Matilda Mawson (Bury St Edmunds)

Back in February, I wrote a blog detailing the effect the annual allowance tapering legislation was having on senior NHS clinicians and many others with a defined benefit pension scheme, which can be found here.   I explain that, although NHS England has stepped in to help some NHS staff affected by the charges for…

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Current Issues The introduction of the tapered pension annual allowance from 6 April 2016 has been a contentious issue for many, in particular senior NHS staff members. The legislation change means that, for high income individuals, the annual pension allowance may be reduced from £40,000 to a minimum of £10,000. Pension inputs in excess of…

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As we approach the end of another personal tax year (5 April 2020), there are a number of tax planning opportunities for individuals to consider to ensure best use is made of currently available allowances, exemptions and favourable tax rates:   Tax year end planning Brief Guide_Feb 2020   With the 2020 Budget also just…

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There are now only 99 days before the tax return filing deadline of 31 January 2020. Do not delay – file it today! Not sure if you need to file a tax return? HMRC have a questionnaire that only takes a few minutes and will check whether any of your income or gains will require…

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July 2015 saw the end of direct debit collection for Class 2 National Insurance. Contributions are now collected through self-assessment and, despite there being 4 years since the change in the way payments are made, HMRC are still having teething problems. The issues arise as HMRC are running two computer systems side by side: national…

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The deadline to register for self-assessment, to enable you to complete a 2018/19 tax return, is 5 October 2019. You may be required to complete a tax return for a number of reasons, some examples are outlined below: You have a sole trade and earn more than £1,000 You are a partner in a business…

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Entrepreneurs’ relief allows a reduced rate of capital gains tax on disposals of all or part of your business assets. The reduced tax rate is 10% on up to £10 million of lifetime gains. There have been a number of significant changes to entrepreneurs’ relief in the last year, tightening the rules on qualifying conditions…

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The property allowance was introduced on 5 April 2017, allowing a flat rate deduction of £1,000 to be claimed against property income, in lieu of keeping detailed records of expenses. This however, raises the question as to whether individuals renting out a joint property are required to make the same claim as one another. In…

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With the new tax year in full swing, we set out below some of the changes to various allowances and tax bands that affect how much tax you are paying: The personal allowance (the amount you can earn before you begin paying tax) has increased from £11,850 to £12,500. The basic rate tax band has…

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  HMRC have recently attempted to remove a marriage allowance transfer for a couple, where the transferor had less than the 10% personal allowance unused. This treatment is incorrect as outlined below:   Background to the transfer The marriage allowance transfer was introduced from 5 April 2015 onwards and allows a person to transfer 10%…

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