Escaping the HICBC
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) is a tax which claws back child benefit where the recipient or their partner has adjusted net income of £60,000 or more in the tax year. The charge is equal to 1% of…
Natalie Simmons
Benefits of filing your 2025/26 tax return early
The 2025/26 Self-Assessment tax return must be filed online by midnight on 31 January 2027. However, you do not have to wait until the deadline is approaching to file your return and there can be advantages in filing early. Before…
Benefits of an alphabet share structure
Where a business is operated through a limited company, profits need to be extracted if they are to be used personally. Where the personal allowance remains available, it is generally beneficial to pay a salary equal to the personal allowance…
Using your ISA allowance in 2026/27
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are tax-free savings accounts. There are four different types of ISAs: Individuals must be at least 18 to invest in an ISA. Cash ISAs may be with a bank or building society or with National Savings…
Employment Allowance – Can you claim it?
The Employment Allowance is a very valuable allowance which allows eligible employers to reduce their secondary Class 1 National Insurance bill by up to £10,500 in 2026 The allowance is not given automatically and must be claimed. Who can claim…
Understanding your tax code
The tax code is fundamental to the operation of PAYE. It is made up of letters and numbers which take account of the allowances that you receive and also any deductions from those allowances, for example, to collect underpaid tax.…
Taxation of company vans in 2026/27
Where an employee is provided with a company van that is available for private use, a tax charge may arise under the benefit in kind legislation. However, this will not always be the case. Unlike company cars, where a van…
Taxation of dividends in 2026/27
As announced at the time of the 2025 Autumn Budget, the ordinary and upper dividend tax rates are increased by two percentage points from 6 April 2026. The additional dividend rate remains unchanged. The increase will affect those with investments…
Section 455 tax and the change in the dividend upper tax rate
In personal and family companies, director shareholders often borrow money from the company. Where a company is close, as most personal and family companies are, if a loan to a director or other participator remains outstanding on the corporation tax…
Are you paying sufficient National Insurance for a full state pension?
State pension entitlement depends on a person having sufficient qualifying years, which in turn depends on them having paid or been treated as having paid sufficient National Insurance contributions. A person will receive the full single tier state pension (also known as…