Please note we will close on the 21st December at 5.00 pm and re-open

on the following Thursday 28th December at 9.30.

We wish all our clients ,friends and contacts all the best for Christmas and the new year to come

National Insurance for the self-employed.

Class2 NIC currently £2.85 per week and paid through the self-assessment tax bill half yearly, is being abolished from the 6^th April 2018.

For those who have self-employed income of between £6,025 and £8,164 in 2018/2019, they will be credited with contributions in order to maintain their NIC record for example pension purposes.

For those below £6,025,they will either have to pay a voluntary class 3 stamp ,currently £14.25 per week or will need to rely on means tested benefits. Seems ironic that the less you earn the more you pay.

With effect from 24 February, until further notice, the office will be closed on Fridays.

We will, however, be opening longer on Mondays to Thursdays, until 6.30 each evening. We would appreciate it if you could give us advance notice if you wish to visit after 5 p m.

George Osborne announced the introduction of digital tax accounts in his 2015 Budget, with more information being sent online to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by employers, pension funds, banks and other institutions. This information will then be used to calculate individuals’ tax liabilities which may be viewed by them online. All this sounds great in theory, but many accountants expressed concerns about the reliability of this data.

We now learn that by June 2016 every individual and 5 million small businesses will get access to their digital tax account. Over the next four years HMRC expects a full range of services to be available to taxpayers through their digital tax accounts.

The next big step will be introduction of quarterly reporting of income and expenditure by businesses and landlords from 2018 according to the government.

Again we accountants have serious concerns about the timescale and lack of consultation. HMRC say “you will not need an accountant to fill out the information on the new system”. They are expecting businesses to use new Apps on their Smart phones and Tablets to transmit their data to HMRC. Most of you, I am sure, would rather spend time running your business than filling in more forms. Please get in touch to discuss the implications of this proposed change.