This Parliament will cease to function at midnight on 3 May, to make way for the General Election on 8 June 2017. This means the Finance Bill 2017 has to be passed by that date, – it can’t be carried over to the new session of Parliament after the election.
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PAYE penalties and information
Deceased estates
If we deal with the estates of deceased persons, HMRC’s Trusts & Estates newsletter is essential reading. This month’s edition contains some important information about reliefs that apply from 6 April 2017, forthcoming charges, and a new Trusts Register.
Early tax returns
We told you about the new HMRC power to raise a “simple assessment” in our newsletter on 3 November 2016. HMRC has still not published guidance on how to deal with such assessments, but they will shortly issue the first simple assessments for 2016/17.
Expenses and benefits: 2016/17 year end
The expenses and benefits regime was fundamentally reformed from 6 April 2016, with the abolition of the £8,500 threshold and the concept of a `lower paid employee’. Since that date, the benefits code in its entirety has applied to all employees regardless of their earnings rate (subject to a limited exception for certain lower paid ministers of religion). Also from 6 April 2016 employers have been able to deal with the tax on most benefits in kind through the payroll in a process known as payrolling, as long as they registered to do so with HMRC before the start of the tax year in question. Further, the statutory exemption qualifying for paid and reimbursed expenses replaced the dispensation regime for 2016/17 onwards. These changes will impact on the reporting of benefits for the 2016/17 year end.
Tax-free childcare: 2017 and beyond
The Government’s Childcare Choices website is now up and running in preparation for the launch of the new tax-free childcare scheme on 28 April 2017. The scheme is to be rolled out gradually throughout 2017, with parents of children under 2 being invited to join the scheme first. Under the scheme, parents with children under the age of 12 (or under the age of 17 where the child has disabilities) can open an online account and pay in funds which can be used to pay for childcare provided by a registered childcare provider. For every £8 deposited by the parents, the Government will add another £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year (£4,000 where the child is disabled). To benefit from the scheme, parents must be in work and earn at least £120 per week (although each parent must have income of £100,000 or less). The self-employed are also able to join.