Claiming child benefit is, after the initial claim, an incredibly straightforward process (subject to the issues raised above regarding higher earners). However, after sixteen years of automatic claiming it is easy to forget to update HMRC on whether you will continue to be entitled for…

HMRC has given taxpayers an extra two years to plug any gaps in their NIC record from April 2006. The deadline for making voluntary contributions has been extended from 5 April 2023, as previously reported, until 5 April 2025. The deadline was first extended to…

In families where child benefit is claimed, it is important that the individual or couple receiving the child benefit keeps a close eye on their income level. If the higher earner has income of more than £50,000 some or all of the child benefit received…

There is currently no legislation specifically targeted at social media influencers, however the fast-growing industry is very much on HMRC’s radar. Earlier this year HMRC sent nudge letters to thousands of influencers as well as gamers and online traders on sites such as Etsy and…

The traditional way to hide sales from HMRC is to take payment in cash and not put it through the books. Nowadays technology helps dishonest traders to hide sales by using electronic sales suppression (ESS) software. The sale is not recorded on the normal till…

Occasionally you may reward your employees with something special such as a holiday or a hamper. If the value exceeds the tax-free amount permitted under the rules for say long service awards, trivial benefits, or staff suggestions it will be taxable. To avoid your employees…

Student loan repayments (SLR) are normally deducted under PAYE from employment income so many people incorrectly assume that SLR are not due on other ‘unearned’ income such as rent or pensions. SLR will in fact be payable where the unearned income exceeds £2,000 per year…

The changes to the pension rules announced in the Spring Budget were designed to dissuade higher earners from retiring early to avoid pension charges on high contributions but the new rules could have the opposite effect. Individuals can now contribute up to £60,000 per year…

When HMRC asks for more PAYE than you have deducted from your staff’s wages it is often the result of double-counting somewhere in the process. A persistent bug in the PAYE system is caused by the HMRC computer creating a duplicate employment record which it…