HMRC will reduce late payment and repayment interest rates from 27 August following the 0.25% cut in the base rate earlier in the month. The Bank of England cut the base rate to 4% on 7 August, triggering a 0.25% cut in HMRC interest rates which are pegged to the base rate. From 27 August,
HMRC will run a digital campaign to ensure that self assessment taxpayers do not claim tax relief for personal expenditure on 2025/25 tax returns, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). HMRC has told the ICAEW that the digital campaign follows a trial in 2024. This trial generated over £27
The UK labour market continues to weaken, shedding 149,000 jobs over the past 12 months, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The number of vacancies, which has now been falling steadily since early 2022, fell to 718,000 in June, which is a fall of 44,000 for the quarter. Payrolled
HMRC is encouraging working families to save money by signing up to Tax-Free Childcare and using one of the thousands of facilities accepting it as payment. Tax-Free Childcare means working families can save up to £2,000 annually for each child up to the age of 11, and £4,000 for a disabled child up to the
President Trump’s decision to charge import duties for low value goods entering the US is a major blow to the UK’s SME exporters, says the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Under an Executive Order issued by the President, duties will be payable on goods valued under $800 from 29 August 2025. These will be in
Economic confidence amongst the UK’s business leaders has dropped to an all-time low, according to data from the Institute of Directors (IoD). The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, fell to -72 in July 2025 from -53 in June. This exceeds the previous record low
The government is set to tackle late payments to businesses with significant legislative reforms. Late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion a year and shut down 38 businesses every day, according to the government. The new laws are set to give stronger powers to the Small Business Commissioner to empower them to wield fines,
Homebuyers are being warned to avoid Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) scams, following a landmark Court of Appeal decision. HMRC is warning buyers to be vigilant of tax agents offering to secure (SDLT) repayments on their behalf where repairs are needed to a property they have bought. Some agents have suggested that, for a fee,
The proportion of small firms expecting to contract, sell or close outnumbered the percentage hoping to grow, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned. The share of small businesses who said they expected their business to shrink or close, or to sell up the business over the next 12 months was 27%. This outweighed
The government recently published draft legislation for Finance Bill 2025-26 for consultation. The legislation includes an Inheritance Tax overhaul; measures intended to refine and simplify the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for IT) and penalty reform regimes; tax adviser regulation; and changes to the treatment of carried interest. Most measures included in the