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A selection of business news and articles to help make your business a success

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Are Your Employee Benefits as Good as You Think?

Are Your Employee Benefits as Good as You Think?

Many companies offer employee benefits to encourage the best people to join their team, or maximise the chances of encouraging existing employees to stay. But are the benefits you offer as effective as you think they are? Recent research from employee benefit...

1.1m Missed the January 31 Deadline – Can You Appeal a Penalty?

1.1m Missed the January 31 Deadline – Can You Appeal a Penalty?

Around 1.1m of us missed the January 31 deadline to file our self-assessment tax returns for the 2023/24 tax year. For each person, this means at least a £100 penalty and potentially additional charges if the return continues to not be filed or the tax due paid for a...

Still Time to Maximise Your End of Tax Year Planning

Still Time to Maximise Your End of Tax Year Planning

Now is the time to work towards maximising your end-of-year tax planning, before the new tax year starts on April 6. If you haven’t used all your allowances and reliefs for this tax year, then in the coming month, you should make the time to address this. By using up...

25,000 People Filed Tax Returns on New Year’s Day

25,000 People Filed Tax Returns on New Year’s Day

While most of us were ringing in the New Year with a chorus of Auld Lang Syne or nursing a hangover from the revelries, nearly 25,000 people filed their tax return on January 1, 2025, according to HMRC figures. Most people – 2,603 – filed their returns between 14:00...

Stamp Duty Thresholds to Fall to Previous Levels from April 1st

Stamp Duty Thresholds to Fall to Previous Levels from April 1st

Anyone buying a property from April 1, 2025, will face higher levels of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland as the Stamp Duty thresholds fall back to their previous levels. The current higher threshold of £250,000 before people start to pay SDLT...

Mixed-Use Property with Stables Pays Less SDLT

Mixed-Use Property with Stables Pays Less SDLT

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is the tax payable on most property purchases within the UK, and the figures for who needs to pay what are set out very clearly by HMRC. But there are times when specific allowances can be made that reduce the amount of SDLT due. Depending...

Scammers Hit Self-Assessments – Here’s What to Look For

Scammers Hit Self-Assessments – Here’s What to Look For

HMRC is warning people who are filing Self-Assessment returns to be on the look out for fraudsters, after customers referred nearly 150,000 frauds to the taxman in the last year. As the January 31, 2025, deadline looms, the scammers are targeting people with tax...

Do You Need to Pay a Simple Assessment Tax Bill This January?

Do You Need to Pay a Simple Assessment Tax Bill This January?

Most of us have heard about the Self-Assessment tax regime, especially those who are self-employed or who need to declare income outside of their main PAYE job. But some people will have received Simple Assessment letters from HMRC, and they may need to pay a tax bill...

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