Some Brexit reminders

The Brexit transitional period comes to an end on 31 December 2020. As a result, new rules will apply from 1 January 2021. As the situation is evolving, it is recommended that you check the guidance on the Gov.uk website regularly.

EORI number

From 1 January 2021 you will need an EORI number to move goods between Great Britain and the EU. You may also need a separate EORI number to move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. You can find out more on the Gov.uk website.

Postponed VAT accounting

From 1 January 2021, postponed VAT accounting will apply if you are a VAT-registered business and you import goods into the UK. Under postponed VAT accounting, you can account for the import VAT on your VAT return for goods imported from anywhere in the world. More information can be found on the Gov.uk website.

Customs declarations

The rules governing when customs declarations need to be made also change from 1 January 2021. Note that different rules apply to Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Check the guidance for details of the declarations that are required when sending goods from the UK, and also the guidance on the declarations required when bringing goods into the UK.

Contact us

We can help you manage the transition to the new rules.

December 23, 2020

Furnished holiday lettings and lockdowns

The second National Lockdown and local restrictions may mean that you are unable to meet the tests for your holiday let to qualify as a furnished holiday letting (FHL) for 2020/21. However, where this is the case, all is not lost as there are alternative routes by which your let might meet the FHL requirements.

FHL tests

To qualify for the more advantageous FHL tax regime, your property must be let commercially, let furnished, and it must be in the UK or the EEA. It must also meet all of the following occupancy conditions.

The pattern of occupancy condition – the total of all lettings that exceed 31 continuous days in the tax year cannot be more than 155 days.
The availability condition – your property must be available for letting as furnished accommodation for at least 210 days in the tax year. Days that you stay in the property do not count.
The letting condition – your property must be let commercially as furnished holiday accommodation for at least 105 days in the tax year (excluding lets of more than 31 days and days occupied cheaply or free by family and friends).

If you have failed to meet the letting condition in 2020/21 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be able to make an averaging and/or a period of grace election to help you reach the magic number. HMRC Helpsheet HS253 contains further details.

Averaging election

If you have more than one property that you let out as furnished holiday accommodation, you may be able to use an averaging election to help all your properties to qualify. This will be the case if some but not all of the lets meet the letting condition. An averaging election allows the condition to be met by reference to the average occupancy across all your holiday lets. For example, if you have three holiday lets and the total number of days in the tax year on which the properties are let as furnished holiday accommodation is at least 315 days, all 3 properties will meet the requirement. The average let will be at least 105 days.

An averaging election for 2020/21 must be made by 31 January 2023.

Period of grace election

A period of grace election can be made as well as, or instead of, an averaging election. It will help if you genuinely intended to meet the letting conditions, but were unable to do so, for example, because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To qualify, the property must have met the letting requirement for the year before the year for which you first wish to make a period of grace election; so, if the first year for which an election is required is 2020/21, the letting condition must have been met (individually or as a result of an averaging election) in 2019/20. A second election can be made for 2021/22 if the condition is not met again in that year. However, your property must meet the requirement in 2022/23 if it is to continue to qualify as a FHL.

As with an averaging election, a period of grace election for 2020/21 must be made by 31 January 2023.

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December 16, 2020

Virtual Christmas parties and tax-free gifts

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that the traditional Christmas party could not happen in 2020. If, instead, you held a virtual event, you will be pleased to know that this too can benefit from the tax exemption for annual parties and functions. There is also good news if you opted to give your staff a seasonal gift, as this may fall within the scope of the trivial benefits exemption.

Virtual Christmas parties

The tax exemption for annual parties and functions means that your staff can enjoy a Christmas party without having to worry about an associated benefit-in-kind tax charge as long as the cost per head (including VAT) is £150 or less and the event is open to all staff (or all staff at a particular location).

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that large in-person events are off the menu this year. If, like many other organisations, you chose not to forgo the Christmas party entirely and held an online event instead, your virtual event will fall within the scope of the exemption for annual parties and functions, as long as the associated conditions have been met. HMRC have confirmed that where the event is provided using IT, the exemption will cover the costs of the event, including the provision of equipment, entertainment and refreshments, as long as they are provided principally for the enjoyment or consumption by employees during the event.

If a virtual event is not for you, the exemption will also apply if you delay the Christmas party and hold a later event instead, as long as it is held before the end of the current tax year.

Where the conditions for exemption have been met, you do not need to report the virtual event to HMRC on your employees’ P11Ds, or include it within a PAYE Settlement Agreement.

Seasonal gifts

If, as a gesture of goodwill, you gave your employees a Christmas gift, as long as the cost of providing that gift is not more than £50, it will fall within the scope of the trivial benefits exemption. This is good news; there is no tax to pay and you do not need to report the gift to HMRC.

The choice of gift is up to you, and traditional seasonal gifts, such as a turkey or a hamper, can be given within the scope of the exemption, as long as they do not cost you more than £50 to provide. If you provide gifts to a number of employees and it is impracticable to work out the individual cost, the average cost can be used instead.

There are, however, some points to watch. The exemption does not apply to gifts of cash or cash vouchers, or to those given as a reward for the provision of services or where the employee is contractually entitled to the gift. Care must also be taken when giving gift cards if these can be topped up; in this case, HMRC regard the cost to be the total cost in the tax year, rather than the cost of each individual top-up. Similar considerations apply to the use of apps to buy goods and services and to season tickets.

Get in touch

Talk to us to find out whether your Christmas events and gifts for employees are exempt from tax.

December 9, 2020

31 January self-assessment deadline approaching

There are a number of key tasks that you need complete by midnight on 31 January 2021. These include filing the self-assessment tax return for 2019/20, paying any remaining tax due for 2019/20 and, where applicable, calculating and paying the first payment on account for 2020/21.

Filing deadline

The deadline for filing the 2019/20 tax return online is midnight on 31 January 2021. If you received a notice to file a return which was issued after 31 October 2020, a later deadline applies, and you have three months from the date of that notice in which to file your return. The deadline for filing paper returns (31 October 2020) has already passed. While any paper returns filed after that date (or more than three months from the date of notice to file a return, if later) will attract a late filing penalty, the penalty can be avoided by filing your return online by midnight on 31 January 2021.

If you miss the filing deadline, you will receive an automatic late filing penalty of £100. This is the case regardless of whether you have any tax to pay. Further late filing penalties are charged where the return remains outstanding after three months, six months and 12 months.

Do I need to file a return?

You will need to file a tax return if HMRC have sent you a notice requiring you to file one. You will also need to register for self-assessment if you have not already done so and file a tax return for 2019/20 if in that year you had taxable income that was not taxed at source. This might include:

income from self-employment of more than £1,000;
money received from renting out a property;
savings income, such as interest or dividends;
foreign income; or
capital gains.

You might also need to fill in a tax return if you have income tax reliefs that you wish to claim, although this will not always be the case as some, for example, relief for employment expenses, can be claimed online.

Paying tax

You must pay any tax owing for 2019/20 plus the first payment on account for 2020/21 by 31 January 2021. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may find that your bill is higher than normal this year if you opted to delay making the second payment on account for 2019/20. If you are struggling to pay your bill, you may be able to pay in instalments.

If you filed your tax return by 30 December 2020, have PAYE income and owe £3,000 or less, the tax that you owe can be collected through PAYE by adjusting your 2021/22 tax code.

Tax due for 2019/20

Unless you have agreed a Time-to-Pay arrangement with HMRC, you will need to pay any tax that you owe for 2019/20 by 31 January 2021. Remember, to take off any payments that you have already made when working out what you need to pay – the HMRC tax calculation does not do this automatically. If you are unsure what payments have been made, you can check this by looking at your personal tax account.

If you opted to delay your second payment on account for 2019/20 (which would have normally been due by 31 July 2020), you will need to pay this by 31 January 2021, along with any balance that remains outstanding. As long as you pay the delayed payment by this date, there will be no interest to pay.

First payment on account for 2020/21

You will need to make payments on account of your 2020/21 self-assessment liability if your tax and Class 4 National Insurance bill for 2019/20 was at least £1,000, unless at least 80% of your tax is collected at source, for example, under PAYE. Each payment on account for 2020/21 is 50% of the tax and Class 4 National Insurance liability for 2019/20. You must make the payments by 31 January 2021 and 31 July 2021.

However, because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, your liability for 2020/21 may be considerably lower than that for 2019/20. The payments on account for 2020/21 are based on pre-pandemic profits of 2019/20; where your income has fallen significantly, you may wish to reduce your 2020/21 payments on account to more realistic levels. However, when working out your estimated liability for 2020/21, remember to include any COVID-19 support payments as these are taxable. You can opt to reduce your payments on account by completing the relevant section of your self-assessment tax return or via your personal tax account.

Payment difficulties

If you are struggling to pay the tax that you owe by 31 January 2021, you may be able to set up an arrangement to spread the cost and pay your tax in instalments. You can do this online if you owe £30,000 or less and have no other payment plans or debts with HMRC; otherwise, you will need to contact HMRC to agree a payment plan.

Interest and penalties

If you pay any tax owing for 2019/20 after 31 January or make your 2020/21 payments on account late or reduce your payments on account by too much, you will be charged interest. Interest is also charged where payments are made in instalments. In the absence of an instalment plan, you will also be charged penalties at the rate of 5% of the unpaid tax where it remains unpaid after 30 days, six months and 12 months.