Changes to the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) came into effect on 6 April 2024. The income threshold at which HICBC starts to be charged increased to £60,000 (from £50,000). The charge is calculated at 1% of the full Child Benefit award for every £200 (2023-24: £100) of income between £60,000 and £80,000. (2023-24: […]
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Employees who are working from home may be eligible to claim a tax deduction on certain work-related bills. If their employer does not cover these expenses or allowances, they can claim tax relief directly from HMRC. You can claim tax relief if you are required to work from home, such as if your job requires […]
Pension Credits can provide extra income to those over State Pension age and on a low income. The credits were first introduced back in 2003 to help keep retired people out of poverty. The Department for Work and Pensions has launched a Pension Credit awareness drive, urging pensioners to check their eligibility for Pension Credit […]
The marriage allowance applies to married couples and those in a civil partnership where a spouse or civil partner does not pay tax or does not pay tax above the basic rate threshold for Income Tax (i.e., one of the couples must currently earn less than the £12,570 personal allowance for 2024-25). The allowance works by permitting […]
If you have taxable income of less than £17,570 in 2024-25 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. In addition, there is a Personal Savings Allowance […]
There is an online service available on HMRC to check your National Insurance Contributions (NIC) record online. The service is available at https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record In order to use this service, you will need to have a Government Gateway account. If you do not have an account, you can apply to set one up online. By signing […]
In a major boost for pioneering small businesses, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, recently launched a new plan outlining how government will make it easier for small businesses investing in research and development to claim tax relief. The two-year plan, which is a response to an HMRC consultation, aims to increase take-up […]
Although the recent G20 conference in St Petersburg failed to reach a consensus on the best way to deal with the Syria crisis, they did agree on a long term strategy to make it harder to hide money in tax havens. The ultimate goal, to force companies to pay tax in the countries where they […]
Readers will be aware that there a multitude of emails circulating on the internet purporting to be from HMRC. In almost all cases these will be some form of scam, attempting to gather personal information from you in exchange for the promise of a tax refund or similar inducement. HMRC have confirmed, on numerous occasions, […]
The HICBC was introduced on 7 January 2013 and applies to couples where: One partner has received Child Benefit payments after 7 January 2013, and Either partner has income in excess of £50,000 a year. The person with the highest income, if both are over £50,000, will be liable to pay the charge. It will […]