HMRC have revealed their top ten most significant fraud and organised crime cases of the last year.

Simon York, Director of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said:

‘Day in, day out, HMRC is coming down hard on tax cheats. As these cases show, we’ll tackle anyone committing tax fraud, regardless of how well resourced, well advised, or well organised. These ten prosecutions are among the most significant cases we’ve handled this year, and they reflect the wide range of work carried out by HMRC.’

Internet link: GOV.UK news

HMRC have made available a telephone helpline (0800 904 7900) for anyone affected by severe weather or floods. The helpline allows anyone affected to get practical help and advice on a wide range of tax problems they may be facing. These could be financial issues regarding making payment, issues regarding lost or damaged records and may include cancelling penalties where deadlines are missed due to severe weather and flooding.

Internet link: GOV.UK helpline

Have you filed your Self Assessment Tax Return? There are 9 days left for you to file your Self Assessment Tax Return and hit the Tax Return Deadline. If you have not started compiling it you need to act now. If you have been issued with a Tax Return then you must submit one. Remember if you don’t then you may have to pay a fine of £100 per return. In addition to this you may also have to pay interest on the tax paid late. ACT NOW. If you are in a partnership remember that the partnership also has to complete a return. As we are now past the paper deadline your return will need to be filed online either by an accountant or through HMRC’s online system. Remember if this is your first time you need to register with the Government Gateway and receive your pin BEFORE you can complete and file your return.

Not only does your return have to be submitted but any tax owing also needs to be paid by the 31st. Payment can be made easily online at https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/pay-online. Don’t leave it too late so you pay more than you have to.

If you are struggling and need help contact us by phone, email or through social media. MGD – Making Good Decisions

The Apprenticeship Levy is being introduced from 6 April 2017 and will be payable by large employers. The Levy will be 0.5% of the employer’s pay bill, which is explained later in this article, but there is an annual allowance of £15,000.The allowance will be given on a pro-rata basis throughout the tax year.

The recent HMRC guidance confirms employers will need to report their Apprenticeship Levy liability each month:

• from the start of the tax year if:
  • their annual pay bill (including any connected companies or charities) in the previous tax year was more than £3 million
  • they believe their annual pay bill (including any connected companies or charities) for the tax year will be more than £3 million
• if an employer’s annual pay bill (including any connected companies or charities) unexpectedly increases to more than £3 million. In which case the employer will need to start reporting when this happens.

An employer’s annual pay bill is all payments to employees that are subject to employer Class 1 secondary NICs. Broadly wages but excluding benefits and expenses. HMRC have confirmed that employers must include payments to employees for whom there are no employer NICs including:

• all employees earning below the NIC lower earnings and secondary thresholds
• employees under the age of 21
• apprentices under the age of 25

The Apprenticeship Levy will need to be reported each month on the Employer Payment Summary (known as the EPS) and should include the following:

• the amount of the annual Apprenticeship Levy allowance which has been allocated to that PAYE scheme
• the amount of Apprenticeship Levy you owe to date in the current tax year

HMRC have confirmed that it is not necessary to report Apprenticeship Levy if the employer has not had to pay it in the current tax year.

If you would like advice on the Apprenticeship Levy or other payroll matters please contact us.

Internet Link: GOV.UK apprenticeship levy

The government are celebrating the ‘first birthday’ of their award winning Personal Tax Account which recently won Digital Project of the Year at the annual UK IT Industry Awards.

HMRC have announced that in its first year, the Personal Tax Account has attracted more than seven million users and there have been millions of transactions including:

• 1.6 million Income Tax repayments, worth more than £800 million
• 1 million tax credit renewals
• 100,000 people checking or updating their company car details
• 1.6 million people checking their tax estimate
• 2 million people checking their state pensions.

The press release also states that the Personal Tax Account is designed to be one stop shop for all customer interactions with HMRC and taxpayers using it can:

• check their state pension
• complete and return a Self Assessment tax return
• update tax credits circumstances as they change throughout the year to prevent under and overpayments
• claim an Income Tax refund that will be paid straight into their bank account
• check and update their Marriage Allowance.

If you would like advice on your personal tax affairs please contact us.

Internet link: GOV.UK news