Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS)

GASDS is a new scheme being introduced in April 2013. It means that charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) can claim a top-up payment on cash donations of £20 or less without the need to collect Gift Aid declarations. Charities will generally be able to claim on small donations of up to £5,000

Are you ready for Real Time Information?

From 6 April 2013 employers will have to start reporting PAYE information to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in real time, referred to as Real Time Information or RTI. Payroll information must be sent to HMRC every time you pay an employee, on or before the time you pay them.  All this must be done

Next CIOT Essex branch meeting is on Inheritance Tax & Trusts

On 26 February 2013 Andrew Burgess from Mercia Group is talking on Inheritance Tax & Trusts at The Pavilion, Essex County Cricket Club, County Ground, Chelmsford Essex CM2 0PG. Andrew has been working in tax for over 40 years, serving with HMRC as a District Inspector and subsequently with what was then the Solihull Special

Penalties if you miss the tax return deadline this month

If you miss the deadline, the longer you delay, the more you'll have to pay. So it's important to send your tax return online to HMRC as soon as you can.  If a Partnership tax return is late, each partner will have to pay the penalties shown below. 1 day late - A penalty of

Upto 101.3%* tax rate for higher earners claiming Child Benefit

HMRC are starting to send out letters to tax payers it believes earning in excess of £50,000 per year and are in receipt of Child Benefit.  These individuals may be subject to the High Income Child Benefit charge, a mechanism designed to clawback the Child Benefit from high earners and which will be introduced from 7 January 2013. Where

Do you buy and sell goods on ebay or other online auctions?

HMRC has issued notices to online auction sites requesting detailed information about the member registers they keep. The aim is the crack down on people who are trading online through an online marketplace or online auction, selling goods and services as a trade or as a business but who are not paying the right amount

Tax planning before Budget Day 2012

With further savings needing to be made by the Government and with general speculation as to whether or not there will be tax rises, it is a fair assumption that changes to tax and pensions will be announced on 21st March 2012. It is accepted practice that changes announced at the budget take effect from Budget Day and so if