The National Living Wage increased to £11.44 an hour for workers over 21 from the beginning of April. It is the largest ever increase in the minimum wage in cash terms and for the first time it has been extended to 21 and 22-year-olds. Almost three million people will benefit from the rise, according to […]
As widely forecast, National Insurance (NI) for employees was cut by the chancellor in his Budget by a further 2p – from 10 per cent to eight per cent. Making his spring statement in the Commons, Jeremy Hunt said that the measure would be worth around £450 a year for someone on an average salary. […]
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) increased its scrutiny of VAT avoidance in 2022-23 according to recent reports, with tax investigations into mid-sized businesses on the rise. The Financial Times has reported that the tax body opened up 23 per cent more VAT cases than in the previous year. The number rose from 88,673 to almost […]
As we start 2024 it is timely to look at some upcoming tax changes and what they may mean to you. National Insurance Class 2 National Insurance contributions will be abolished from April 2024. And at the same time, the main Class 4 National Insurance contribution rate is being reduced from nine to eight per […]
Here’s a closer look at what the Autumn Statement changes to National Insurance will mean for individuals and for businesses. As well as income tax, all employees earning more than £12,570 a year pay Class 1 NICs. The main rate of Class 1 NICs will be cut from 12 per cent to 10 per cent […]
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a new warning for people to be on the lookout for scam texts, emails and phone calls from fraudsters. The scams take different approaches. Some offer a rebate; others tell customers that they need to update their tax details or threaten immediate arrest for tax evasion. This warning […]
Thousands of young people are being urged to claim their ‘forgotten’ savings pots. New figures have revealed almost 430,000 18-21 year olds have an unclaimed Child Trust Fund, worth an average of £2,000. The scheme, which was introduced by New Labour in 2002, granted every child a long-term tax-free savings account. The accounts were set […]
New research has revealed the total amount of inheritance tax (IHT) paid to HMRC is on course to hit a record high during the 2023/24 financial year. It follows the 17.1 per cent annual increase in the previous financial year, which researchers say was also a record. It was also the second largest annual rise […]
The rule that allows people to leave a tax-free retirement pot when they die is under threat from a Treasury shake-up. The proposals would end the benefit for tens of thousands of UK households and follow April’s scrapping of the lifetime allowance (LTA) on tax-free pension contributions. At present, under reforms introduced in 2015, anyone […]
The deadline for paying voluntary national insurance (NI) contributions to top up state pension entitlement has been extended. The move means taxpayers now have until April 5 2025 to fill gaps in their NI record from April 2006. Announcing the move, the government said the extension “ensures no-one need miss out on the possibility of […]
