The Fifth SEISS Grant

The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) was introduced to assist sole traders and those in a partnership who had been adversely affected by Covid-19. The fifth SEISS grant can be claimed if you think that your business profits will be impacted by Covid-19 between 1st May 2021 and 30th September 2021.There are three stages of…Read More

Rent a Room Relief

Deciding whether to rent a room in your home and wondering what the most tax efficient way to go about this is? The ‘Rent-A-Room’ relief scheme is a tax exemption scheme, where, as a property owner you are able to let out a room in your home for up to £7,500 a year and this…Read More

Incorporating a Limited Company

The benefits of Incorporation If you’re currently a sole trader and your annual profits are high, it might be time to think about incorporating your company. Incorporating your sole trade into a limited company comes with many benefits as well as being an efficient way to save you money on tax each year.As you’ll know,…Read More

Tracking Employee Time in QuickBooks

Many businesses need to track their employees’ time, whether that’s to manage how time is spent, or how to pay them accordingly. This can be calculated and kept within QuickBooks by creating timesheets. To do this, use the ‘New’ button to create a weekly timesheet, and select an employee in the Name drop-down list. If…Read More

Care relief

Qualifying care relief  Carers typically receive income from various sources for looking after children and adults who are placed under their care – this income needs to be declared to HMRC via a self-assessment tax return.  However, carers can claim what is known as qualifying care relief whereby the payments they receive for the children placed in their care are not taxable, up to a certain amount. …Read More

First-year allowances

Capital allowances are claimed on assets as a form of tax relief. Full first-year allowance (FYA) is a type of allowance on certain assets that allows you to claim tax relief on the full cost of the asset in the year of purchase. So how does it work? When you purchase an asset that qualifies…Read More

What are self-assessment tax returns?

Self-Assessment is a system used by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to collect income tax and National Insurance from individuals who have varied sources of income and who are not on PAYE.  Who needs to file tax return?  A tax return must be submitted if during the previous tax year (April 6th to April 5th) you were: …Read More

Allowable Business Expenses

As we approach the end of lockdown and life starts to return to normal, so does our work life. With an increase in business meetings, travel, and staff returning to the office full time, it’s important to remember which expenses are allowable for tax purposes and which are not. More business meetings could mean clocking up…Read More

Returning to work

As many of you know, for the meantime, the official guidance remains for employees to work from home where possible. With this expected to change shortly, however, are you and your fellow employees ready for the move back to the office? Or quite possibly, has this changed the way your business works for good? One…Read More

Trivial Benefits

A Father’s Day tax exemption  With Father’s Day fast approaching, the trivial benefits exemption could be a tax-efficient way to treat your dad if he is an employee or director of your company.  Expenses or gifts, provided by employers, to employees or directors may not need reporting to HMRC if they meet all these requirements:  Does not exceed £50   Is…Read More

VAT Retail Schemes

VAT retail schemes can help make calculating your VAT easier by calculating your VAT once with each VAT return rather than for each sale you make. For goods sold that are inclusive of VAT, you deduct the VAT you must record. Whereas for goods that are sold exclusive of VAT you must add the VAT…Read More

Paying your deferred VAT

If you took the opportunity to defer your vat payment between March and June 2020, then you must act before 21st June 2021 to either pay in full or set up a payment plan with HMRC otherwise you will incur 5% penalty. Last year at the start of the covid pandemic, the government allowed businesses…Read More

Reconciling an Account in QuickBooks Online

When handling your accounts in QuickBooks, it is important that all information kept is entirely accurate and up to date. To ensure this, QuickBooks has a reconciliation feature that allows you to match the end balance of your bank accounts against the balance shown in bank statements. To keep on top of your accounts it…Read More

VAT margin schemes

The VAT Margin scheme is when you charge your customers VAT on your sales, without incurringunfair VAT liabilities on the sales that are eligible for a margin scheme. This is because HMRC hasintroduced a fairer way to declare the VAT on sales for businesses that do not incur VAT on theirpurchases. How it works Usually,…Read More

CIBLS Loan Deadline

Act now: Why you should secure a CBILS before it’s too late The deadline to apply for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), is approaching once more – and this time it seems to be final. Businesses have until 31 March 2021 to start their application. 2021 is still looking extremely challenging for businesses,…Read More

George W. Bush

In the corporate world, sometimes things aren’t exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures.

George W. Bush