Tax Insights

If you have recently received a new tax code, it is important to review it carefully. Many taxpayers assume their code is correct, but mistakes can and do happen—sometimes leading to significant overpayments of income tax. Millions in Overpaid Tax A recent Freedom of...

Many taxpayers who could be affected by upcoming changes to tax reporting are still unaware of what lies ahead. Communication challenges have historically made it difficult for taxpayers to stay informed, and with the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD), there is...

A Revised Fiscal Calendar The 2024 Budget Changes The 2024 Budget reshaped the Chancellor’s fiscal timetable. Key adjustments include: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will now publish only one full assessment per year, aligned with the Autumn Budget The...

The long-term consequences of governments repeatedly freezing the income tax personal allowance are starting to become more visible — and for many, the results may be unexpected. How We Got Here: Personal Allowance vs State Pension Looking Back to 2016 On 6 April...

Gilts Back in the Spotlight As the Autumn Budget approaches, government bonds are coming back into the spotlight. Why Are They Called Gilts? In what can seem like an effort to confuse, government bonds are often referred to as gilts. There are two good reasons for the...

A Costly Oversight in Stamp Duty Land Tax In early September, former Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner resigned after discovering she had underpaid £40,000 in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the purchase of her flat in Hove. Her situation serves...

Understanding HMRC's Simple Assessment From June 2025, HMRC will begin issuing "simple assessment" letters, a new form of communication that is expected to catch many recipients by surprise. These letters are part of HMRC's effort to streamline tax collection for...

Looking after your employees Feed employees with free or subsidised food in a staff canteen. Where the food is available to all employees, or all who work at a particular site, there is no taxable benefit for employees when they receive free or subsidised food. A...

Making the rules work for you Choose the most tax-advantageous structure for your new business. Tax changes, such as the recent increase to the rate of employer NICs, have made the decision on how to structure a new business quite difficult. Traditionally, a business...

Handing on your wealth Top-up your state pension entitlement. Everyone has a nil rate band of £325,000 on which no IHT is charged. If you have children, or stepchildren, you can add up to £175,000 (known as the residence nil rate band) to your nil rate band by leaving...

Preparing for the future Maximise tax relief on your pension contributions by using all of your annual allowance. The annual allowance for 2025/26 is £60,000, but you can also use surplus allowance from the previous three tax years (see the following tip). To avoid an...

Making the most of bricks and mortar Let rooms in your own home to one or more lodgers. Rent-a-room relief allows up to £7,500 of rent per property to be received tax free per year. The rooms must be let as residential accommodation in the home you live in, and no...