Supply of staff by agencies is normally a standard-rated supply for VAT purposes. However, it will be an exempt supply if it is the supply of services consisting of the provision of medical care by a person registered or enrolled in any of various specified professions, including those on: •the register of medical practitioners; •the...

Although not strictly a graduate tax, the student loan system effectively is one, as it reduces the take-home pay of those subject to the repayment rules. Repayments may run for several decades, depending on earnings and how much was borrowed. The Department for Education has introduced a new student loan type: Plan 5. It applies...

There is a corporation tax (CT) charge on loans made to ‘participators’ in close companies (broadly, companies controlled by 5 or fewer shareholders) where the loan is outstanding at the end of a CT accounting period (CTAP). This charge used to be at a fixed rate, which Chancellors changed from time to time. However, in...

The first tranche of businesses mandated to use the system comes into effect from 6 April 2026 and with that, the compliance burden on businesses within MTD IT will be much greater than it was outside it. Those individuals with combined turnover of £50,000 from self-employment and letting (based on figures in their 2024/25 tax...

One of many contentious areas of VAT is the treatment of certain types of food. In previous articles, we have often mentioned VAT cases that, to the lay person, make VAT law seem ridiculous. For example, the case about McVitie’s ‘Blissfuls’, which consist of a: •biscuit cup with a flat bottom base; •layer of chocolate...

Tax legislation is complex in many areas, so it is not surprising that people sometimes make errors due to either a lack of understanding of the law or by not having taken sufficient care in preparing their tax returns. Unfortunately, as well as having to pay any extra tax that should have been due, the...

At the November 2025 Budget, the Chancellor announced increases in the tax rates applicable to income from property businesses and savings, to apply from 6 April 2027. The basic, higher and additional rates on rental and savings income will all rise by two percentage points in 2027/28, to 22%, 42% and 47% respectively. These increases...

New rates The increases to the national living wage (NLW) and national minimum wage (NMW) hourly rates that will apply from 1 April 2026 have been announced and are as follows: 1. The NLW, payable to workers aged 21 and over, will rise from £12.21 to £12.71. 2. The NMW rate for workers aged 18...

You are looking for some new ideas which would cut costs and boost sales in your business. But how can you incentivise your employees to develop ideas which could help you to achieve this? Partner Joanne Gibson explains.

Companies House has confirmed that proposed reforms to accounts filing – largely focused on mandatory software only filing, abolition of abridged accounts and expanded disclosures for small and micro entities – will not proceed in April 2027 as previously expected. The reforms are now ‘under review’ and companies will receive at least 21 months’ notice...