Astral Accountancy Services

03/10/2023

October Key Dates
1st HMRC’s Advisory Fuel Rates (published in September) must be implemented by employers by the date

5th The deadline for individuals, trusts and partnerships to notify HMRC of the need to register for Self-Assessment (2022/23 tax year)

19th Deadline for sending the Employer Payment Summary (EPS) for tax month ending 05 October 2023
Deadline for paying HMRC all PAYE, NICs, Student Loans and CIS deductions (less child-related statutory payments) if paying by a non-electronic method

22nd Deadline for paying HMRC all PAYE, NICs, Student Loans and CIS deductions (less child-related statutory payments) if paying electronically. 22 October 2023 is a Sunday and HMRC must have cleared funds on or before this date so ensure you submit by Friday the 20th

31st The filing deadline for paper Self-Assessment tax returns (individuals, trusts and partnerships

10/05/2023

06/04/2023

Happy New Tax Year!!
Today is the first day of the 2023/24 Tax Year and therefore time to start getting your 2022/23 Tax information ready for the completion of your 2023 Tax Returns

06/04/2023

April Key dates

5 - Last opportunity to utilise income tax personal allowances, annual ISA allowances, and exemptions for CGT and IHT for 2022/23.

Last day to claim exemption from Class 4 NIC for 2022/23 where earnings are also subject to Class 1 NIC.

Final day for claims for 2018/19 relating to personal allowances, remittance basis, terminal loss relief, overlap relief, carry-forward of trading losses, and capital losses.

The deadline to claim an asset became of negligible value or loan to a trader became unrecoverable in 2020/21.

11 - Last day to set up a variable direct debit to pay PAYE for payment this month.

19 - Employers must make the final RTI payroll report for 2022/23 using FPS or EPS.

22 - PAYE, NIC, and student loan deductions are to be paid to HMRC by electronic means for the month of 5 April 2023, unless the employer has set up a direct debit so HMRC can collect the amounts due.

30 - Daily £10 late filing penalties start to apply to outstanding 2021/22 self-assessment returns.

Any IHT due on lifetime transfers between 6 April and 30 September 2022 is due.

ATED returns and ATED relief declarations must be filed for 2023/24. The ATED charge must be paid for 2023/24.

01/01/2023

Happy New Year from all of us at Astral Accountancy Services, here’s to a happy and healthy 2023 🍻🥂😊

01/12/2022

December Key Tax Dates
Newsletter issue – December 2022

7 -If you don't have a direct debit set up to pay your VAT liabilities, the payment for the quarter or month ending 31 October 2022 must reach HMRC by this date. VAT must be paid electronically.

12 - Where you have a direct debit set up to pay your VAT liabilities HMRC will take the amount of VAT due for the quarter or month to 31 October 2022 from your bank account on this day.

19 - The RTI returns for your payroll for the month to 5 December 2022 must be filed by this date.

Where you pay your PAYE, Class 1 NIC, and CIS deductions by cheque, this cheque must reach HMRC's Accounts Office by this date for payments relating to the tax month ending on 5 December 2022.

22 - Electronic payments of PAYE, Class 1 NIC, and CIS deductions for the tax month ended 5th December should clear into HMRC's bank account.

23 - If you have set up a direct debit to pay your PAYE, HMRC will take the amount due for the tax month to 5 December 2022 from your bank account on this day, if you filed the RTI return on time.

30 - Last day to submit an electronic self-assessment return for the tax year 2021/22 if you wish HMRC to collect the tax due through your future PAYE code if the amount you owe is less than £3000.

31 - The corporation tax return for an accounting period ending 31 December 2021 must reach HMRC by this day.

02/11/2022

We are recruiting

01/11/2022

Making Tax Digital - should your business change its year-end now?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD ITSA) is due to start on 6 April 2024 with the first year being 2024/25. In preparation, the rules that determine which profits of a non-company business are charged to tax for a particular tax year are also being reformed.

Which businesses will be affected?

It is important to note that not all unincorporated businesses will be affected. Basis period reform will only affect those businesses that do not have a 31 March - 5 April accounting year-end. Though MTD ITSA does not include partnerships initially, basis period reform affects all unincorporated clients without 31 March - 5 April year ends, sole traders, and partnerships alike.

What is changing?

The existing rules, which tax profits of an unincorporated business on a current year basis, are being abolished. Instead, profits will be taxed on a tax year basis. Therefore a tax return will show results for the tax year (6 April to 5 April) whatever the actual accounting date. An accounting date anywhere between 31 March and 5 April will be treated as being coterminous with a tax year.

Transition from one method to another

The 2023/24 tax year will be a transitional year to enable the change. For this year only, all businesses will be required to complete a tax return showing results for a period from the end of the basis period in 2022/23 to 5 April 2024. This change means that any business that does not prepare accounts on a tax year basis (6 April to 5 April) will declare and be taxed on profits of more than 12 months. The practicalities are that where the accounting date falls early in the tax year, the number of additional months to bring into account will be more than where the accounting date is later in the tax year.

For example, where a business prepares its accounts to 30 June each year, for 2023/24, the basis period will run from 1 July 2022 to 5 April 2024, i.e. 21 months. The tax bill will be based on results from the year to 30 June 2022 plus 9/12 of results from the year to 30 June 2024. Businesses with an accounting date of 30 April will potentially be worse hit reporting nearly two years' profits on one tax return for 2023/24. The basis period will run from 1 May 2022 to 5 April 2024 i.e. 23 months which means reporting the year to 30 May 2023 plus 11 /12ths of the year to 30 May 2024.

Importantly this change will also mean a shift in timing of the tax payment, which will be due nine months after the accounting year end instead of 21 months. Any relief for overlap profits will be given in the transitional year only.

Do you have to change your year end?

Businesses are not being forced to change their accounting period to align with the tax year as it is only the method of reporting that is changing. However, many may find it easier and less complex to do so not least because otherwise the profit or loss will be apportioned from two sets of accounts into two tax years on a pro-rata basis.

Will the change result in a higher tax bill?

Declaring more than 12 months on one tax return may result in a higher tax bill (even potentially being taxed at higher tax rates) in 2023/24. However, to prevent this happening the 'transition component' will not be taxed in full in 2023/24. This 'component' comprises the profit attributable to the period running from the date of the last years' accounts in 2022 to 5 April 2023 (the end of the 2022/23 tax year). Instead, the additional amount will be automatically spread over five years starting with 2023/24. The business can elect for spreading not to apply if it would be more tax efficient to be taxed in full in 2023/24. This will usually be the case where losses are available or if the personal allowance may otherwise be wasted. However, no spreading relief will be available should a business change its accounting date to align with the tax year before 5 April 2023. Any unrelieved relief for overlap profits can also be utilised.

Should you act now?

Any unincorporated business that does not already have a 31 March or 5 April year-end should consider the implication of the reform possibly by changing year ends before 5 April 2023 ahead of the transition year, or even incorporating.