Hello everyone, we are now in a new tax year so we start off with the importance of tax returns and news of a prize draw…Details of important changes coming in and actions you should take this month on child benefit, pensions and national insurance. As ever, if there are any questions please do get in touch.

Kind regards, 
Simon

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. To encourage early submission, everyone who has sent in all their tax year information by 15 July 2023 will be entered in a prize draw for a £50 gift voucher.

Reasons to file early include:

1. Obtain tax refunds more quickly where due;
2. Where income has fallen to enable a reduction in July payments on account;
3. Know your tax liability so that you have more time to save to pay it;
4. Avoid last minute stress and potential late filing penalties;
5. Reduces the risk of error and allows time to resolve issues when matters are dealt with early and not in a rush at the last moment.
6. Enjoy Christmas without the thought of tax returns hanging over you!

We will be sending out our usual tax return information requests over the next few weeks but there is no need to wait for it to arrive! Start gathering the information now as it becomes available and send it when you have it ready.

We are aiming to complete all tax returns by 30 November 2024 this year so help us to achieve this target by sending in your papers once they are ready. Finally, a big thank you to those who have already brought in their papers it is much appreciated.

Key changes coming in this year that you should be aware of and may require action:

• Business owners should be aware the  National Minimum Wage went up in April from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour for 21 year olds and over (previously 23), see here for full details.
• High income child benefit charge – the increase in threshold for the HICBC to apply and lower rate of charge means that child benefit can now be claimed by people with income up to £80,000 without having it all clawed back- for further details see here . For anyone considering registering for child benefit following the changes in the rules, it should be noted that claims can only be backdated a maximum of 3 months so do not delay – full details on how to claim are here .
• Pension contributions – annual allowance is £60,000 and the lifetime allowance is now removed. Anyone previously affected by these provisions should review their pension position.
• The new tax year means that a new set of annual allowances and exemptions become available e.g. ISA allowance, annual CGT exemption etc. There is no need to wait until later in the tax year to make ISA investments. If you have assets outside of a tax efficient wrapper, investing at the start of the tax year will enable the benefits to start earlier and shelter income and capital gains from tax.
• Dividend tax free allowance reduces to £500 this year from £1,000 and those with dividend income over £500 will need to keep track of dividends to report on their tax return next year.
• Capital gains tax exemption reduces to £3,000 this year from £6,000 last year – more people will need to keep track of capital gains and consider the need to report their gains going forward.
• Good news for families and pensioners, child benefit and state pension increased by just over 8% this April.
• Action alert if you have not checked your national insurance record and state pension entitlement recently, you really should do so. There is still an opportunity to fill gaps in your NIC record back to 2006 if you act shortly see our article here . Although you have until 5 April 2025, do not delay and forget about it, government helplines are very busy and it may take time to sort out.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any colleagues or friends who may be interested in it.

For more information or to discuss any issues raised above please contact Simon Bell by phone on 01376 571358 or email [email protected]

This article is written in general terms and therefore cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; applications of the principles set out will depend on the particular circumstances involved and it is recommended that you take professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on any material in the newsletter.