Most business owners are driven by sales targets and to meet these targets they may be tempted to offer extended payment terms.

For example, if your business grants a customer time to pay – say 60 days – after the services or goods supplied have been delivered, effectively, your money stays in their bank account for 60 days.

Further, if you have incurred costs regarding a sale, which have to be paid for before your customer settles their bill, you are out of pocket until your account is settled.

There is a well-worn cliché in business that cash is king. Business owners should keep a weather eye on the effectiveness of their efforts to turn a sale into cash in the bank. Amounts owed by customers may look like a useful buffer – cash to come in in future months – but you cannot spend or invest trade debtors.

Clients often refer to the VAT added to supplier invoices as if it were a cost to their business regardless of their VAT position.

This is true if you are not registered for VAT, you do not have to add VAT to your sales and you cannot recover any VAT you pay on purchases. Under these circumstances, VAT is a cost.

The letters in your tax code signify your entitlement (or not) to the annual tax free personal allowance. The tax codes are updated periodically and help employer’s work out how much tax to deduct from an employee’s pay packet. 

The basic personal allowance for the current (and next) tax year is £12,570. The corresponding tax code for an employee entitled to the standard tax-free Personal Allowance 1257L. This is the most common tax code and is used for individuals with one job and no untaxed income, unpaid tax or taxable benefits (for example a company car).

There are other numbers and letters that can appear in your tax code. For example, there are letters that show where an employee is claiming the marriage allowance (M) or where their income or pension is taxed using the Scottish rates (S). If your tax code numbers are changed this usually, but not always, means your personal allowance has been reduced.

There are also emergency tax codes (W1 or M1) which can be used if a new employee does not have a P45. These codes mean that an employee’s tax calculation is based on what they are paid in the current pay period.

If your tax code has a 'K' at the beginning this means that deductions due for company benefits, state pension or tax owed from previous years are greater than your personal allowance. However, the tax deduction for each pay period can’t be more than half your pre-tax pay or pension.

It is important to check your tax code to ensure the correct information is being used. If you have any queries we can help, or you can check with your employer or HMRC.

The usual tax position for couples who live together with their spouse or civil partners is that property income held in joint names is divided 50:50. This is regardless of the actual ownership structure. However, where there is unequal ownership and the couple want the income taxed on that basis a notification must be sent to HMRC together with proof that the beneficial interests in the property are unequal. This is done using Form 17 – Declare beneficial interests in joint property and income.

A Form 17 declaration can only be made by spouses or civil partners that are living together and own property in unequal shares with income being allocated in proportion to those shares. Couples that are separated or in some other type of union cannot make a Form 17 declaration. The declaration is only valid if both partners agree. If one spouse / partner does not agree then the income will continue to be treated on a 50:50 basis even if the ownership structure is different.

A Form 17 declaration stays in place until there is either a change in the status of the couple i.e., separation or divorce or a change in the ownership structure. If either of these occur the 50:50 income split will reapply.

There are a number of scenarios where a form 17 cannot be used, such as where a married couple or civil partners own property as beneficial joint tenants, for commercial letting of furnished holiday accommodation and for partnership income.

Where property is held in an unequal split, making a form 17 declaration can be beneficial under certain circumstances.

Automatic enrolment for workplace pensions has helped many employees make provision for their retirement, with employers and government also contributing to make a larger pension pot.

The law states that employers must automatically enrol workers into a workplace pension if they are aged between 22 and State Pension Age, earning more than the minimum earning threshold. The minimum threshold is currently £10,000 and will remain the same in 2024-25. The employee must also work in the UK and not be a member of a qualifying work pension scheme. Employees can opt-out of joining the pension scheme if they wish.

Under the rules, employers are also required to offer their workers access to a workplace pension when a change in their age or earnings makes them eligible. This must be done within 6 weeks of the day they meet the criteria.

Under the automatic enrolment rules the employer and the government also add money into the pension scheme. There are minimum contributions that must be made by employers and employees.

Both the employer and employee need to contribute. There is a minimum employer contribution of 3% and employee contribution of 4%. This means that contributions in total will be a minimum of 8%: 3% from the employer, 4% from the employee and an additional 1% tax relief.

The contributions are based on the qualifying earnings brackets highlighted above; this means that for many employees the 8% contribution rate will not be based on their full salary.

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 to the 'Check your National Insurance record' service you will also activate your personal tax account if you have not already done so. HMRC’s personal tax account can also be used to complete a variety of tasks in real time such as claiming a tax refund, updating your address and completing your self-assessment return.

Your National Insurance record online will let you see:

• What you have paid, up to the start of the current tax year (6 April 2023).
• Any National Insurance credits you have received.
• If gaps in contributions or credits mean some years do not count towards your State Pension (they are not 'qualifying years')
• If you can pay voluntary contributions to fill any gaps and how much this will cost

In some circumstances it may be beneficial, after reviewing your records, to make voluntary NIC contributions to fill gaps in your contributions record to increase your entitlement to benefits, including the State or New State Pension. If you would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to be in touch.

The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is a generous tax relief that allows for the total amount of qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery to be deducted from your profits before tax.

The AIA can be claimed by an individual, partnership or company carrying on a trade, profession or vocation, a UK non-residential property business or a furnished holiday let. Only partnerships or trusts with a mixture of individuals and companies in the business structure are unable to qualify for AIA. The AIA is currently available for qualifying expenditure of up to £1 million per year.

If you are thinking of incurring expenditure on large items of capital expenditure for your business before the end of the tax year, there is still time to invest in new equipment and reduce your tax bills for 2023-24. This could mean looking at accelerating plans, where possible, to incur expenditure before the end of the year and maximise relief.

The AIA is available for most assets purchased by a business, for example, machines and tools, vans, lorries, diggers, office equipment, building fixtures and computers. The AIA does not apply to cars.

A claim for AIA must be made in the period the item was bought. This date is defined as the date when a contract was signed – if payment is due within 4 months of the contract being signed – or the actual payment date if it’s due more than 4 months later.

HMRC is reminding parents that they may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) to help pay for school holiday childcare costs.

The TFC scheme can help parents of children aged up to 11 years old (17 for those with certain disabilities). The TFC scheme helps support working families with their childcare costs. There are many registered childcare providers including childminders, breakfast and after school clubs and approved play schemes signed up across the UK. Parents can pay into their account regularly and save up their TFC allowance to use during school holidays. 

The TFC scheme provides for a government top-up on parental contributions. For every £8 contributed by parents an additional £2 top up payment will be funded by Government up to a maximum total of £10,000 per child per year. This will give parents an annual savings of up to £2,000 per child (and up to £4,000 for disabled children until the age of 17) in childcare costs. 

The TFC scheme is open to all qualifying parents including the self-employed and those on a minimum wage. The scheme is also available to parents on paid sick leave as well as those on paid and unpaid statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave. In order to be eligible to use the scheme parents will have to be in work at least 16 hours per week and earn at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage. If either parent earns more than £100,000, both parents are unable to use the scheme.

HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

‘Springtime is a good opportunity to take a fresh look at family finances. A quick check online and you can find out how Tax-Free Childcare can help cut the cost of your childcare bills. Every bit of financial support helps – I would urge families to ’hop to it’ and search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK to find out how you could be better off and open your account today.

From the start of April 2024, the government will increase the amount of funding that employers who are paying the apprenticeship levy can pass onto other businesses. Apprenticeships can currently be funded by a levy paying employer transferring up to 25% of their unused levy to a different employer. 

Under the new measures, large employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will be able to transfer up to 50% of their funds to support other businesses, including smaller firms, to take on apprentices. This will help SMEs hire more apprentices by reducing costs and enabling more employers to get the skilled workers they need while unlocking more opportunities for young people in a huge range of sectors, industries, and professions. 

Hundreds of large levy-paying employers have already taken advantage of the opportunity to transfer their unused levy funds to other businesses. As of December 2023, 530 employers including ASDA, HomeServe and BT Group had pledged to transfer over £35.39 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes.

Government has also announced an additional £60m of new government funding to fully fund apprenticeships in small businesses from 1 April 2024 by paying the full cost of training for anyone up to the age of 21 years.

This will remove the need for small employers to meet some of the cost of training and saves time and costs for providers like further education colleges who currently need to source funding separately from the government and businesses. 

All businesses can now move their export declarations to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), HMRC has confirmed.

Businesses who have yet to move their export declarations to CDS will have a transition period to move across, until 4 June 2024. After this date, customs declarations cannot be submitted through the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) service.

CDS is replacing CHIEF and provides businesses with a more user-friendly, streamlined system with greater functionality. It has been running since 2018 for import declarations and more than 100 million customs declarations have already been submitted through CDS, including more than 30% of all export declarations.

Paying duties and VAT

To make an import declaration you need to choose how to pay duties, VAT or excise.

The Customs Declaration Service allows you to manage your customs financial accounts and download statements. You can also give authority to others to use your accounts.

Check how to import or export goods

You can check how to import and export goods using the GOV.UK online service at https://www.gov.uk/check-how-to-import-export.

Using this facility you can get information on:

• the commodity codes (reference numbers) you need to classify goods for import and export declarations
• paying the right VAT and duties for your goods
• which licences and certificates you’ll need for your goods
• how to get goods into a specific country

You will also need to know the approximate date when the goods will arrive at or leave the UK border.

1 April 2024 – Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 June 2023.

19 April 2024 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 April 2024. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 April 2024).

19 April 2024 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 April 2024. 

19 April 2024 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 April 2024 is payable by today.

30 April 2024 – 2022-23 tax returns filed after this date will be subject to an additional £10 per day late filing penalty for a maximum of 90 days.

1 May 2024 – Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 July 2023.

19 May 2024 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 May 2024. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 May 2024).

19 May 2024 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 May 2024. 

19 May 2024 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 May 2024 is payable by today.

31 May 2024 – Ensure all employees have been given their P60s for the 2023/24 tax year.

The replacement of domestic items relief enables landlords to claim tax relief when they replace movable furniture, furnishings, household appliances and kitchenware in a rental property. The allowance is available based on the cost of domestic items such as free-standing wardrobes, curtains, carpets, televisions, fridges and crockery.

In order for relief to be given, four conditions must be met:

Condition A – the individual or company looking to claim the relief must carry on a property business that includes the letting of a dwelling-house(s).

Condition B – an old domestic item that has been provided for use in the dwelling-house is replaced with the purchase of a new domestic item. The new item must be provided for the exclusive use of the lessee in that dwelling-house and the old item must no longer be available for use by the lessee.

Condition C – The expenditure on the new item must not be prohibited by the wholly and exclusive rule but would otherwise be prohibited by the capital expenditure rule.

Condition D – Capital Allowances must not have been claimed in respect of the expenditure on the new domestic item.

If the 4 conditions are met, then a deduction for the expenditure on the new item can be claimed.

The amount of the deduction is based on:

• the cost of the new replacement item, limited to the cost of an equivalent item if it represents an improvement on the old item (beyond the reasonable modern equivalent);
• the incidental costs of disposing of the old item or acquiring the replacement; and less
• any amounts received on disposal of the old item.

HMRC’s internal guidance provides an example highlighting that a brand new budget washing machine costing circa £200 is not an improvement if a replacement for a five year old washing machine that cost around £200 at the time of purchase (or slightly less, taking into account inflation).