19 August 2015
Tax saving on company loans
The personal tax cost of any company loan you receive is currently low. When the time comes to repay the loan there’s a simple trick you can use to reduce it further. What is this trick and how does it work?
12 August 2015
Maximising your claim for pre-registration VAT
It’s common for new businesses to incur hefty vat liabilities on start-up costs. While you can claim a tax deduction from profits for these, tricky rules mean you might not be entitled to reclaim all the VAT. What steps can you take to maximise the tax recovery?
3 August 2015
What is an Annual Return?
An annual return is a snapshot of certain company information at the made-up date. It is a separate document from a company’s annual accounts.
26 July 2015
Statutory Residence Test when leaving the UK
The introduction of the statutory residence test provides more certainty over residence status now that lifestyle factors are less important.
9 July 2015
2015 Summer Budget
The 2015 Summer Budget contained a few surprises for everyone, and whilst we all await the fine print in the actual legislation, there are three main issues that are likely to affect our clients.
5 July 2015
Island Games success
Everyone at Nicolson Accountancy wants to congratulate Donnie MacLeod after his triple success in the 2015 Island Games in Jersey last week.
15 June 2015
All Scottish residents to pay new devolved income tax rate from 2016
The new Scottish rate of income tax to be controlled from Holyrood has moved a step nearer with the publication by HM Revenue and Customs of the technical advice on who will need to pay the new tax when it comes into effect from April 2016.
4 April 2015
New VAT rules on customer discounts
New rules on prompt payments came into effect on 1 April 2015. New rules apply to the VAT treatment of prompt payment discounts (PPDs). VAT can only be reduced to reflect the discounted price if the customer pays within the discount period. Previously it applied whether or not the customer paid on time.
2 April 2015
National Insurance for under 21’s
From 6 April 2015 employers with employees under 21 years old will no longer have to pay Class 1 secondary National Insurance contributions (NICs) on earnings up to the Upper Secondary Threshold (UST) for those employees.
15 March 2015
Benefits and expenses tax reform
Radical changes to the benefits and expenses rules have been announced. What are they and when will they come into effect?
24 February 2015
Paperwork is vital with shareholdings
A tribunal was asked to rule on whether some of the shares apparently owned by a director were actually his wife’s. What did the tribunal rule and what useful tax planning tips can shareholders take from it?
30 January 2015
Company loan: a tax saving tip
The personal tax cost of borrowing from your company is now quite low. However, when the time comes to repay the loan there’s a neat trick you can use to cut it further. What is it and how does it work?
16 January 2015
Revenue Scotland
Revenue Scotland starts to administer devolved taxes in Scotland from today beginning with the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (“Stamp Duty”) and the Scottish Landfill Tax.
12 January 2015
Travel expenses and Personal Service Coys
Individuals who work through their own personal service companies (PSC) could lose the ability to claim a tax deduction for the cost of travelling to their clients’ premises. Rebecca Cave explains why the government is suggesting this fundamental shift in the tax rules.
23 December 2014
Advisory fuel rates
The HMRC advisory fuel rates have been changed with effect for all journeys undertaken on or after 1 December 2014. Until that date, the rates in brackets can be used. These rates only apply to employees using a company car on business purposes.
22 December 2014
Winners – Best in Norwegian Tax
Wealth and Finance International Magazine has chosen this firm as the winners of their prestigious award, and this is what they had to say about us.
19 December 2014
SA302 forms from HMRC
Here’s what HMRC are saying about getting approved SA302 forms explained directly from the HMRC website. This will make life easier for taxpayers and lenders.
9 December 2014
VAT on internet sales inside the EU
You can submit a single calendar quarterly return and VAT payment to HMRC, who will send the appropriate information and payment to each relevant member state’s tax authority.
20 October 2014
VAT on single-use carrier bags
As of today, a 5p charge is levieed by the retailer on every single-use carrier bag sold in Scotland. Similar schemes have already been introduced in Northern Ireland and Wales.
18 October 2014
Credit card sales – HMRC crack down
Businesses with undeclared income from debit and credit card sales have been offered the chance to settle their tax affairs on the best terms. The offer is HMRC‘s latest tax campaign, or taskforce, against tax evasion.
30 September 2014
National Minimum Wage
The government has approved a rise in the National Minimum Wage to £6.50 per hour, with more than 1 million people set to see their pay rise by as much as £355 a year.
14 September 2014
Scottish referendum
With the referendum at the forefront of many peoples minds, we have been asked by a large number of Scottish clients what they should be doing and how they can mitigate any risks, in the event of the Yes campaign being successful.
9 July 2014
Holiday pay – changed basis of calculation?
The CBI has warned that a new European ruling that challenges how holiday pay is calculated could push some companies into insolvency.
4 June 2014
VAT complexities
All too often VAT is assumed to be straight forward and simple by those who have been registered for some time, and who forget the complexities that can easily arise.
19 May 2014
HMRC Basic Tools for RTI
If you use the HMRC Basic Tools software for your RTI submission, you need to heed their advice and make sure that you take regular back-ups and store them safely.
1 May 2014
RTI filing and under 16’s with no NI number
So you are a hotelier who is employing some junior waiting staff to work weekends and busy times, and they are under 16 and don’t have a NI number. What do you do?
22 April 2014
How to Deregister for Machine Games Duty
On receipt of your correct and complete deregistration notice (either an electronic notification or a notice submitted in writing), HMRC will remove your name from the MGD Register within 14 days from the date specified in your notification. HMRC will write to you to confirm your deregistration.
5 April 2014
Electronic tax checklists
From this week, clients will be receiving a personalised electronic tax checklist sent direct to their email address, which will allow clients to upload and send us all the information necessary for the preparation of the 2014 Tax Return.
25 March 2014
RTI – Tax year end processes
Now that you are reporting PAYE information in real time, you don’t need to send forms P35 and P14 at the end of this tax year. Instead, just send your real-time PAYE submission as normal and answer a few extra questions. It is very easy to do. This step-by-step guide shows you how.
19 March 2014
Registration at Tax Offices (update)
A number of our clients are reporting that they have been to the Tax Office in Norway to prove their identity as advised on previous correspondence from Skatteetaten.
14 March 2014
£2,000 employment allowance discount
Starting in April 2014 the employment allowance (EA) will be available to all employers with fewer than 250 employees (including directors). It will be worth up to £2,000 per tax year and will be given in the form of a credit against your employers’ NI contributions.
11 March 2014
Introduction of ID checks
The Norwegian Tax Administration has introduced identity checks for foreign workers who are to carry out work in Norway in order to actively prevent people from operating under false identities.
7 March 2014
Over the Lifetime Allowance?
Doctors, senior professionals and even headteachers saving into final salary pensions are in the danger zone for hefty tax charges when the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) falls in April.
6 March 2014
Hi-tech international work leads to another award for Stornoway accountants
An accountancy firm from the Western Isles has won yet another award which put them up against some of the biggest industry names. Nicolson Accountancy was named Leading Accountancy Firm of the Year Scotland by the finance magazine Acquisition International.
11 February 2014
Check your tax code
It is always very important to check your tax code to make sure that you are receiving all the allowances to which you are entitled and to ensure that all your income is being properly taxed.
27 January 2014
Tax deductible professional fees and subs
If you pay a subscription to a professional organisation, then you can usually apply for a tax deduction for the fee you pay. HMRC publish a list of the allowable expenses, and the current list has recently been published by HMRC.
23 January 2014
Tax charge on child benefit
If you earn more than £50,000 and you or your partner receive child benefit, then you need to take action before the end of January to notify HMRC of your potential additional tax charge.
21 January 2014
Improve the timing of your Corporation Tax bill
Benjamin Franklin said there was nothing certain but death and taxes, and whilst we can’t help with the former, we can help you to improve the timing of the later.
13 January 2014
HMRC to start sending email
Email which you receive which purports to come from HMRC it is almost certainly a scam, but later this year they are likely to start issuing some very important emails to taxpayers.
9 January 2014
Contractor ‘offshore loan schemes’
We have long been advising clients to avoid these schemes, which were similar in structure to the notorious offshore Employee Benefit Trusts, so beloved of footballers, amongst others.
3 January 2014
The Top 10 Excuses for a Late Tax Return
The following bizarre, exotic and flimsy excuses have all been used by tardy taxpayers who have been late in lodging their tax return.
15 December 2013
Nicolson Accountancy featured by DocLanding
Nicolson Accountancy have been featured by DocLanding for their innovative use of Cloud Document Management across their extensive multi-national client base.
