We have put together a summary of measures introduced over the last week aimed at helping you get through this period, and highlighted any actions that you may wish to take.

This will be updated as more information becomes available, especially in regard to any help being announced for the self-employed.

As you may expect, much of the detail has not yet been made available, but this is what we know so far…….

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been made redundant during this crisis.

The scheme will cover the cost of wages backdated to 1 March 2020 and funds should be available before the end of April. It will continue for at least three months, and can include workers who were in employment on 28 February.

To access the scheme:

• you need to designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers’, and notify employees of this change. “Furloughed” means that the worker is allowed to be absent temporarily from work. Changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation; and
• submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings through a new online portal. HMRC will set out further details on the information required.
• HMRC will reimburse 80% of furloughed workers wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

It is really important to note that to qualify for this scheme the furloughed workers should not undertake ANY work for you during this period.

While HMRC is working urgently to set up a system for reimbursement, it is not ready yet, and funds will not be available until the end of April.

There are no details yet how this may apply to family members on the payroll, directors etc.

ACTION:

If you need to reduce staffing during this period, can you use the scheme? Has anyone been made redundant already that could now be furloughed? 

Statutory Sick Pay

• SSP is now available from the first day of absence from work, rather than the previous rules of day 4
• The current rules surrounding eligibility for SSP have not changed, so only workers earning on average over £118 per week are eligible
• SSP is currently £94.25 per week and can be paid for a maximum of 28 weeks
• Those who are self-isolating and who cannot work, even if they themselves are not sick, are eligible for SSP.
• Employers will be able to reclaim 2 weeks of SSP for employees who are off work or self-isolating due to COVID-19.

ACTION:

Make sure your staff are aware of your sick pay policy and what they need to do should they have to self-isolate.

VAT 

The next quarter of VAT payments can be deferred.  The deferral will apply for periods ending between 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020.  You will have until the end of the 2020-21 tax year to get your payments up to date.  There will be no penalties etc for not paying your vat in this period.

VAT refunds will continue to be paid as normal.

The deferral is automatic and businesses do not need to apply for it.

ACTION:

Don’t pay your next VAT payment, though your return should be submitted as normal.  If payment is usually by Direct Debit, make sure you cancel this with your bank.

Income Tax payments

All income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system will be deferred to January 2021.

There is no need to apply for this deferral – it will be applied automatically. No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period.

ACTION:

Do not pay your self-assessment payment on account bill that was due at 31 July 2020.

Business Rates and cash grants

• No rates payable for the 2020-2021 tax year for any business in the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors.
• In those sectors, if your rateable value is between £15K and £51k, you’ll also receive a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property.
• Any business which gets small business rates relief, including those in the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors, will receive a cash grant of £10,000
• This help will be administered by local authorities and should be delivered automatically, without businesses needing to claim.

ACTION:

The rates holiday is automatic, so no action is needed from you.

 HMRC Time to Pay

HMRC’s Time to Pay scheme can enable firms and individuals in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 to delay payment of outstanding tax liabilities. HMRC’s dedicated Covid-19 helpline provides practical help and advice on 0800 0159 559.

ACTION:

If you have any tax bill due that you are going to struggle to pay, call HMRC in advance.

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

• These will be available from Monday 23 March and are delivered all the major banks. The lender receives a guarantee of 80% of the loan amount from the government.
• The loan period can be for up to 10 years. The borrower remains liable for 100% of the debt.
• No interest will be charged for the first 12 months. Interest rates offered on these loans are likely to be high, as they are high -risk loans for the bank.  Overpayment will be permitted to repay the loans early if possible
• Banks will require financial statements, management accounts and cashflow forecasts as they would for any normal loan.

ACTION: 

If you think you may wish to apply for this loan, contact us so can make sure your accounts are up to date and can help you with a cashflow forecast.
We can put you in touch with a great commercial loans advisor to talk through your options if you are considering taking out a business loan.

We will update this blog as and when more information becomes available.

Please contact us if you want to discuss your accounts and finances at this difficult time.

Please click here to read our summary of yesterday’s Budget.

Budget summary 2020

You can google the VAT registration threshold – its currently £85k  – but so many people look at their wrong sales figure to compare to this number – and registering for VAT late can be very expensive!

You have to register for VAT when your “VAT taxable turnover” in a 12 month period is over £85k.  If we take ” VAT taxable turnover” to be your sales (which simplifies it somewhat,) then you need to look at your sales figure for the last 12 months.

This is NOT THE SAME AS YOUR SALES SINCE THE START OF YOUR FINANCIAL YEAR.
There is no starting again when you get to your year end – you need to look at your sales figure for the last 12 months – ON A ROLLING BASIS.

So you need to look at Sept 17 – Aug 18, and then Oct 17 – Sept 18, then Nov 17 – Oct 18 etc etc.

If your turnover is around the £75-80k, you need to keep a close eye on it each month to see if you have gone over the registration threshold.  If you have exceeded £85k, then you have one month in which to register for VAT and then you need to start charging VAT in the following month.

For example if your sales for the year Sept 17 to 31 Aug 18 were over £85k for the first time, then you need to register by 30 Sept 18 and you will be registered from 1 October.

If you are late in registering, then you are deemed to be register from 1 October anyway, and you are liable for the vat that you should have been charging, plus potentially a penalty, so this can be very expensive for your business!

If your turnover has gone over the threshold temporarily, say you have sent out an unusually large invoice – you can apply for an exception to registration, but you need to write to HMRC with evidence that you sales for the next 12 months will be under the VAT deregistration threshold of £83k.

So do keep an eye on your turnover if you are close to the threshold.  I see late registration time and time again, as business owners only look at current year sales, not sales for the last 12 months.

For more information then please contact Rosie Forsyth at Wilkins & Co.

Hot of the press is my new tax planning brochure for 2017/18.

This easy to read guide provides you with key tax planning points for the current year.

Covering personal tax and matters affecting both your business and your family, my guide suggests many ways in which you can save money on your tax bill by taking full advantage of the current tax system, as well as highlighting some of the pitfalls you should avoid.

Chose your donut to download with my compliments!

If I can help you with any issues covered in my guide, then please get in touch.

Do let me know if it’s been of help!

The changes announced last Autumn to certain businesses using the flat rate VAT scheme come into effect this month.

What were the changes and how may they affect you?

Businesses using the flat rate vat scheme pay over a lower rate of vat calculated only on their gross sales figures – the rate they pay varies according to the industry but was generally between 13.5% and 14.5%.

From 1 April 2017 these businesses must also determine whether they meet the definition of a “LIMITED COST TRADER” – and if they do the rate at which they pay over VAT is being amended to 16.5%.

A Limited Cost Trader is defined as one whose VAT inclusive expenditure on GOODS is either:

• Less than 2% of their VAT inclusive turnover in a prescribed period ( which we think will be a vat quarter)
• Greater than 2% but less than £1000 per annum

GOODS, for this test, must be exclusively used for the business, but exclude:

• Capital expenditure
• Food and drink for consumption by the business or its employees
• Vehicles, vehicle parts and fuel

So the majority of contractors, and most business providing a service, will be caught by these rules, as the amounts of goods that you actually buy are very small.  Computer software is a service, as are phone bills etc.

The Maths

If you are currently on a flat rate of 14.5%:

Sales invoice to client £10000 plus vat means you receive £12000 from your client.

VAT paid over to HMRC is 14.5% x £12000 = £1740.  Your net cashflow benefit is £260 (£208 after corporation tax)

Under the new rules, 16.5% will be paid over = £1,980 – a benefit of £20 (£16 after corporation tax)

So if your turnover is below the VAT registration threshold, you really need to ask whether it’s worth it any more, and consider deregistering.

If you spend money on services, and these services have VAT charged on them, you will probably be better off changing to the normal VAT rules, and reclaiming the input tax on services.  You need to weigh up against this the fact that submitting your VAT return may be more complicated each quarter and you need to make sure your accounting records are up the job!

My clients are deregistering if possible, but where their turnover is over the threshold, most are moving to the normal vat rules to enable them to reclaim any input tax that they have incurred.    If you do change methods, you do need to write to HMRC and let them know.

Which way have you decided to go?

The devil’s always in the detail.

Mr Hammond said yesterday that he was going to shut down “inappropriate use” of the Flat Rate VAT scheme – but that’s not quite what he meant.  The planned changes will affect most service industries using the scheme.

Currently businesses determine which rate to use based on their industry sector. This is generally between 13.5% and 14.5%.

From 1 April 2017 they must also determine whether they meet the definition of a “LIMITED COST TRADER” – and if they do they are being forced to use a new rate of 16.5%.

A Limited Cost Trader will be defined as one whose VAT inclusive expenditure on GOODS is either:

• Less than 2% of their VAT inclusive turnover in a prescribed period ( which we think will be a vat quarter)
• Greater than 2% but less than £1000 per annum

GOODS, for this test, must be exclusively used for the business, but EXCLUDE:

• Capital expenditure
• Food and drink for consumption by the business or its employees
• Vehicles, vehicle parts and fuel

So the majority of contractors, and most business providing a service, will be caught by these rules, as the amounts of goods that you actually buy are very small.  Computer software is a service as are phone bills etc.

The Maths

If you are currently on a flat rate of 14.5%:

Sales invoice to client £10000 plus vat means you receive £12000 from your client.

VAT paid over to HMRC is 14.5% x £12000 = £1740.  Your net cashflow benefit is £260 (£208 after corporation tax)

Under the new rules, 16.5% will be paid over = £1,980 – a benefit of £20 (£16 after corporation tax)

So if your turnover is below the VAT registration threshold, you really need to ask whether it’s worth it any more, and consider deregistering.

If you have a high outlay on services which have VAT charged on them, you may be better off changing to the normal VAT rules, and reclaiming the input tax on services.

Which ever way you go – it’s one more thing to think about and one more attack on the small business!

For further information and help, please contact me.

Mention VAT and most people either panic or switch off!!

But small businesses can use a special scheme called the Flat Rate scheme which takes a lot of the hard work out of VAT and gives small businesses a cash flow advantage.  Got your attention back?  Good!

Normally when you register for VAT you calculate the vat you charge on your sales, deduct the vat you have been charged on your purchases and pay over the difference to HMRC once a quarter.

Under the flat rate scheme, when you register you are given a percentage based on your industry sector (https://www.gov.uk/vat-flat-rate-scheme/how-much-you-pay).

This is then how the scheme works:

You invoice your client as normal say £1000, plus VAT of 20% making a total of £1200.

You then ignore any purchases that you have made in the period, and just calculate vat based on your gross sales at your percentage.  As an accountant, my percentage is 14.5% so 14.5% of £1200 = £174

I have therefore got in £200 in vat from my customer and only paid out £174.

The scheme is only advantageous if you have business where you don’t buy in a lot of items with VAT on – ie if your main cost is time!
To be eligible to join the scheme, your net turnover must be under £150,000.  If you have just registered for VAT then you get an initial year discount of 1% as well, adding to your cashflow advantage for 12 months.
Although under the scheme, you don’t reclaim the vat on purchases used in the business, if you invest in capital items (computers etc) and the vat-inclusive cost of a single purchase is over £2,000 – then you are allowed to claim back the VAT.
So although you do still need to complete quarterly returns, the flat rate scheme is a much simplified scheme and one most small businesses should definitely consider if thinking about / or having to register for VAT.
For more information please contact Rosie Forsyth at Wilkins & Co.