As expected, in the Spring Budget 2024 ,  the Chancellor has found wriggle room in his fiscal rules that have allowed him to please his fellow Conservatives by reducing the impact of taxation. Not an unfamiliar tactic for a government in a general election year. The impact of tax changes announced in the Spring Budget 2024 are summarised below. Impact on personal finances Further fall in employee National Insurance contributions (NIC) As expected, the Chancellor has found headroom in the Spring Budget 2024 to make a further reduction of 2 percentage points, from 10% reduced to 8%, effect ..read more

The furnished holiday let (FHL) rules allow holiday lettings of properties that meet certain conditions to be treated as a trade for tax purposes. In order to qualify as a furnished holiday letting, the following criteria need to be met: The property must be let on a commercial basis with a view to the realisation of profits. Second homes or properties that are only let occasionally or to family and friends do not qualify. The property must be located in the UK, or in a country within the EEA. The property must be furnished. This means that there must be sufficient furniture provided for norm ..read more

One in seven UK adults have never checked their pension; and more than a fifth of pension savers admit they don’t check their pensions annually because they don’t know what they should be doing. While it’s not essential to monitor your pension as frequently as your bank account, it’s advisable to periodically assess how much is in your pot, and what this could mean for your financial future. With the end of the financial year close, now is an excellent time for pension planning. Here, with help from our friends at Harmonic Financial Planning, are ten things to look out for with your pensi ..read more

Summary The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has delivered his 2023 Autumn Statement to the House of Commons. The government continues to be faced with challenging economic conditions as the cost of living crisis continues to affect many families across the UK. The Chancellor, however, had some good news with inflation falling to 4.6% in October, down from a peak of over 11% last year. This together with the prospect of an upcoming general election suggested that there may have been more giveaways than in a usual Autumn Statement and this seems to have been borne out. The OBR also pro ..read more

The Let Property Campaign provides landlords who have undeclared income from residential property lettings in the UK or abroad with an opportunity to regularise their affairs by disclosing any outstanding liabilities whether due to misunderstanding of the tax rules or due to deliberate tax evasion. Participation in the campaign is open to all residential property landlords with undisclosed taxes. The campaign is not suitable for those letting out non-residential properties. Landlords who do not avail of the opportunity and are targeted by HMRC can face penalties of up to 100% of the tax d ..read more

You can usually claim tax relief for pension contributions that you pay. There is an annual allowance for tax relief on pensions of £60,000 for the current 2023-24 tax year. The annual allowance was £40,000 in 2022-23. There is a three year carry forward rule that allows you to carry forward any unused amount of your annual allowance from the last three tax years if you have made pension savings in those years. There also used to also be a lifetime limit for tax relief on pension contributions but this was removed with effect from 6 April 2023. You can qualify for tax relief on private pe ..read more

Filing tax returns early makes sense for several reasons. The 2022-23 tax year ended on 5 April 2023 and the new 2023-24 tax year started on 6 April 2023. Many taxpayers will be happy to leave dealing with their 2022-23 tax returns until later this year or even until January 2024. The 31 January 2024 is not just the final date for submission of the 2022-23 Self-Assessment tax return but also an important date for payment of tax due. This is the final payment deadline for any remaining tax due for the 2022-23 tax year. In addition, the 31 January 2024 is also the due date for the first pay ..read more

In most cases, there is no Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to be paid on the transfer of assets to a spouse or civil partner. There is, however, still a disposal that has taken place for CGT purposes, effectively, at no gain or loss on the date of the transfer. When the asset ultimately comes to be sold the gain or loss will be calculated from when the asset was first owned by the original spouse or civil partner. There are a few exceptions that couples should be aware of when the relief does not apply. This mainly relates to the use of goods which are sold on by the transferee’s business an ..read more

If you have taxable income of less than £17,570 in 2023-24 you will have no tax to pay on interest received. This figure is calculated by adding the £5,000 starting rate limit for savings (where 0% of the interest is taxable) to the current £12,570 personal allowance. However, it is important to note that if your total non-savings income exceeds £17,570 then the starting rate limit for savings is unavailable. There is a tapered relief available if your non-savings income is between £12,570 and £17,570 whereby every £1 of non-savings income above a taxpayer’s personal allowance reduces their st ..read more

National Insurance credits can help qualifying applicants fill gaps in their National Insurance contributions record. This can assist taxpayers in building up the number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions and which can also increase the amount of benefits a person is entitled to, such as the State Pension. This could happen if someone was: employed but had low earnings; unemployed and were not claiming benefits; self-employed but did not pay contributions because of small profits; or living or working outside the UK. National Insurance credits are available in certa ..read more