From 1 April  2017, rates for minimum wage and living wage will be rising to;

• National Living Wage (For workers 25 and over) £7.50 per hour
• Workers between 21 and 25 is £7.05 per hour
• Workers between 18 and 20 is £5.60 per hour
• Workers under 18 is £4.05 per hour
• Apprentice rate is £3.50 (aged 16-18 or 19 if in first year ) All other apprentices are entitled to min wage according to their age

For more information on the national living wage or minimum wage, please contact us on 0845 303 114 or info@coopercurtis.co.uk

Please note, all our content is for general guideline only, every case is different and we would recommend speaking to us before taking any action as a result of the content. The content was correct at the time it was published. 

In 2015, employment intermediary reports became compulsory for agencies supplying workers and filed on a quarterly basis.

The workers details and payment details are supplied on a simple excel spreadsheet in a format given by HMRC, each quarter, by the 5th of the following month. If no workers were supplied in a particular quarter, a nil report must still be submitted. 

The main reason HMRC brought in this reporting was to satisfy HMRC that PAYE should not have been operated on their payments and to tackle false self-employment.

Failure to submit these reports or submitting an inaccurate report can run into the £1,000's after a third offence so it is paramount that these are submitted with care. 

You will need to sign up to HMRC's unique online service in order to file these reports.

The intermediary report template can be found on our website under Recruitment resources

For more information on intermediary reporting, please contact us on 0845 303 114 or info@coopercurtis.co.uk 

Post by Caroline

Please note, all our content is for general guideline only, every case is different and we would recommend speaking to us before taking any action as a result of the content. The content was correct at the time it was published. 

From April 2017, those businesses classed as 'limited cost traders' will be automatically required to use the flat rate percentage of 16.5% when calculating their VAT.

The VAT Flat Rate scheme is available to businesses with turnover of £150,000 per annum or less. Before April, is it calculated as a percentage determined by the type of business performed by the sales figure in that quarter and the balance paid over to HMRC. It provided advantages to those service companies who's overheads were low. 

What's a 'limited cost trader'?

Changes to the scheme will mean a business will be required to check actual spending it's spending on 'goods' each quarter and if spending is either less than £250 in the quarter or less than 2% or its gross sales for that period, then the business will have to use 16.5% as their VAT flat rate percentage.

Goods includes, supplies of gas and electricity and exclude vehicles, fuel, motor expenses, capital goods and food and drink. Rent, telephone and internet are classed as services so are also excluded. 

Conclusion

HMRC have brought in the changes to not only limit the advantages to using the flat rate scheme but also, it is gearing up to HMRC's 'making tax digital' changes next year where quarterly reporting will become mandatory. 

The changes will see more time spent on administration by the business owner on analysing purchases made in the quarter. It would be necessary to see whether it is worth continuing under the scheme and paying 16.5% or deregistering depending on the circumstance.

If you have any concerns regarding changes to the VAT Flat rate scheme, please contact us on 0845 303 1144 or email info@coopercurtis.co.uk.

POST BY CAROLINE

Please note, all our content is for general guideline only, every case is different and we would recommend speaking to us before taking any action as a result of the content. The content was correct at the time it was published. 

It's that time of year when scammers prey on cash strapped tax payers after Christmas. If you receive ANY email from HMRC saying that your are entitled to a refund there is a high probability that it will be a scam. HMRC will not contact you via an email address they are just not sophisticated enough to have these details for every tax payer.

Some of our clients have received very convincing emails asking them to fill in their bank details. PLEASE do not click on any links within the email or fill out ANY forms. It could not only download harmful viruses onto our computer, but unfortunately if you get that far, scammers could wipe your entire bank account.

HMRC will only contact you about a possible refund via post. If you are still unsure always ring the HMRC helpline to confirm that you are in fact entitled to a refund.

Here is an example of the beginning of a convincing scam email we have recently received;

If you would like any help on anything we have mentioned in our blog, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0845 303 1144 or email info@coopercurtis.co.uk. 

POST BY CAROLINE

The child benefit claw back for higher earners (those earning over £50,000) was first introduced back in January 2013, and meant those who claimed the benefit had to pay it back through a charge on their tax return. 

However, mothers with children born after 6 April 2013 may not realise that by not claiming this benefit as their partner is a higher earner, this could leave them with a big gap in their national insurance record affecting their state pension entitlements.

If this applies to you, take action now!

If you or your partner fall into this category, you should either claim child benefit and include the tax charge on the higher earner's tax return, or fill out the form CH2 to claim the child benefit at 0%. Those qualifying years will then be protected up until the child is 12.

Those who claimed child benefit before 2013 will still be protected until their child is 12. If you don't claim for children born January 2013 and onwards, you could be missing out on those all important contributions especially for those not returning to work once the child has reached 12.

To qualify for a state pension, you now need 35 years of NI contributions. 

Blog by Caroline

If you would like further information on anything outlined above, please contact Cooper Curtis on 0845 303 1144 or email info@coopercurtis.co.uk.

Please note, all our content is for general guideline only, every case is different and we would recommend speaking to us before taking any action as a result of the content. The content was correct at the time it was published. 

Our chosen charity that we will be supporting in 2017 will be Maggie’s, who's centres provide practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their families. We will be kicking off our 2017 Sponsorship with a Christmas donation to them. A sponsored bike ride from Oxford to Cheltenham is planned by our team in early 2017 so we will be in training after the Christmas excesses!

We hope that you find our 2017 content interesting and helpful to you and look forward to interacting with you in future.

Best Wishes,
Brian and the team