Employers that hire veterans in their first employment after leaving the armed forces are now entitled to National Insurance (NI) relief up to the upper secondary threshold for one year. The relief, announced at the 2020 Budget, came into effect…

A new Debt Respite Scheme, designed to give a debtor with problem debt the right to legal protection from their creditors, is now available. The new scheme consists of two new two types of ‘breathing space’: A standard breathing space –…

With the fourth round of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) now well underway, HM Revenue & Customs has announced tough new fines for those that abuse the financial support on offer. The new penalty regime is aimed at those…

In most cases, expenses an employee incurs at work are paid for by their employer, but some, like travel and accommodation expenses, are reimbursed later by the employer. Since 2016, the system for reimbursed expenses has been simplified, which means…

One unexpected bonus for staff forced to work from home because of the pandemic has been a £6 per week tax break. People will have seen their household bills naturally go up over the last year, from increased working at…

The devastating effects of the pandemic have meant small businesses in the UK have changed the direction of their organisations to survive the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions. More than a year on from the start of…

Companies that signed up to the VAT deferral scheme have been warned they face a five per cent penalty if they do not make payment arrangements by 30 June this year. Over half a million businesses deferred VAT payments last…

Rules coming into effect from 1 January 2022 will mean that nine in 10 estates that are not subject to Inheritance Tax (IHT) will no longer need to complete IHT forms as part of the probate process. Meanwhile, a temporary…

To help businesses with the ongoing impact of the pandemic the Government has decided to extend measures in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (the Act) to protect struggling companies. The extension to the measures introduced in the Act, includes…

A new study has found that nearly six in 10 (59 per cent) small business owners loaned personal money to their business during the pandemic to help it survive. Research undertaken by one of Europe’s largest small business lenders, iwoca,…