As a business owner, you’ll likely be wondering how the upcoming general election on 4 July 2024 is likely to affect your business. A new government can mean significant legislative changes and tax upheavals that can impact your business operations and financial planning. The parties have issued their manifestos, so let’s break down what they’ve said about tax.
Over the last two years, the tax-free allowance for capital gains tax has been cut by over three-quarters. For the tax year that recently began on 6 April 2024, the Annual Exempt Amount has been reduced to £3,000 (£1,500 for trustees). These reductions mean that more and more of us are likely to be affected by capital gains tax.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have updated their guidance on what qualifies as ordinary commuting and private travel for tax purposes to include hybrid or flexible working. Generally, where an employee works at home as an objective requirement of the job, then HMRC will usually accept that the employee is entitled to tax relief for the expenses of travelling from their home to another workplace, such as the office, when this is in performance of the duties of their job.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are running a campaign to help people avoid being caught out by tax avoidance schemes. This is particularly relevant to those who are contractors, agency workers, or are working through an umbrella company.
The Labour party has published their plan to close the tax gap – the gap between tax owed and tax paid – which is estimated at £36 billion. The plan broadly proposes to do this by boosting tax compliance. Labour plan to be able to raise up to an additional £5 billion a year as a result of their proposed measures.
Prior to the tax year starting each 6 April, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), will issue new tax codes to employees, usually where there is a change of tax code. These tax codes, a series of letter and numbers, allow employers to deduct the right amount of tax to be deducted from each employee when the payroll is run.
For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, a new merged scheme for research and development tax credit comes into force. The new merged scheme replaces the old RDEC and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) schemes. The new scheme reduces the amount of benefit that would generally have been received under the old scheme.
HM Revenue & Customs have recently updated and clarified their guidance on training costs paid by the self-employed. The general rule for whether the cost of a training course can be deducted from your self-employed profits is that it must be incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade being carried out by the business at the time that the training is undertaken.
The new tax year begins on 6th April and for employers running monthly payrolls, the March pay run will be the last of the 2023/24 tax year. Some things you will need to make sure you do and when you need to do them are listed in this article:
Tax-Free Childcare is available to working families to help them save on their childcare costs. However, many may not be making use of this provision
© 2018-2024 DPC Accountants, part of the SUMER Group
. All rights reserved.
Sumer Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Disclaimer | Cookies Policy
In accordance with the disclosure requirements of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009, our professional indemnity insurers are AXA Insurance UK Plc, 20 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0BG. The territorial coverage is worldwide excluding professional business carried out from an office in the United States Of America or Canada and excludes any action for a claim brought in any court in the United States Of America or Canada. Our professional indemnity insurance does not provide cover for claims arising from referrals by DPC to promoters of tax mitigation schemes that fall in to DOTAS or the Disguised Remuneration rules.
Site Credits
