): Personal Tax The Personal Allowance will be raised to £12,500 and the Higher Rate Threshold (i.e. the amount that an individual can earn before paying higher rate tax) to £50,000 in April 2019 – a year earlier than planned. These levels will remain the same in 2020/21, and then increase by CPI going forward. The final exemption period for Principal Private Residence Relief (PPR) which provides Capital Gains Tax relief on the sale of your home will be reduced from 18 to 9 months. Under the current PPR rules, where you have let a property which at one point was your home Lettings Relief may be available to reduc...

The Confederation of British Industry ("CBI") has submitted its recommendations to the Treasury on how to tackle the UK's skills shortage and encourage productivity and investment in business. After highlighting that the UK has the lowest level of business investment as a proportion of GDP in the G7, the CBI asked the Chancellor to use to Budget to assure businesses that the Government is committed to taking action to boosting UK competitiveness. A selection of the CBI's key demands have been provided below. 1. Capital Allowances The CBI has recommended that the Annual Investment Allowance ("AIA") for capital allowances is increased to £500,000 for two years to boost innovation and UK competitiveness. It is thought that this i...

On 22 November 2017, the Chancellor of the Exchequer published the Autumn Budget 2017 – the second budget of the year. Here are the highlights: Individuals Personal Tax Rates Personal allowance will rise from £11,500 to £11,850, from 2018/19 The basic rate threshold will be increased to £34,500, from 2018/19. Pension lifetime allowance will rise to £1,030,000, from 2018/19. Annual exemption for capital gains tax (CGT) will rise to £11,700, from 2018/19. From 29 November 2017, marriage allowance transfer claims can be made on behalf of deceased spouses, and backdated for up to 4 years. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Effective from 22 November 2017, SDLT will be abolished on homes under £300,000 for first-time ...

Research and Development (R&D) relief is available to companies that incur expenses on a project which seeks an advance in science or technology. This relief offers assistance to companies in the form of a reduced company tax bill or, for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), a cash sum in the case of a loss.  The tax credit is  currently offered at a rate of 230% of qualifying expenditure for SMEs, or 130% for large companies. From November 2015, it will be possible for first time claimants to make a voluntary advanced assurance claim to HMRC to apply for clearance that their project will qualify for the R&D relief, provided that the company's turnover is below £2m and with fewer than 50 employees.  Upon accepta...

We present a list of some changes and points of interest for the tax year commencing 6 April 2015 The threshold of turnover for VAT registration is now £82,000 The main rate of corporation tax is now in line with the small company's rate, 20%.  Therefore the marginal rate of corporation tax is 20% The personal allowance for income tax is £10,600 Earnings above £8,060 per year will attract National Insurance Marriage Allowance comes into effect.  Spouse can transfer £1,060 of unused personal allowance to a basic rate taxpayer spouse Significant changes come into effect for pensions and their accessibility (subject to the terms of your pension scheme) The annual allowance for pension contributions remains at £40,000 The A...

Here is a brief note of some of the changes announced by the Treasury on 3 December 2014 and a reminder of some other things that will come into force on 5 April 2014. Stamp Duty Land Tax – The rates for SDLT will be restructured so that they apply on an incremental basis rather than as a “slab” charge.  Houses purchased under £937,000 will have a lower SDLT charge, those above this figure will have a higher charge. Non-residents CGT on sale of UK residential property – From 5 April 2015 non-UK residents will be subject to capital gains tax on the sale of UK residential property.  The CGT base cost of properties owned by Non-residents as at 5/4/15 will be rebased to that date. Incorporation Reliefs for Goodwill Denied – The ...