Hello everyone, we are now half way through the year and hopefully you are enjoying the summer weather. Despite the sunshine and warmer weather there is still plenty to be done with the first MTD returns due by the beginning of August, tax returns to complete, July tax payments approaching and planning finances to take advantage of tax efficiencies. As ever, if there are any questions please do get in touch.

Kind regards, 
Simon

Making Tax Digital – we will be working with all those impacted by MTD this year over the next 3 weeks to get their returns to HMRC on time. Planning for those who come into MTD next year will be our focus for the autumn – this will effect anyone not in MTD for the current year and whose qualifying gross income (rental and self-employment income) exceeds £30,000 for last year (2025/26).

Tax returns – a vital part of tax compliance and planning. Every year, we have over a 100 tax returns to complete and they cannot all be done in the last 3 months of the year! We would ask that you send in your tax return and accounts details as soon as they are available and by no later than 30 September.

We are aiming to complete all tax returns by 30 November 2026 this year so help us to achieve this target by sending in your papers once they are ready. To encourage early submission, everyone who has sent in all their tax year information by 15 July 2026 will be entered in a prize draw for a £50 gift voucher – it is not too late to enter! Finally, a big thank you to those who have already brought in their papers it is much appreciated.

New or changed sections on tax returns this year include :

• Winter fuel allowance – please advise if you received winter fuel allowance so we can consider reporting it if your income is over £35,000;
• The employment section of tax returns requires additional details for directors and in particular for close companies with pages needing to be completed even where no salary / benefits are received.
• Child benefit – the return specifically asks for total Child Benefit received, number of children, and, if relevant, the date Child Benefit stopped.
• Capital gains tax transactions- returns must include computations in addition to a summary.
• Cryptoasset transactions are generally regarded as capital gains tax transactions by HMRC. If you have transactions in cryptoassets these are likely to need reporting and it should be noted that exchanging one asset for another may be treated as a disposal and need reporting. For further details of HMRC treatment see here . Please discuss your situation with us if you have crypto transactions well in advance of any deadlines.

Common items to consider including on your tax:

• Gift aid (this can include subscriptions to certain organisations e.g. National Trust if gift aid form completed)
• Personal Pension contributions including those to NEST
• Professional subscriptions where not paid by employers
• Business mileage and other travel costs for self-employed or employment-related business journeys, where allowable.

31 July payments on account – for those required to make payments on account, the second payment on account is due by the end of July. If you are due to make a payment on account, you should receive a reminder and details of how to pay from HMRC. Clients expecting to make a payment who have not received a reminder by 18 July should contact us to confirm their position. For details of how to pay click Here

Despite the uncertainties due to global and domestic events, day to day financial house keeping should continue as usual including:

• Contributing to ISAs – there is no need to wait until the end of the tax year to make a contribution;
• Pension contributions – continue to make contributions as normal
• Similarly if you wish to invest in EIS and VCT shares there is little to gain from delay if cashflow and opportunity are available.
• Considering realising assets at current tax rates, be aware the annual capital gains exemption is now only £3,000 and reporting requirements for property sales (see below)
• For extracting funds from limited companies, with the increase in corporation tax, the alternatives of salary / dividends/ pension / benefits etc should be carefully considered and account taken of individual circumstances.

60-day reporting requirement for taxable sales of residential UK property. When selling UK residential property which does not qualify for full CGT exemption as a main residence, be aware that the sale has to be reported by submission of a CGT return within 60 days of completion and tax paid at the same time. We would ask clients to contact us concerning any proposed sales of taxable residential properties well in advance of sale so that there is time to obtain all relevant detail, consider any planning and register for CGT as necessary with HMRC.

HMRC Let Property Campaign and other disclosure facilities. Concerned that you may have unreported rental or other income for earlier years? We have experience of dealing with multiple year disclosures and can assist with resolving prior year issues. It is better to approach HMRC to correct prior year issues than wait for them to come calling and should result in a better settlement.