Archive for February, 2012

The following is a selection of questions that have been posted to our Forum over the past week.  Can you contribute to any of the discussions?…………. Our company, registered in Scotland with the head office in Scotland has received a summons under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971, which covers England and Wales only. Should [...]

This week, I send greetings from the lovely Stratford-upon-Avon, where we are holding The Learn Centre’s 18th Annual Conference.  I am looking forward to being there with learned colleagues and friends.  The Conference always provides essential updates and allows the sharing of information and the chance for some social and professional networking. There are some [...]

At the start of the month, the DWP made available a raft of documentation and Regulations that help to complete the legislative framework for auto-enrolment, commencing for some employers this year.     These are detailed below, with links to the final version of the Regulations.  We have only offered the briefest of explanations in this Newsletter: [...]

Pensions Minister Steve Webb announced a DWP consultation on 20 February 2012 which seeks to address an unnecessary auto-enrolment administration burden that may have risen unintentionally for dual-status employees. The Pensions Act 2008 imposes an obligation on employers to auto-enrol a ‘jobholder’ who works or ordinarily works in the UK under their contract.  A 2003 [...]

In the 2011 Budget, the Government expressed the view that the State Pension system is too complex, making it difficult for working-age individuals to determine what they might receive from the State, in particular from the State Second Pension. Subsequently, in April 2011, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published a consultation document presenting [...]

From last week, HMRC began a two-week process of issuing penalty notices for over 800,000 taxpayers who failed to meet the 31 January 2012 deadline for online filing 2010/11 tax returns and the payment of any outstanding tax ( In fact, this deadline was extended this year to 02 February 2012 in light of industrial [...]

The SA Donate scheme allows a Self-Assessment taxpayer to direct any tax refund to a charity which has registered with HMRC to receive such sums.  Section 429 of the Income Tax Act (ITA) 2007 allows for such redirections of a tax refund to be eligible for tax relief under Gift Aid. As the deadline for [...]

A second Protocol to the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) between the UK and the Republic of Singapore has been signed, updating the existing DTA of 1997. Further Information HMRC  – 2nd Protocol UK and Singapore

Last week we mentioned that HMRC had updated their PAYE Basic Tools package for the above tax year. A reader made the very valid point that, whilst any employer can use these tools, they are most useful for employers with up to and including 9 employees as at 05 April, including leavers.  If the employer [...]

HMRC’s February 2012 Issue 40 is an excellent and comprehensive compilation of facts and information that we need to be aware of on a day-to-day basis.  This issue covers articles and tables on: Income tax rates and bands for 2012/13 NICs rates and bands for 2012/13 Student Loan amended threshold for 2012/13 Statutory rates for [...]

Taxpayers can appeal against HMRC’s penalties and fines regimes if they can demonstrate that they had a ‘reasonable excuse’ which caused the failure to pay or the failure to file on time. This term is not defined in legislation, however, in November 2011, distress was added to the growing list of reasonable excuses that have [...]

Two Private members’ Bills seem to have fallen by the wayside – The Medical Insurance (Tax Relief) Bill and the Medical Insurance (Pensioner Tax Relief) Bill 2010-12.  Both Bills were expected to have second readings in the House of Commons but did not get to this stage.  The time limit for the reading at the [...]

HMRC issued a Brief this month concerning their previous and their revised thoughts on the treatment of a smartphone when this is provided by employer to employee. There is much that could be written about the relevant sections under the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 and what led to HMRC’s revised thinking about [...]

HMRC’s Weekly Employer Update is an informal presentation based upon employer feedback and aimed at working with employers.  Their 100th Update advised employers that there is still time to be part of the RTI pilot, for the tranche of pilot employers entering from November 2012.  The benefits of entering before March 2013 include: No end-of [...]

Over the last few weeks we have looked at three of the five submissions that employers may have to make under RTI.  The first submission was the EAS (Employer Alignment Submission), designed to align the payroll system to HMRC’s master record.  Then we looked at the FPS (Full Payment Submission) and the EPS (Employer Payment [...]

Two weeks ago, we concluded looking at the Full Payment Summary (FPS).  This week, we look at the Employer Payment Summary (EPS).  The FPS and EPS are likely to be the two most common RTI submissions that an employer is required to make. At the time the employees are paid, or before, RTI requires the [...]

HMRC have updated their version of the PAYE Basic Tools package which allows employers to run their payrolls and contains the following main features: An employer database on which employers can process their payroll.  The latest version allows employers to complete processing for 2011/12 and start 2012/13 when it arrives P11 Calculator Online filing tool [...]

A briefing for tax agents, published on 20 June 2011, explains the development and testing process involved in a limited trial of improvements to HMRC’s enquiry process, known as the Single Compliance Process (SCP).  The SCP is designed to concentrate solely on the risks or behaviours identified for the enquiry, using four different levels of [...]

HMRC have issued a statement reminding us that online Tax Returns for 2010/11 had to be sent by midnight on 31 January 2012, though Returns received on 01 or 02 February would be treated as having been received on the 31st.  The statement continues that an immediate automatic penalty in the sum of £100 is [...]

The Government issued a consultation last year concerning proposals to penalise students whose circumstances allow them to repay their loans early.  The existing repayment rules for student loans allow any student, at any time, to pay more than is required under their loan agreement.  The Government’s reforms to the financing of higher education involve: applying [...]