Blog
Auto-enrolment for employers
Auto-enrolment is in the news this month, after the final rise in minimum contributions kicked in for both employees and employers on 6 April 2019. It marks the end of the line for the first phase of auto-enrolment, which has seen more than 10 million people saving...
Tax changes for 2019/20
The winds of change are blowing through this spring, although they are nowhere near as strong as those that saw two new income tax bands introduced last year. That’s when the starter and intermediate rates were brought in as Derek Mackay exercised his right to alter...
First businesses poised for Making Tax Digital
We are on the home straight as far as Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT is concerned, with little over a month to go until the first group of businesses are mandated into the regime. This affects around a quarter of the UK’s 2.67 million VAT-registered businesses,...
What to look for in an auditor?
The role of the UK’s “Big Four” audit companies following the high-profile collapses of Carillion and BHS has created an opportunity for accountancy practices like us to fill the breach. While the sector and the dominance of Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KMPG and...
Draft Budget: how will it affect you?
When Derek Mackay revealed his last Draft Budget in December 2018, not many people predicted the introduction of two new income tax bands. Nothing as radical was announced this time around, following the finance secretary’s decision to freeze the income tax rates for...
Accounting for charities: the essentials
Dealing with charities is not a service offered by all accountants, many of whom prefer to focus on business clients. There’s no getting away from the fact that handling the accounts of a charity can be complex, but it’s a task we relish at Thomas Barrie. We’re happy...
The impact on landlords of mortgage interest relief
Residential landlords make up a large portion of our clients here at Thomas Barrie, and the impact of changes to mortgage interest relief made by those in UK Government is not lost on us. For years, our buy-to-let clients were able to offset their entire mortgage...
Associate dentists face tax position challenge
We have heard that HMRC is writing to dentists operating as associates in some areas of the country in order to challenge the current practice that these positions are self-employed positions. There are a number of problems for dentists operating in this manner,...
The tapered annual allowance explained
Most high net-worth individuals saw their annual allowance towards their pension pots restricted by tapering rules, which came into effect from 6 April 2016.The annual amount you can save towards your pension in 2018/19 is £40,000, although this allowance is tapered...
Making Tax Digital for VAT registered businesses
Most business owners in the UK will have heard of Making Tax Digital (MTD) by now, and some will be clued up about its turbulent rollout. It was this time last year that Westminster put the brakes on its rollout of MTD for VAT-registered businesses to report income...