Author: Glenn

Corporation Tax relief may be available when a company or organisation incurs a trading loss, a loss on the sale or disposal of a capital asset, or on property income. Tax relief may be available to reduce Corporation Tax by offsetting it against other profits or gains from the same accounting period.

Additionally, companies can carry a trading loss back to previous years to claim relief by offsetting it against earlier profits, which may result in a Corporation Tax refund.

Typically, such claims can only be made after submitting a Corporation Tax return to HMRC. Losses can only be carried back to the preceding accounting period if the company was trading in that period.

Any claim for trading losses must be included in the Company Tax Return. The trading profit or loss for Corporation Tax purposes is worked out by making the usual tax adjustments to the figure of profit or loss shown in the company’s or organisation’s financial accounts.

Qualifying losses that are not offset in the current period or carried back can also be offset against profits in future accounting periods. There are restrictions on the total amount of carried forward losses that can be offset against profits.

The taxable turnover threshold for VAT registration is currently £90,000 and has applied since April 2024.

Businesses must register for VAT if they meet one of the following conditions:

1. At the end of any month, the value of taxable supplies made in the past 12 months exceeds £90,000; or
2. At any point, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the value of taxable supplies in the next 30 days will exceed £90,000.

For condition 1, HMRC provides the following illustrative example. On 15 July your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months is £100,000. That’s the first time it has gone over the VAT threshold. You must register by 30 August. Your effective date of registration is 1 September.

For condition 2, HMRC provides the following illustrative example. On 1 May, you arrange a £100,000 contract to provide services. You’ll be paid at the end of May. You must submit your VAT registration application by 30 May. Your effective date of registration will be 1 May.

The £90,000 registration threshold also applies to relevant acquisitions from EU Member States into Northern Ireland.

Additionally, businesses without a physical presence in the UK may still be required to register for VAT if they supply goods or services to the UK or expect to do so in the next 30 days.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is warning that scammers are sending text messages about fake DVSA parking penalty charges. The text messages warn people that they have a ‘parking penalty charge’, and that if they do not pay on time, that they might:

• be banned from driving
• have to pay more
• be taken to court

The text message reads "Dvsa notice for you: You have a parking penalty charge due on 2024/9/30. If you do not pay your fine on time, Your car may be banned from driving, you might have to pay more, or you could be taken to court. Please enter your license plate in the link after reading the information, Check and pay parking penalty charge. Thank you again for your co-operation. Dvsa."

The initial text message has been followed up with scam reminders:

• DVSA Fixed Penalty Office:
• Today is the last day to pay your ticket due to your long term delinquency, if you do not pay your ticket on time you may be required to pay more in the future, and we reserve the right to prosecute you. Please be patient and open the link below to process your ticket.
• Thank you again for your co-operation.

Another scam reminder says:

• DVSA Fixed Penalty Office last notification:
• You have not paid your ticket within the stipulated time. Today is the last time to notify you to pay. We will ban your car from driving on the road starting tomorrow and transfer your parking ticket to the court. Please wait until you receive the information. Process your ticket as soon as possible in the link.

Another scam message says:

• EWHC notice for you:
• We are preparing to prosecute you for the materials handed over by DVSA. Because you have not paid your parking penalty charge for a long time. Today is the last day for payment.
• If you do not pay within today, we will prosecute you. Please read the information and enter your license plate to check your parking ticket.

DVSA advises that it does not issue or deal with parking fines.

Civil Partners enjoy the same tax and other advantages as married couples.

To set up a civil partnership in England or Wales, both partners must be eligible, meaning they are over 18, not already married or in a civil partnership and not closely related. The rules may be different in Scotland, Northern Ireland and outside the UK.

You and your partner will need to give notice of your intention to form a civil partnership at your local register office. You must have lived in that registration district for the past 7 days. You and your partner will need to give notice separately if you live in different registration districts. You do not have to do this on the same day.

You'll need to provide various original documents proving your identity, address, and if applicable, evidence of the dissolution of any previous marriage or civil partnership.

The ceremony can take place at a register office or an approved venue. Unlike a wedding, no legal vows are required, but you will sign a civil partnership document in front of witnesses, making it legally binding. After the ceremony, you will receive a civil partnership certificate.

Forming a civil partnership grants rights similar to marriage, particularly regarding inheritance, pensions, and tax responsibilities.

For more detailed information, you can visit the UK government’s official site on civil partnerships: GOV.UK – Civil Partnerships.

There is a tax-free limit of £30,000 for redundancy pay regardless of whether it is your statutory redundancy payment or a higher payment from your employer.

If you have been employed for two years or more and are made redundant, you are usually entitled to redundancy pay. The legal minimum you can receive is known as "statutory redundancy pay." However, there are exceptions, such as if your employer offers to keep you on or provides suitable alternative work, which you then refuse without a valid reason.

The amount of statutory redundancy pay depends on your age and length of service and is calculated as follows:

• Under 22: Half a week’s pay for each full year of service
• Aged 22 to 40: One week’s pay for each full year of service
• Over 41: One and a half weeks’ pay for each full year of service

Weekly pay is capped at £700, with a maximum of 20 years of service considered. The maximum statutory redundancy pay for 2024-25 is £21,000, with slightly higher limits in Northern Ireland.

Employers can choose to offer a higher redundancy payment, or you may be entitled to one based on the terms of your employment contract.