Insights

The world is currently going through unprecedented times. The coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak has put our daily lives to a standstill and created many questions for small businesses. Here we hope to provide small business advice on COVID-19 by examining the current guidelines on topics such as:

• Your responsibilities as an employer
• Temporary changes to Statutory Sick Pay
• Pay for those working from home
• The legal right for lay-offs
• Insurance coverage and business closure
• Financial support for SMEs
• Getting small business advice on COVID-19

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) are popular investment vehicles. But what should you know about them and their suitability for your investment portfolio? This guide will cover VCT investments by examining things like:

• What is a VCT?
• The different types of VCTs
• How to make VCT investments
• How much can you invest in VCTs?
• What are the risks of VCT investments?
• What to know about the tax treatment of VCTs?
• How to get help with your wealth management

There has been no official budget for quite a while now in the UK but this finally changed on 11 March. The new Budget 2020 focused largely on dealing with the disruption caused by the current coronavirus outbreak but there were plenty of other announcements as well. In this post, we’ll go over the important issues in the Budget, including:

• Coronavirus measures introduced
• Increasing National Insurance threshold
• Reducing the Entrepreneurs’ Relief
• Increasing R&D Tax Credit
• New funding for business loans
• Announced investments across the board
• Introduction of new environmental measures
• Big taxes remaining the same
• Changes to IR35 to go-ahead
• How to get more information on Budget 2020

Trusts can be a good way to control your assets after you pass away. In this guide, we’ll provide you with the best tax tips for trusts. The post covers things like:

• Inheritance Tax can be reduced but not always avoided
• Assets in trusts are not part of your estate
• Best tax tips for trusts vary according to the trust type
• Discretionary trusts favoured for reducing Inheritance Tax
• Take advantage of the personal allowance
• Bare trusts are exempt of Inheritance Tax
• Trusts are subject to Capital Gains Tax
• Certain trusts need to consider Income Tax
• Trustees are responsible for filing and paying taxes
• Consider other costs aside from tax on trusts
• Seek advice on trusts and taxation

Employees or directors can sometimes receive benefits in kind as part of their employment. These are not included in their salary cheque or wages – so how will they be taxed? This post will examine benefits in kind and go over things like:

• What counts as benefits in kind?
• How are benefits in kind taxed?
• Examples of common tax-free benefits in kind
• How to value benefits in kind for tax purposes?
• How to declare and pay tax on benefits in kind?
• Get professional help with benefits in kind

HMRC announced changes to the scope of payroll rules in the private sector last week. The changes involve the enrolment of IR35 later this year. But what does the welcomed announcement mean for businesses? We’ll examine the change and go over things like:

• HMRC’s announced rule change in action
• Providing clarity to the scope of payroll rules
• The current state of the off-payroll rules
• How to get help with your payroll

Preparing for your retirement is one of the key financial plans you need to make. To navigate the world of pensions, many hire a pension advisor to ensure successful and smooth planning. In this short guide, we’ll show you the things a good pension advisor should be discussing with you, including:

• The benefits of hiring a pension advisor
• Your retirement plans and desires
• Your attitude to risk
• The different pension options available
• The tax implications of pensions
• Your understanding of the pension you are picking
• Where to find a pension advisor

Sole traders can choose to use either cash basis accounting or traditional accounting. The decision can have a big impact on running your business and influence the ease of filing your taxes. In this post, we’ll examine the differences by looking at:

• Traditional accounting for sole traders
• The benefits of traditional accounting
• Cash basis accounting for sole traders
• The benefits of cash basis accounting
• The treatment of expenses
• Which accounting system is better for you
• Getting help with your sole trader accounting

Have you received royalties and are you now left wondering what to do? Royalty taxation can seem difficult from the onset but we are here to help. In this short guide, we will examine questions such as:

• What are royalties?
• How are royalties taxed?
• How to use Trading Allowance
• What do you need to know about the withholding tax for royalties?
• How to get help

The UK government has two initiatives called the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) that encourage small business investment. The SEIS and EIS schemes are important to know about for both business owners and investors. In this guide, we’ll examine:

• The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)
• The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)
• What companies qualify for the SEIS and EIS schemes?
• What are the similarities between the schemes?
• How to choose the right scheme for your startup?
• How to find help with SEIS and EIS schemes?