Small businesses to be backed by new, stronger measures to tackle late payments, the government has announced. The Small Business Commissioner will be given sweeping new powers to investigate poor payment practices, adjudicate payment disputes, and fine the worst offenders – with fines worth tens of millions for firms that persistently pay late or fail
HMRC is urging families to sign up for Tax-Free Childcare before booking their Easter holiday childcare. More than 542,000 families saved money on their childcare in December, the tax authority says. Working families who sign up to Tax-Free Childcare can make yearly savings of £2,000 off their childcare costs for each of their children up
The start of the new tax year on 6 April 2026 will bring contentious changes with it, warns the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT). The most controversial change is the taxation of dividends and employee benefits as well as the introduction of Inheritance Tax (IHT) on family businesses and farms. The government’s Making Tax Digital
The government has confirmed it will review approved mileage rates for business users ahead of a future Budget. The announcement comes after more than a decade without change – despite rising fuel, insurance and maintenance costs leaving many workers covering the gap themselves. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, highlighted the issue earlier this
Self-employed women in the UK earn £51 less per day than men on average, according to IPSE, the self-employed association. This means that the average self-employed woman working full time could be £12,266 worse off per year compared to a self-employed man. IPSE said that this is an improvement on findings from 2020, which found
HMRC has launched a new ‘Tax Confident’ website which it says will help people fill their tax knowledge gaps. The tax authority says the site is designed around real-life situations, helping people to find information that is relevant to their circumstances. These include ‘tax in retirement’, ‘small businesses’ and ‘working life’. The website also features
Almost 400 employers from across the UK have been named for failing to pay the minimum wage to tens of thousands of workers, says the government. Around 60,000 workers were found to have been underpaid, collectively missing out on £7.3 million in pay. The findings come alongside enforcement action against businesses failing to pay their
The government has unveiled a youth employment drive that aims to create 200,000 jobs for young people and reform apprenticeships. It comes as apprenticeship starts amongst young people are down 40% in the last decade and almost one million young people are not earning or learning. There is also a new Youth Jobs Grant, through which
It is vital that taxpayers and small businesses use reputable tax advisers with professional qualifications, warns the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT). Currently, anyone in the UK can refer to themselves as a tax adviser, regardless of whether they are professionally qualified. However, tax advisers who are members of relevant tax or accountancy related professional
HMRC has taken in over £137 million from late payment interest so far for 2023/24, a freedom of information request from investment platform AJ Bell shows. The tax authority has charged 1.3 million taxpayers late payment interest for the last tax year with the average interest payment standing at just over £100. The figures only