Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered a ‘Budget for Growth’ after the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast a stronger than expected performance from the UK economy this year with inflation continuing to fall. Driving business investment The Chancellor announced a £27 billion transformation of capital allowances from April this year, which will include the Full Expensing of investment in qualifying plant and machinery. There was also a £500 million package for research and development intensive businesses. In addition, Mr Hunt announced 12 Investment Zones across the UK with funding for skills ..read more

Directors of Limited Companies have legal responsibilities, such as filing / submitting various forms and returns to Companies House and HMRC throughout the financial year. If you’re new to contracting you may be unsure as to what needs to be done and when, and it’s easy to get confused and miss deadlines. In this blog we’ve taken a look at all the key dates a Limited Company contractor needs to be aware of. Limited Company director responsibilities As a director you have the legal responsibility to run your company, and are bound by a statutory code of practice and have certain legal obligat ..read more

If you’re new to owning a Limited Company you’ll need to complete your yearend, but what exactly is it, and why do you need to complete one? In this blog we explore just that, to ensure you’re a pro when it comes to your yearend. First things first, what is a yearend? A company’s yearend is the date which your company’s accounting period officially ends. This is also the date from which HMRC and Companies House expect you to return certain required documents back to them. If you’re new to the world of Limited Company contracting it’s best to run your first yearend past your accountant, to ens ..read more

Since the reversal of Liz Truss’s tax policy changes last month, new PM Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have promised a new statement, concluding that now is the right time to proceed with a package of tax cuts.  In today’s statement there was a focus on energy prices & Covid, as being responsible for necessary tax increases. Taken together with maintaining the basic rate of income tax at 20% these changes are estimated to raise £34 billion per year. The headlines are as follows, with the full report below. Decrease in the additional rate threshold from £150,000 to £125,140 f ..read more

Jeremy Hunt, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, has today scrapped the plans to repeal the Off-payroll IR35 Reforms, which had been announced by Kwasi Kwarteng on 22 September 2022. As part of his ‘Growth Plan’, Kwarteng had set out a number of tax cuts designed to support the growth of the British Economy. However, following widespread criticism and instability in financial markets, Mr Kwarteng was replaced with Jeremy Hunt who has scrapped all of the growth plan changes bar the planned cut to stamp duty and National Insurance. Repeal of the IR35/off-payroll working legislation had come as wel ..read more

Chancellor reveals his plan for growth The week leading up to Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘Mini Budget’ may have been a short one due to the Queen’s funeral but the new government managed to fill it with a stream of policy announcements. Before Mr Kwarteng stood up to make his statement on ‘The Growth Plan’ much of what he had to say about energy support for businesses and households, bankers’ bonuses, investment zones and reversals to NICs had already been announced. The government also said that the Chancellor’s statement would not be subject to a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsi ..read more

Back in the March 2021 Budget it was announced that there would be an increase in Corporation Tax from April 2023, so how much will this ultimately cost you and your business? In this blog we look at what’s to come and how you’ll be affected. What is Corporation Tax? In short it is a levy on your company’s profits, which is effectively a charge on the profit left in your company once expenses (including your salary) have been deducted from your company’s turnover. For example if your turnover was £150,000 and your business expenses came to £80,000 you’d pay Corporation Tax on the remaining £7 ..read more

With lockdown and social distancing a thing of everyone’s distant memory, you may be looking forward to getting out and about this summer. So whilst the restrictions on socialising have been lifted, what are the rules in regards to what you’re able to claim as a business expense when entertaining staff? In this blog we explore just that, to see what you’re entitled to and help you get planning your next big staff social. Allowable business expenses Is staff entertainment even classed as an allowable business expense? The good news is that it is! But before you order the champagne and entertain ..read more

For the most part, contracting through your own Limited Company is great. You get to choose when, where and who you work for, along with your day rate. But whilst there’s plenty of perks to contracting, there could also be a few bumps in the road to look out for. In this blog we explore some of the pitfalls that can be experienced by Limited Company contractors, and advise on how to avoid and deal them. Not appreciating how much running a business could cost you When you were in permanent employment you may have travelled to an office, had your computer equipment taken care of, had insurance p ..read more

Who are the FCSA? The Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) is the UK’s leading membership body, that’s dedicated to raising standards, and promoting supply chain compliance for the temporary labour market. Why are they important to contractor service providers? When a contractor or freelancer service provider is awarded FCSA accreditation, it means that they’ve been recognised as the industry’s compliance gold standard. To be awarded accreditation a company must go through rigorous and stringent annual assessments, which are carried out independently by nationally renowned pro ..read more