Watson Knipe Blog

Did you know there are now less than 100 days left before your self-assessment tax return must be completed? The deadline is 31‌‌‌‌ January 2024. We are now busy working on the tax returns for our clients and wanted to remind everyone that there are many benefits to getting these processed and submitted sooner rather than later.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are required for properties in the UK when they are constructed, sold, or rented. They provide information on the energy efficiency of a property and are rated on a scale from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). Landlords are required to provide EPCs to tenants and display them in property advertisements.

Zoopla published the rental market report on 14 September 2023.  This gives a comprehensive overview of the current trends in the rental sector.  We have pulled out some key facts that interest landlords and property investors.

Business planning is crucial for the success and sustainability of all businesses, regardless of size. Whether you are operating as a sole trader or a growing SME, this article gives seven reasons why business planning is essential.

In April 2023, corporation tax rose from 19% to 25% for companies with profits over £250,000. Businesses whose profits do not exceed £50,000 have a small profits rate of corporation tax which is 19%.

Dividends are a portion of company profit that is paid to shareholders in exchange for their investment in the business. This is calculated by distributing the company's profits after corporation tax has been applied.

The Renters’ (Reform) Bill was introduced to Parliament in May 2023. The full details of the bill can be viewed here – Renters (Reform) Bill.  In summary, the Bill delivers the government’s 2019 manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

A lot of people don’t realise that they can pay into a personal pension on behalf of their spouse, partner, children, or other family member. There are different groups of people who could benefit from someone paying into a personal pension for them, including:

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is providing a new service to help make it easier for VAT customers to pay what they owe. Their aim is to allow customers to set up online payment arrangements to reduce the contact needed with HMRC. This should save both time and resources for Debt Management Operations.

It’s been a while since we have written about the best accounting and reporting structure for a new business. As many people are now starting their own businesses, we wanted to run through some of the pros and cons of the three most common types of company structure.

Although we are going through a financially challenging period, many people are still deciding to start a new business. There are many benefits that include working in an area you are passionate about, being autonomous, and being able to work flexibly.

We support companies by preparing monthly management accounts. There is an extra cost to taking this approach. However, you do need to set aside time to review the management accounts every month.

It has been a while since we shared the advantages of using a comprehensive property finance platform if you are a landlord or property investor. We are continuing our partnership with Hammock and have many clients using this platform successfully.

We work with GPs and clinicians and wanted to share this latest update about the GP Tax Reforms being introduced in 2024. This reform will affect any GPs not already operating within the standard accounting year, i.e., from 31 March to 5 April.

Several schemes are available to employees that allow them to purchase shares in the company they work for if this option becomes available to them.

No changes to the current rates of CGT were announced in the Spring Budget in March 2023. This means that the rate remains at 10%, to the extent that any income tax basic rate band is available, and 20% thereafter.

Update following the Spring Budget in March 2023. The nil rate band has been frozen at £325,000 since 2009 and this will now continue up to 5 April 2028.

This update is from the Spring Budget announcement in March 2023; we wanted to highlight key points you need to know concerning pensions.

The MTD regime is based on businesses being required to maintain their accounting records in a specified digital format and submit extracts from those records regularly to HMRC.

Following the Spring Budget 2023, this article summarises three important areas for businesses: Corporation tax, Capital allowances and R&D Development.

In the Spring Budget 2023, there were updates to National Insurance contributions, wages and changes to tax benefits on cars and vans. This article summarises the changes that you need to know as an employer.