Tax investigations lasting an average of 45 months

Tax investigations lasting an average of 45 months HMRC tax investigations are running on for as long as three years and nine months on average which is putting a significant burden on businesses with reports showing that at any given time it is predicted that half of the UK’s biggest businesses are under investigation by…

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Tax receipts go over £850bn for the first time

Tax receipts go over £850bn for the first time Gross tax receipts have surpassed last years by £28.1bn, reaching a high of £857bn as stamp taxes, inheritance tax, and income tax increase drastically. HMRC’s tax receipts have risen to £857bn in 2024/25, compared with £828.1bn in 2023/24. The total tax take was only £633bn pre…

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R & D – HMRC clarifies subcontracted activities

R & D – HMRC clarifies subcontracted activities There has always been some confusion between customers and subcontractors in the R&D schemes. In fact, clarifying this was a major aim of the new Merged and ERIS schemes, which were introduced for accounting periods starting on or after 1 April 2024. However, many claims are still…

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Tax changes in April 2025

Tax changes in April 2025 From April 2025, a number of tax changes will come into force affecting businesses and individual taxpayers. Firstly, Road tax will be rising for different vehicles sizes. For the first time, all electric vehicles will have to pay road tax with large rises in vehicle excise duty (VED). New electric cars will be…

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Voluntary ID verification to go live for Directors

Voluntary ID verification to go live for Directors A new verification system which will affect an estimated six million directors in the UK is coming into place and Companies House is urging directors to start registering early while the system is voluntary. Despite the large number of people predicted to have to use the system,…

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Tax rules for ‘king size’ pickup trucks clarified by HMRC

Tax rules for ‘king size’ pickup trucks clarified by HMRC As reported in previous blogs – https://kennedysaccounting.uk/budget-2024-double-cab-pick-up-vehicles-new-tax-treatment-from-april-2025-insights/ , from 6 April 2025 for corporation tax and 6 April for income tax ‘the government will treat double cab pickup vehicles (DCPUs) with a payload of one tonne [1,000 kilos] or more as cars for certain tax…

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Side hustle sales threshold rising to £3000 per year from 2027

Side hustle sales threshold rising to £3000 per year from 2027 The increase in the current annual trading threshold from £1,000 to £3,000 a year is designed to help eliminate some of the confusion about what tax is payable on side hustle sales. The Treasury has advised that the change to threshold reporting ‘will be…

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Over 400,000 ‘buy to let’ owners now use limited companies!

Over 400,000 ‘buy to let’ owners now use limited companies! The number of limited companies set up to hold ‘buy to let’ property topped the 400,000 mark in February 2025, up by over 330% over the past nine years from only 92,000 incorporated landlords in 2016, according to analysis from a source at Companies House.…

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HMRC increase beneficial loan rate to 3.75%

HMRC increase beneficial loan rate to 3.75% HMRC has increased the ‘actual official rate’ for beneficial loan arrangements from 2.25% to 3.75% from 6 April 2025, the highest rate since 2014, when interest is calculated using the ‘precise method’. However, the rate for loans repaid using the ‘averaging method’ for the 2025-26 tax year has…

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