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New guidance issued on machine learning principles
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has released guidance aimed at assisting developers, engineers, decision-makers, and risk owners in the creation and use of machine learning systems. Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence where computers...
Government promise to cut National Insurance confirmed
While commenting on the GDP growth and what it indicates about the economy, the Prime Minister again drew attention to National Insurance. The article released by the Prime Minister’s Office noted that the progress in the economy has allowed them to bring down taxes,...
Are you an early bird?
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have released figures showing that 295,250 Self Assessment tax returns were filed in the first week of the new tax year. Almost 70,000 were filed on the first day – April 6th. This seems to suggest an increasing trend for filing tax...
How can you save on capital gains tax?
Over the last two years, the tax-free allowance for capital gains tax has been cut by over three-quarters. For the tax year that recently began on 6 April 2024, the Annual Exempt Amount has been reduced to £3,000 (£1,500 for trustees). These reductions mean that more...
The Importance of Filing Your Self-Assessment Tax Return Correctly
Filing your self-assessment tax return correctly is not just about fulfilling a legal obligation; it’s about safeguarding your financial well-being. Here are comments from IACEW why taking extra care in this process is crucial: “A taxpayer should take reasonable care...
TaxDash: Navigating Tax Residency and Domicile Requirements
Greetings from TaxDash! Are you a non-UK tax resident renting out buy-to-let properties in the UK? If so, understanding your tax obligations and entitlements can be crucial. Jacques Steenkamp, CEO of EOACC and the mind behind TaxDash, is here to shed light on claiming...
Taxdash – How to complete property income and expenses on Taxdash
Introduction: Welcome to TaxDash, the innovative online portal designed by EOACC, your trusted Accountants and Business Advisors. As the CEO, I'm excited to guide you through the process of managing your property income and expenses seamlessly using TaxDash for your...
Taxdash – Completing your Salary, P11d and Redundancy pay
Introducing Taxdash: Simplifying Your Personal Tax Returns Hey there, tax enthusiasts! It's Jacques here, CEO of EOACC, the guys behind Taxdash, your go-to online portal for all things tax-related. If you're in the UK and trying to navigating the complexities of...
How to capture your self employed income on Taxdash
Hello, I'm Jacques Steenkamp, CEO of EOACC, where we offer accounting and business advisory services. We're also the minds behind Taxdash, an innovative tool for managing personal taxes. Today, I'll guide you through the process of recording your self-employed income...
Is your use of AI compliant with health and safety?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published an article outlining its approach to regulating artificial intelligence (AI) in workplaces. The article has some implications that businesses should consider, as follows: Regulatory compliance As with any other area...
New digital service to check your State Pension forecast launched
A new digital service has been launched that makes it easier to check if you have any gaps in your National Insurance (NI) record that may affect your State Pension entitlement. GET IN TOUCH WITH OUR WIMBLEDON ACCOUNTANTS The service is called Check Your State Pension...
Mastering Rental Income Taxation A Deep Dive with Taxdash
Are you a landlord looking to gain clarity on how your rental income impacts your tax obligations? Perhaps you're a seasoned investor managing multiple properties, or you're just dipping your toes into the world of buy-to-let investments. No matter your level of...
Mastering Self-Employed Side Hustle Taxes with Taxdash Your Step-by-Step Guide
Are you one of the many individuals juggling a side hustle alongside your main job? Whether you're selling goods online, freelancing, or offering services on the side, understanding how your additional income impacts your taxes is crucial. Enter TaxDash, the advanced...
Understanding how my UK salary is taxed with the help of Taxdash
Demystifying Your Tax Calculation with TaxDash: A Guide to Understanding Your Personal Finances Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed by your income tax calculations? Are you unsure about where your hard-earned money is going? Look no further than TaxDash, the...
Beyond Calculations Understand Your UK Self-Employed Taxes with Taxdash
Unlocking Tax Clarity: Introducing Taxdash - Your Advanced Income Calculator for Sole traders In today's complex financial landscape, understanding your tax obligations can feel like navigating a maze blindfolded. Whether you're a self-employed individual juggling...
£100k Gross Income in small salary vs Salary only – Tax tips for Directors
Are you a director of a small company navigating the complexities of tax calculations? Do you find yourself balancing between salary and dividends to optimise your income while minimising tax liabilities? If so, you're not alone. Many directors face this challenge,...
Inflation falls in March
According to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.2% in the 12 months to March 2024. This is down from 3.4% in February. The main reason for the change was that prices for food are rising by less...
Lump sum death benefit charge – what do you need to tell HMRC?
New guidance has been published by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to help legal representatives find out what they need to tell HMRC to calculate the lump sum death benefit charge. When someone passes away and their estate includes certain financial products like...
Don’t get caught out by tax avoidance
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are running a campaign to help people avoid being caught out by tax avoidance schemes. This is particularly relevant to those who are contractors, agency workers, or are working through an umbrella company. Tax avoidance schemes are...
Employment Law changes in April
New employment laws came into force on 6 April 2024 that apply to all businesses. Here is a brief summary of the changes. Flexible working: An employee now has a right to request flexible working from their first day of employment. Previously, an employee could only...
What can you do to recover a hacked account?
Losing access to any of your digital accounts can be very stressful, and if it’s an account you need for work this can be doubly the case. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) produces guidance that can help the self-employed and sole traders as well as any...
Have you checked your tax code?
Prior to the tax year starting each 6 April, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), will issue new tax codes to employees, usually where there is a change of tax code. These tax codes, a series of letter and numbers, allow employers to deduct the right amount of tax to be...
Is your business Disability Confident?
New Disability Confident guidance has been published to help managers recruit, retain, and foster the progression of disabled people and those with health conditions in the workplace. The Disability Confident scheme is voluntary and helps employers make the most of...
Increase in Child Benefit rates
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have confirmed that Child Benefit rates increased on 6 April 2024. A family with one child will now receive up to £1,331 a year and up to £881 a year for each additional child. Payments are made to families on a 4-weekly basis and paid...
UK artists to benefit from new UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement
As a result of a new UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), UK artists will now be able to claim resale royalties when their art is resold in the Australian professional art market. Previously, UK artists have not received any royalties when their artwork was resold...
What is the future for the National Minimum Wage?
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) has published a report on the future of the National Minimum Wage beyond 2024. In recent years, the LPC has been setting the National Living Wage based on a target of two-thirds of median hourly earnings. The National Living Wage is now...
Are training costs tax deductible for the self-employed?
HM Revenue & Customs have recently updated and clarified their guidance on training costs paid by the self-employed. The general rule for whether the cost of a training course can be deducted from your self-employed profits is that it must be incurred wholly and...
Payroll reminder – National Insurance rate reducing from 6 April
From 6 April 2024, the 2% cut in employee national insurance contributions will come into effect. Employees will now be deducted 8%, rather than 10%, on monthly earnings between £1,048 and £4,189. A 2% deduction on earnings above this amount continues to apply. There...
Payroll reminder – minimum wage rates increase on 6th April
It is important to remember that the minimum wage pay rates are increasing with effect from 1 April 2024. Failing to increase to the new rates can result in penalties being charged. The new minimum wage payment rates are set out below: 2023/24 rate2024/25 rate21...
How should you respond to a cyber incident?
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has recently published a guide for CEOs (and by extension all business owners) on responding to a cyber incident. A cyber incident can occur in various forms and often result in financial loss, reputational damage, legal...
CMA reviewing deal between Vodafone and Three
Last year, Vodafone UK and Three UK announced a joint venture deal that would bring their customers under a new, single network provider. As two major providers of telecommunication services in the UK, this deal affects around 27 million customers. Many of these...
April 2024 – Property Newsletter
Welcome to our monthly newsletter for property landlords. We hope you find this informative and please contact us to discuss any matters further. Budget 2024: Key measures for property landlords The UK Spring Budget took place on 6 April 2024. Several measures were...
Have we heard the death knell for national insurance contributions?
The original concept for national insurance contributions (NICs) was as a part of social welfare reforms implemented by the government in the early 20th century. The idea being to establish a social insurance that provides financial protection and assistance to...
HMRC announces and then halts changes to helpline services
Last week, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced changes to its helpline services that will encourage people to go online first. However, in a fast about turn, the very next day they halted these changes while they consider how best to help taxpayers make more use...
Employers – Are you ready for the new tax year?
The new tax year begins on 6th April and for employers running monthly payrolls, the March pay run will be the last of the 2023/24 tax year. Some things you will need to make sure you do and when you need to do them are listed below: Send your final payroll report of...
Information Commissioner’s Office calls for views on “consent or pay” cookie usage model
When you browse to a website it is now commonplace to have to interact with a cookie notice where you give permission or not to the use of advertising cookies. Website cookies are small text files that websites store on a user's computer or device. These files contain...
Charity ordered to stop sending spam texts
Penny Appeal, a charity based in Wakefield, have been ordered to stop sending unsolicited marketing texts by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The charity sent more than 460,000 unsolicited texts over a ten-day period to 52,000 people who had either not...
2024 – The year of the SME
2024 seems to be a good year to be a small business. The UK Government is doubling down on its commitment to the nation’s 5.5 million small businesses by announcing the launch of a new Small Business Council. Small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy,...
Self-Assessment: Be alert to potential scams
Self-Assessment customers, who are starting to think about their annual tax returns for the 2022 to 2023 tax year, should guard against being targeted by fraudsters, warns HMRC. Fraudsters target customers when they know they are more likely to be in contact...
How will MTD Affect Self-Employed and Buy-to-Let Landlords?
Instead of completing a yearly personal tax return, under the Making Tax Digital rules, you’ll have to keep and submit digital records of your earnings and expenses using MTD-compatible software. There are three parts that you will need to submit for MTD: Submitting...
Ensure you Submit your Self-Assessment Return Early
There’s a growing trend in people submitting their Self-Assessment returns to HMRC early. In the last five years, the number of people choosing to file their return on the first day of the tax year has almost doubled. The deadline for sending your Self-Assessment tax...
Watch out for tax scams and fraudsters
Self Assessment customers, who are starting to think about their annual tax returns for the 2021 to 2022 tax year, should guard against being targeted by fraudsters, warns HMRC. There are plenty of fraudsters and scams around at this time, asking for personal...
Late Tax Returns: The Worst (and Funniest) Excuses on Record
Surely, we’ve all had to rely on excuses for homework not being done when were young. The most familiar must be the old, “my dog ate my homework”. Classic. Would you be surprised to hear that people have been equally creative when it comes to reasons for being late on...
Tax on Interest Earned in the UK
Since 6 April 2016, banks and building societies are no longer required to deduct income tax from your interest before paying it to you. Instead, your interest is paid to you gross. With the changes, the Personal Saving Allowance was introduced as an addition to the...
Capital Gains Tax: What it Is, How it Works, and How We Can Help
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is a type of tax that is incurred due to the profit you make when selling or ‘disposing of’ an asset that has increased in market value, since the market value upon initial purchase. Tax is paid on the gain that you make, for example, on...
How do Advance Tax Payments Work?
Are you self-employed or have a business from which you earn dividends? If your UK tax bill is more than £1000 for a tax year and you pay less than 80% of your income tax at source i.e. salary income from which PAYE is deducted, HMRC will ask you to make advance tax...
Capital Gains Tax Relief on the Disposal of your Residence
You can claim tax relief on the disposal of your only or main residence (also called your principle private residence or PPR) and as a result not pay any Capital Gains Tax (CGT). This is called Private Residence Relief (PRR). The exemptions cover total grounds,...
Penalties on Late Filing and Late Payment of Personal Tax
There are some nasty consequences when you're late on your personal tax return. That's why it's important to be aware of the deadlines and make sure you file your tax correctly! In this post we set out the deadlines so that you don't have to miss another tax return...
Are You Claiming Your Higher Rate Pension Relief?
The importance of saving for your retirement cannot be overstated. And if anything, the last year has served to underscore the importance of doing so. It's clearer than ever that we cannot simply rely on the State – it may not always be able to afford maintaining...
How to Appeal a Self-Assessment Tax Penalty
Have you received a self-assessment tax penalty from HMRC and have reasonable grounds for an appeal? In this post we'll provide guidance on how to appeal your tax penalty. (Note: If you're a TaxDash user and you opt to pay the amounts outstanding instead of appealing,...
How to Pay Your Self-Assessment Tax Bill or Penalties
The first thing to make sure is when your tax return is due. HMRC deadlines for paying your tax bill are usually: 31 January - for any tax you owe for the previous tax year (known as a balancing payment) and your first payment on account 31 July - for your second...