1 July 2023 – Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 September 2022.

6 July 2023 – Complete and submit forms P11D return of benefits and expenses and P11D(b) return of Class 1A NICs.

19 July 2023 – Pay Class 1A NICs (by the 22 July 2023 if paid electronically).

19 July 2023 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 July 2023. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 July 2023).

19 July 2023 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 July 2023.

19 July 2023 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 July 2023 is payable by today.

1 August 2023 – Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 31 October 2022.

19 August 2023 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 August 2023. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 August 2023)

19 August 2023 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 August 2023.

19 August 2023 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 August 2023 is payable by today.

In certain circumstances it can be beneficial to make voluntary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to increase your entitlement to benefits, including the State or New State Pension.

Usually, HMRC allows you to pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 tax years. The deadline is 5 April each year. However, there is currently an opportunity for people to make up for gaps in their NICs for the tax years from April 2006 to April 2017 as part of transitional measures to the new State Pension.

This deadline was set to expire on 5 April 2023 but had been extended until 31 July 2023. The deadline has now been further extended until 5 April 2025 to help allay continued concerns that the existing deadline would not have allowed many taxpayers to fill gaps in their NIC records. HMRC’s helplines have been struggling to meet the demands for information and processing claims to pay additional NIC contributions.

HMRC has also confirmed that all relevant voluntary NIC payments will be accepted at the rates applicable in 2022-23 until 5 April 2025.

You might want to consider making voluntary NICs if:

• You are close to State Pension age and do not have enough qualifying years to get the full State Pension.
• You know you will not be able to get the qualifying years you need to get the full State Pension during the remainder of your working life.
• You are self-employed and do not have to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions because they have low profits.
• You live outside the UK but want to qualify for benefits.

If you fall within any of these categories, it may be beneficial to get a State Pension forecast and examine whether you should consider making voluntary NICs to make up missing years, known as topping up. Not everyone will benefit from making voluntary NICs and a lot depends on how close you are to retirement age and your NIC payments to date. If you think this opportunity may be relevant to your circumstances, please be in touch.

The Gift Aid scheme, which was originally introduced in 1990, allows charities to reclaim from HMRC the basic rate of Income Tax deducted from qualifying donations by UK taxpayers. This means that when a basic rate taxpayer claims gift aid on a £10 donation, the charity can reclaim from HMRC the £2.50 of tax paid on that donation.

If you are a higher rate or additional rate taxpayer, you are eligible to claim additional tax relief on the difference between the basic rate and your highest rate of tax.

For example:

If you donated £5,000 to charity, the total value of the donation to the charity is £6,250. You can claim back additional tax of:

• £1,250 if you pay tax at the higher rate of 40% (£6,250 × 20%),
• £1,562.50 if you pay tax at the additional rate of 45% (£6,250 × 25%).

Taxpayers have the option to carry back charitable donations to the previous tax year. A request to carry back the donation must be made before or at the same time as the previous year’s Self-Assessment return is completed.

This means that if you made a gift to charity in the current 2023-24 tax year that ends on 5 April 2024, you can accelerate repayment of any tax associated with your charitable giving. This can be a useful strategy to maximise tax relief if you are not paying higher rate tax in the current tax year but did in the previous tax year. This should be done as part of the Self-Assessment tax return for 2022-23 which must be submitted by 31 January 2024.

You can only claim if your donations qualify for gift aid. This means that your donations from both tax years together must not be more than 4 times what you paid in tax in the previous year.

Fraudsters often try to take advantage of the 31 July deadline for submitting tax credits renewal information.

The fraudulent emails, texts or calls claim to be from HMRC and often promise money back in the form of a tax rebate together with a click-through link to a replica of the HMRC website. The fraudsters then try and steal personal details such as bank or credit card details of unwitting recipients who in some cases even transfer money for a bogus overpayment.

As the deadline approaches, HMRC is warning around 1.5 million tax credits customers to be alerted to scams that mimic government communications to make them appear genuine. In the 12 months to 30 April 2023, HMRC responded to more than 170,234 referrals of suspicious contact from the public. More than 68,437 of these offered bogus tax rebates.

Typical scam examples include:

• emails or texts claiming an individual’s details aren’t up to date and that they risk losing out on payments that are due to them;
• emails or texts claiming that a direct debit payment hasn’t ‘gone through’;
• phone calls threatening arrest if people don’t immediately pay fake tax owed;
• claims that the victim’s National Insurance number has been used in fraud; and
• emails or texts offering spurious tax rebates or bogus grants or support.

HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

‘Tax scams come in many forms and we’re urging customers to be alert to the tactics used by fraudsters and never to let yourselves be rushed. If someone contacts you saying they’re from HMRC and asks you to give personal information or urgently transfer money, be on your guard. Search ‘HMRC scams’ advice on GOV.UK to find out how to report scams and help us fight these crimes.’

Universal Credit is expected to fully replace tax credits, and other legacy benefits (including Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance, Income-Based Jobseeker’s Allowance) by the end of 2024.

HMRC has confirmed that plans to extend the Help to Save scheme by 18 months, until April 2025 have been confirmed.

The Help to Save scheme is intended to help those on low incomes to boost their savings. Eligible users of the scheme can save between £1 and £50 every calendar month and receive a 50% government bonus. The 50% bonus is payable at the end of the second and fourth years and is based on how much account holders have saved. The bonus is paid directly into the account holder’s chosen bank account.

This means that account holders on low incomes can receive a maximum bonus of up to £1,200 on savings of £2,400 for 4 years from the date the account is opened. The scheme is open to most working people who receive Working Tax Credits or Universal Credit.

Almost 360,000 people have opened Help to Save accounts since the scheme was launched in September 2018 and an additional 3 million individuals could still benefit from the savings scheme as a result of the extension.

The government also published a consultation on the scheme that is looking at how the scheme can be reformed and simplified.

Support measures have been agreed for those struggling with, or anxious about, their mortgage repayments.

A new mortgage charter was approved following a meeting of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the UK’s principal mortgage lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority.

Three of the key measures

• Anyone concerned can talk to their bank or their mortgage lender and it will have no impact on their credit score.
• If you change your mortgage to interest only or you extend the term of your mortgage and you want to go back to your original mortgage deal, within six months you can do so, with no questions asked and no impact on your credit score. This will take effect within the next two weeks.
• There will be a minimum 12-month period before there’s a repossession without consent.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “These measures should offer comfort to those who are anxious about high interest rates and support for those who do get into difficulty.

“Tackling high inflation is the Prime Minister and my number one priority.

“We are absolutely committed to supporting the Bank of England to do what it takes. We know the pressure that families are feeling. That’s why we’ve introduced big support packages around £3,000 for the average household this year and last.

“But we will do what it takes, and we won’t flinch in our resolve because we know that getting rid of high inflation from our economy is the only way that we can ultimately relieve pressure on family finances and on businesses.”

Some promising figures

The latest market indicators (FCA; UK Finance) show that mortgage arrears and defaults remain below pre-pandemic levels, which were themselves extremely low.

The FCA reported 0.86 per cent of total residential mortgage balances in arrears in the first quarter of 2023 which is significantly lower than the 3.32 per cent rate in 2009.

The proportion of disposable income spent on mortgage payments is currently at 5.4 per cent, compared to around 10 per cent in the 1990s and prior to the financial crisis.

Do you need advice around mortgage payments? We can help.

The Education Secretary has claimed businesses are ‘driving with the handbrake on’ without the right skills.

Gillian Keegan, who was speaking last week at the Government’s Business Connect Skills for Growth conference, said: “I know from my years in business that organisations drive innovation and create opportunities, but without skilled workers, it often feels like you’re driving with the handbrake on.

“The Government is investing in building future skills for growth and calling on businesses to work with us, so that together we can build the workforce of tomorrow.”

Ms Keegan was a guest speaker at the event, alongside Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, Skills Minister Robert Halfon, Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake as well as the Government’s independent skills policy adviser, Sir Michael Barber.

Among the major employers attending to discuss the future of skills were Google and Amazon, as well as BP, BAE Systems, Virgin Atlantic, Thames Water, Greene King and Travis Perkins.

In May 2023, there were 1,051,000 job vacancies in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics. In 2019, 24 per cent of vacancies were the result of skills shortages.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “While unemployment is at near record lows, we still have some one million job vacancies in the UK. Getting businesses the skilled workers they need will not only grow the economy, but help cut inflation too.”

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said: “Successful companies need skilled workforces and as the Business and Trade Secretary I want to listen to the needs of business to ensure that the skills system delivers for them, creates even more highly skilled jobs and grows the economy.”

In addition to the conference, the Government is urging employers to hire more apprentices, especially younger workers, and to invest more in training and upskilling their workforce.

It is also highlighting the wide range of government-backed courses and support which are available, including Skills Bootcamps and Free Courses for Jobs, as well as £2.7 billion of additional funding to support businesses to take on more apprentices and the ongoing rollout of T Levels.

The event was delivered in partnership with World Skills UK, which organises the participation of skilled UK professionals in the world’s largest competitive skills showcase. Previous winners of World Skills events were present to discuss their experiences.

Ian Elliott, Chief People Officer at PwC, said: “The UK needs an upskilling revolution. Our country’s long-term economic and social prosperity depends on the next generation of workers being equipped for an AI-powered world.

“Government cannot solve the skills challenge alone. Businesses cannot expect education providers to anticipate evolving business needs.

“We have a responsibility to use our positions as progressive employers to collaborate across the public and private sectors to advance and innovate education pathways to meet need and aspiration.”

More than 200 companies – including several household names – have been named and shamed for failing to pay minimum wage to members of staff.

The 202 employers left around 63,000 workers out of pocket to the tune of almost £5 million in a breach of National Minimum Wage law.

Companies being named range from major high street brands, such as WH Smith, Argos and Marks and Spencer, to small businesses and sole traders, in a clear message from the Government that no employer is exempt from paying their workers the statutory minimum wage.

Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business Kevin Hollinrake said: “Paying the legal minimum wage is non-negotiable and all businesses, whatever their size, should know better than to short-change hard-working staff.

“Most businesses do the right thing and look after their employees, but we’re sending a clear message to the minority who ignore the law: pay your staff properly or you’ll face the consequences.”

The businesses named in the list of 202 have since paid what they owe to their staff and have also faced financial penalties. The investigations by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs concluded between 2017 and 2019.

The employers named underpaid workers in the following ways:

• 39 per cent of employers deducted pay from workers’ wages.
• 39 per cent of employers failed to pay workers correctly for their working time.
• 21 per cent of employers paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate.

Guidance for employers on pay is available on GOV.UK, and the Government has published additional advice about breaches and the steps employers should take to make sure they pay their workers correctly.

Bryan Sanderson Chair of the Low Pay Commission said: “The minimum wage acts as a guarantee to ensure all workers without exception receive a decent minimum standard of pay. Where employers break the law, they not only do a disservice to their staff but also undermine fair competition between businesses.

“Regular naming rounds should be a useful tool in raising awareness of underpayment and helping to protect minimum wage workers.”

The Government has been clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it, and that robust enforcement action will be taken against employers who do not pay their staff correctly.

Since 2015, the budget for minimum wage enforcement has doubled with the Government having ordered employers to repay over £100 million to one million workers.

The Government is determined to ensure workers are paid for their hard work, having increased the National Living Wage by a record amount in April 2023. This led to the lowest paid workers in the UK seeing a rise of 9.7 per cent, keeping the Government on track to achieve its manifesto commitment for the National Living Wage to equal two-thirds of median earnings by 2024, provided economic conditions allow.

Do you need guidance on what to pay staff? We can help.

AI – or to give it its full name, artificial intelligence – has been hitting the headlines in recent months, arousing concerns that bots are going to make humans redundant.

Fear of the unknown is a big factor as we continue to learn about all the skills that can be taught to these mysterious non-beings.

Although it has become a big talking point, AI is not new and there are many examples we come across regularly – autocorrect on your phone; e-payments; facial recognition; and navigation.

In fact, AI can provide a good deal of support for small businesses.

Increased efficiency

AI-powered tools and systems can automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, allowing small businesses to streamline their operations. AI can handle various processes, such as data entry, inventory management, customer support and data analysis, with speed and accuracy.

By automating these tasks, small businesses can free up valuable time and resources to focus on strategic initiatives and core business activities.

Enhanced customer experience

AI technologies, such as chatbots and virtual assistants, can improve customer interactions by providing instant and personalised support around the clock. These AI-powered systems can handle customer inquiries, provide product recommendations and assist with order tracking, leading to faster response times and improved customer satisfaction.

By leveraging AI, small businesses can deliver a higher level of service, strengthen customer relationships, and gain a competitive edge.

Data-driven decision making

AI algorithms can analyse vast amounts of data quickly and extract valuable insights. Small businesses can use AI-powered analytics tools to gain a deeper understanding of customer behaviour, market trends and business performance.

These insights enable informed decision making, allowing businesses to identify patterns, predict future outcomes, and optimise their strategies.

Improved marketing and sales efforts

AI can enhance marketing and sales activities by enabling personalised targeting and effective campaign management. AI algorithms can analyse customer data and behaviour to create detailed customer profiles, segment audiences and deliver personalised marketing messages.

This targeted approach can significantly improve marketing campaign effectiveness, increase conversion rates and maximize return on investment.

Competitive advantage

Implementing AI technology can provide a significant competitive advantage for small businesses. AI-driven automation and efficiency improvements can help reduce costs, increase productivity and allow businesses to operate more efficiently than their competitors.

Ultimately, AI adoption can position small businesses as innovative and forward-thinking, helping them stand out in a crowded marketplace.

It's important to note that the successful implementation of AI requires careful planning, consideration of ethical implications and adequate data security measures.

But it’s also important to note that AI is already with us and is helping make our businesses more successful if we use it in the right way.

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, businesses are embracing the benefits of hiring talent from overseas.

However, if you are considering appointing someone from another country, there are additional considerations and requirements, including ensuring the necessary documentation is in place.

The immigration system has specific rules and regulations for employing individuals from abroad. You need to familiarise yourself with the system to ensure compliance and a smooth hiring process.

• Sponsorship and Skilled Worker visa:

To employ a skilled worker from outside the UK, businesses must become a licensed sponsor. This involves applying to the Home Office and meeting specific criteria.

The sponsored worker must then obtain Skilled Worker visa, which permits them to work in the UK. The application process can be complex, so it is advisable to seek legal advice or use the services of an immigration specialist.

• 2. Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS):

Once a business is a licensed sponsor and has identified a suitable candidate, they need to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). The CoS contains specific details about the job role, salary, and duration of employment. The sponsored worker will need this document to apply for their Skilled Worker visa.

• 3. Right-to-work checks:

As an employer, it is your responsibility to verify that every employee has the right to work in the UK. Conduct thorough right-to-work checks on all candidates, regardless of their nationality, to avoid potential penalties or legal issues. This involves reviewing and retaining specific documentation, such as passports or residence permits.

• 4. Compliance and reporting obligations:

As a licensed sponsor, businesses must fulfill ongoing compliance and reporting obligations to maintain their sponsor status. This includes updating the Home Office about any significant changes in an employee's circumstances, such as changes in their job role, salary or employment status.

• 5. Cultural awareness and integration:

Appointing someone from overseas means embracing diversity and cultural differences. Foster an inclusive environment by promoting cultural awareness and sensitivity within your organisation. Encourage employees to appreciate and respect different perspectives, traditions and languages.

• 6. Language proficiency:

Consider the language requirements for the role and ensure the candidate has the necessary language proficiency to perform their job effectively. This may involve assessing their English language skills during the recruitment process or providing language training if required.

Appointing someone from overseas can bring valuable skills, perspectives and diversity.

However, it is crucial to navigate the immigration system and fulfill the necessary documentation and compliance requirements.

By understanding the process, engaging in cultural integration and maintaining compliance, business owners can successfully hire and integrate overseas talent into their workforce, fostering a dynamic and globally aware organisation.