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 Low Pay Commission (LPC) has published a report on the future of the National Minimum Wage beyond 2024. In recent years, the LPC has been setting the National Living Wage based on a target of two-thirds of median hourly earnings.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have reminded farmers to stay safe around livestock, not just for themselves and their workers, but also with walkers who may use public footpaths. Their Your Farm, Your Future campaign is aimed at improving safety on farms, and there is a focus on livestock in 2024.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has released figures showing that food price inflation in March has slowed to its lowest level since December 2021. Shop Price annual inflation dropped to 1.3% in March, compared with 2.2% in February.

As a result of a new UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), UK artists will now be able to claim resale royalties when their art is resold in the Australian professional art market. Previously, UK artists have not received any royalties when their artwork was resold in Australia.

Keeping your accounting records up to date can feel like a chore, but when your bookkeeping is kept up to date, you and your business can gain some significant benefits, including financial clarity, budgeting and planning, compliance and tax management, monitoring cash flow and identifying financial trends and patterns.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have confirmed that Child Benefit rates increased on 6 April 2024. A family with one child will now receive up to £1,331 a year and up to £881 a year for each additional child. Payments are made to families on a 4-weekly basis and paid directly into their bank account.

VAT-registered businesses normally submit their VAT returns and payments to HM Revenue and Customs 4 times a year. However, HM Revenue and Customs also offer an Annual Accounting Scheme for businesses with a taxable turnover of £1.35 million or less.

In a bid to reinforce how vital food production is to farming, new measures have been unveiled to restrict how much land can be allocated away from food production under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has recently published a guide for CEOs (and by extension all business owners) on responding to a cyber incident. A cyber incident can occur in various forms and often result in financial loss, reputational damage, legal consequences, and disruption to your normal business operations.

Last year, Vodafone UK and Three UK announced a joint venture deal that would bring their customers under a new, single network provider. As two major providers of telecommunication services in the UK, this deal affects around 27 million customers. Many of these customers are businesses who are concerned with maintaining cost and reliability of services.

It is important to remember that the minimum wage pay rates are increasing with effect from 1 April 2024. Failing to increase to the new rates can result in penalties being charged.

From 6 April 2024, the 2% cut in employee national insurance contributions will come into effect. Employees will now be deducted 8%, rather than 10%, on monthly earnings between £1,048 and £4,189. A 2% deduction on earnings above this amount continues to apply.

In the world of small and medium sized businesses, where every decision can make or break success, the role of internal audit can often be underestimated. However, internal audit does not just have to be a luxury reserved for large corporations. It is a crucial tool that can also help small and medium sized businesses to navigate uncertainties and mitigate risks.

In a stern move against loan fraud, Ilhan Kekec, the owner of a Turkish restaurant, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. Mr Kekec, who unlawfully applied for a £30,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan and subsequently attempted to dissolve his company without notifying creditors, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday 18 March.

When there are several shareholders, a new company is being formed, a shareholder wants to pass their shares or pass them to their children, someone is nearing retirement, or the company has borrowed money from a shareholder, issues can easily arise that jeopardise the continued success of a business.

Thresholds based on a company’s accounts and employee numbers determine whether a company is categorised as small or not. Being able to qualify as a small or medium sized business can cut red tape for a business with the reduced amount of both non-financial and financial reporting a small or medium sized business is required to do.

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: