When hiring a new employee, employers must determine the appropriate tax code and starter declaration for their payroll software. Using incorrect tax codes can result in the new employee over or underpaying their taxes. To ensure the correct information is entered, employers need certain details from the new employee, most of which are usually provided on the employee's P45. It's important to remind new employees to bring their P45 on their first day.

If the employee does not have a P45, the required information can be gathered by asking them to complete HMRC’s online PAYE starter checklist. If they cannot use the online version, a paper version is also available. Employers must keep this information in their payroll records for the current tax year and the following three tax years. Once the information is collected, employers can use HMRC’s online tool to determine the employee’s tax code.

The starter checklist should be completed by new employees in the following cases:

• They have a student or postgraduate loan
• Their personal details differ from those on their P45
• They do not have a P45
• They have been sent to work temporarily in the UK by their overseas employer

Once the checklist is completed, the employee can submit it to their employer via email, post, or in person. There is no need to send the checklist to HMRC.

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.

An online service is available on GOV.UK at www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details to help people find their lost pension funds.

You can use this service to find contact details for:

• your own workplace or personal pension scheme; or
• someone else’s scheme if you have their permission.

Whilst the service won’t confirm if a person has a pension or what its value is it does provide contact details for contacting pension schemes to make further enquiries.

To use this service, the applicant needs to enter their employer’s name or the name of the pension scheme.

Suggestions for finding the name of an historic employer include:

• looking through old paperwork;
• asking former colleagues if they know the employer or scheme name;
• using the search function on the Companies House website as it holds names of all closed and existing companies registered in the UK.

The pension tracing service is a free service. You can also request contact details from the Pension Tracing Service by phone or by post.

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.

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.