EIS Tax Relief Explained for Investors
EIS is a tax relief scheme created by the UK Government to encourage investment into startups and early-stage businesses. As an investor, EIS benefits you by offering potentially significant income tax and capital gains reliefs when you make an investment into an EIS eligible startup or business. As a business, EIS benefits you by making […]
IR35 Umbrella Company Pros & Cons
Faced with being deemed an employee and not being able to work through their own personal service companies, many contractors will be prompted to work through different models, with umbrella being one option. With the private sector off-payroll rules due to hit the contracting sector in April 2021, does the IR35 umbrella company model offer […]
Outside or Inside IR35? (Check Your Status)
Whether an individual is determined to be outside or inside IR35 will have a significant effect on their tax liability. In this guide, we explain the IR35 rules and how they impact both workers and employers in the contracting community. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has delayed the scheduled changes to the rules […]
Business Asset Disposal Relief Guide 2021
Known as Entrepreneurs Relief prior to 6th April 2020, Business Asset Disposal Relief is a tax relief that the seller of a business can benefit from on sale. It is an attractive tax incentive, used by the UK Government to encourage individuals to set up and invest in a business by rewarding them for their […]
What is the Loan Charge?
In December 2019, the UK government announced it would make a package of changes to the loan charge, a measure designed to tackle a form of tax avoidance known as disguised remuneration. The government made these changes in response to Sir Amyas Morse’s independent review of the loan charge policy and its implementation. This guidance […]
List of UK Tax Codes 2020
Tax codes are used to categorise how much tax and National Insurance you have to pay each year. For most people in the 2020/2021 tax year, for example, the basic tax code would be 1250L. If certain circumstances apply, your tax code might be different, for instance, if you’ve got more than one job or […]
Use of Home as Office (Claim Allowable Expenses)
What are allowable expenses when using the home as office space to work? Depending on the work you do, you might be able to claim expenses back for using your home as an office, either by claiming for office equipment like computers and furniture or even renting part of your home to your company. This […]
SEIS Scheme Tax Relief Guide
The SEIS scheme is one of four venture capital investment schemes designed to help small companies to raise money when they begin to trade. What is the SEIS Scheme? The SEIS scheme, otherwise known as the seed enterprise investment scheme, is available to small, early-stage trading companies to support raising finance by offering […]
New Covid-19 Recovery Fund: £20 Million in Grants For Small Business
The Government has announced it is offering £20 million in small business grants as part of its push to kickstart the economy. Grants of between £1,000 to £5,000 are being made available to provide much-needed cash injections to small businesses in England that have been hit by the pandemic. The grants have been launched to […]
Is Cash Accounting Right For Your Business?
There are two main accounting systems to choose from; these are ‘cash basis’ accounting and ‘accruals’ accounting. Which of these methods you use will depend on the size and nature of your business, as they each have different advantages. In general, cash accounting is best for ease, while accruals accounting is superior in terms of […]
VAT Cash Accounting Explained
VAT cash accounting is one of a number of ways VAT registered companies can calculate their VAT liability. The VAT cash accounting scheme follows the same principles as cash basis accounting. It means businesses pay VAT on sales when they have received payment for the sale, and can only reclaim VAT once payment has been […]
How to Prepare Limited Company Accounts
Private limited companies in the UK have to prepare a set of accounts each year. Known as annual statutory accounts, they relate to the 12-month period ending on the company’s Accounting reference date (ARD). The ARD is the compamy’s official year-end as recorded with Companies House. The annual accounts are drawn up using financial records […]
How To Register For VAT (VAT Registration FAQs)
Whether you are starting up a new business, running an existing company or taking over a different organisation, you will need to ensure you are operating within the rules for VAT. If your business has or is expected to have a turnover above the VAT threshold, you will need to register for VAT using HMRC’s […]
Five Small Business Content Marketing Truths
Being competitive means being visible online, and for this you need content. Businesses of all sizes now understand the importance of content for effective marketing. Customers have spoken and they want content – whether it’s to be informed, educated or entertained. But for smaller businesses, there are real challenges in capitalising on online opportunities and […]
Why Marketers Should Have More Interest In Pinterest
Depending on your business and your audience, it could pay to look beyond the trusted staple of articles at more visual, and creative, ways to build engagement and traction online. Content marketing means more than articles. People consume content in various different formats – including images, video and audio, as well as text. Should Pinterest […]
SEO Doesn’t Have To Be Like “Juggling Lemons”
An effective content marketing strategy will see a website frequently updated with high quality content. Whether in the form of blogs, infographics, videos, news articles or landing pages, to perform, your content has to show quality and be optimised for search. The result – better performance in search rankings, more traffic to your website and […]
Content Strategy Pick N Mix [infographic]
How to make content marketing work a treat! There’s never been more variety in content marketing, as this infographic shows. While choice can only be a good thing, it also makes it even more important to know exactly what it is your audience likes and wants. The key is to choose the right combination of […]
Coronavirus: Business Support Grants
The UK Government is offering a number of grants and schemes to help businesses deal with the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Wage grants Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, employers can claim back up to 80% of wages for staff designated as ‘furloughed’, up to a maximum of £2500 per month per worker. […]
What Are The Latest Inheritance Tax Changes?
Inheritance tax changes can affect reliefs, exemptions and other ways you are able to plan for and manage your inheritance tax liability. This means ensuring your will and any other estate planning are up to date with the latest changes and take account of the latest changes and their impact on how much inheritance tax […]
Buying Business Premises
If you are considering buying business premises there are many financial, practical and legal aspects that you might want to consider before climbing onto the commercial property ladder. Below we examine some of the advantages and disadvantages of buying business premises, as against the alternative of leasing commercial property. We will also look more closely […]