I'm not going to say this will be the final one of the year, because you know what will happen is that Rishi Sunak will pop out of nowhere and announce something hideous like furlough v12.4 and there is not enough wine in Yorkshire for me to deal with that. So, this may, or may not, be the last you hear from me... for this year (don't get too excited)
So, let's keep it brief:
There are a few things to remember at Christmas:
As many of you know Matt has now left Change Accountants. We marked the occasion (I was going to say celebrated but it sounded like we were pleased to see him go) by eating many, many donuts and Groovy Moo Ice Cream (which, FYI, is amazing). We will all miss him and wish him the very best of luck for the future.
In other far less interesting news - here is the latest on COVID schemes, government initiatives and the like...
I think Autumn might be here, as the office has gone from being way too hot, to freezing, seemingly overnight (very British problems, huh?).
This was going to be quite a brief update, but then I started making a list and I think I'm going to have to split it into 2 emails, otherwise I'll lose some of you half way.
Today the government confirmed that there will be a new levy introduced to pay for the health and social care crisis that we are currently facing as a country. Although it has been announced as a simple 1.25% levy, there is a bit more to it.
From April 2022 there will be an additional 1.25% added on top of National Insurance. This is both to the employee and the employer and the self employed. This method of collecting it is temporary, because HMRC do not have the ability to get their systems in place.
Unfortunately one of the team has contracted Covid and although we have been very careful and "covid-safe" in the office, I have made the decision to close the office for at least a week (happy freedom day!).
In other news:
1. The SEISS final grant will soon be opening for application. The details about the fifth grant for the self-employed can be found in a previous article
Fifty updates! I never believed when I wrote the first one last year, that I would still be writing them now. Do we get some kind of medal for a half-century? I am sure you lot should do for having to read 50 of the things...
Deferred VAT from 2020 should have either been paid in full or have been placed into a HMRC repayment plan by 30 June 2021. If you have not arranged a Time To Pay or paid your VAT you should contact HMRC immediately, as you may receive penalties or interest after tomorrow.
Would you believe that HMRC’s systems and staff are not ready for a change that was rushed through? I know. Shocking.
Anyway, this time it is a problem with Class 2 National Insurance. As you will be aware from previous newsletters, HMRC have altered the way they collect NI from self-employed individuals. Instead of collecting the NI quarterly, it now gets added onto the tax return and paid with the tax bill in the following January.
Seems simple, right?
No need to renew your SEE certificate
From April the current SEE arrangements will no longer apply. This means that there is no need to renew or apply for a SEE. All existing SEE certificates will cease to be valid from 11 April 2015.
Be Wary of Non-payment
This is because the collection of Class 2 NI is changing. Liability for Class 2 NICs will automatically be determined by the level of profits declared when a person files their Self Assessment return.