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Becoming a contractor can seem daunting. Freelancing and contracting can be a fantastic idea, helping you deliver your skills in a way that is beneficial for your own work/life balance. Being freelance can allow you to spend more time with your family and even earn more money than if you were employed by someone else. However, if becoming a contractor is a new experience, you need to ensure you have the correct support around you. The world of finances can be the main headache when it comes to becoming self-employed. To ensure all your tax paperwork is correct and you keep on top of your outgoings and incomings, you need to make sure you have a good accountant that specialises in working with contractors. The right contractor accountant will make sure your paperwork is up to date, your tax assessments are completed on time and will help you make sure you’re not paying more than you have to – and that you’re paying enough! They’ll also advise on the complicated rules around things like IR35. If you have the knowledge to do it yourself, that’s great. But wouldn’t you prefer to focus on what you’re good at, rather than wasting time and getting bogged down in numbers or worrying about HMRC investigations? Of course, hiring a contractor accountant is a big decision to make. Your accountant will be someone you work alongside for years to come, and someone who you learn to trust with your income. Making the right choice when deciding on an accountant is incredibly important. Finding someone you can trust to deliver the best contractor accounting services is paramount. But when should you hire a contractor accountant and what should you consider when making the decision? Let’s take a look. What should I look for in an accountant? 1) Are they qualified? If your accountant is working for a well-known, established firm, they will be qualified to advise you. At bare minimum, if accountants are still training, they will have an AAT foundation certificate that qualifies them in bookkeeping, costing and financial administration. More experienced accountants will typically: –        Have an accountancy degree, a more advanced AAT qualification, or an ATT, ACCA, or CIMA qualification –        Be affiliated with a professional body Bodies include: –        ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) –        ICAS (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland) –        ACCA (the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants) –        CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) At Account-Ease, all our accountants are professionally trained experts who continuously develop skills to deliver only the highest standards of service. The beauty of using Account-Ease is that you will have your own dedicated accountant that can learn everything there is to know about you and your limited company, and you can build a lasting relationship. 2) Are they experts in working with contractors? Being a contractor means you have to comply with complex legislation including IR35. The off-payroll working rules can apply if a contractor provides their services through their own limited company or another type of intermediary to the client. An intermediary will usually be the worker’s own personal service company, but could also be: –        a partnership –        a personal service company –        an individual The IR35 rules make sure that workers, who would have been an employee if they were providing their services directly to the client, pay the same income tax and National Insurance contributions as employees. The rules around IR35 and other expenses can be confusing and can have dire financial consequences if you do not follow them. Having an accountant who is an expert in the field can help you follow the legislation and keep your tax bill as low as possible. Many contractors pay themselves a small salary and take home the rest of their income as dividends. However, if your salary puts you under the primary threshold, you may lose out on the benefits of NI contributions. You also must declare dividends under HMRC’s rules. At Account-Ease we will set up your finances in the best way for you, whilst still ensuring everything follows HMRC rules. We pride ourselves on being up-to-date with the latest tax laws that apply to contractors and freelancers, so that you can be confident that you won’t run into any issues down the line. 3) Are they tech-savvy? Submitting your tax records and financial information is so much easier now accountants use the best software. In a digital world, if your accountant is still asking for paper copies of receipts in the post, mailing paperwork to sign and keeping physical copies of your records, they’re probably not as up to scratch as they should be. Some accountants are old school, which makes everything slower, harder and more time consuming. Others will ask you to upload everything to an online portal. HMRC asks for financial records to be complete, accurate and readable, and the best way to do this is digitally. Since 2015 the government has been working on the initiative ‘Making Tax Digital’. All VAT-registered businesses are required to follow the Making Tax Digital rules by keeping digital records and using software to submit their VAT returns. All businesses including contractors will need to file their taxes online using accounting software that has been approved by HMRC. 4) Do they have a good reputation? It’s important to find an accountant that has a good reputation and has excellent reviews from their current clients. You can only ever sense how trustworthy a service is by hearing first hand accounts from people who have used them. An accountancy firm might have a great website, huge presence on social media and affiliations from professional bodies, but you will only know how good they are from fellow contractors’ experiences. 5) Are they going to be responsive? When you’re working for yourself and constantly on the go, you need someone who is efficient and will quickly respond to your queries. You don’t have time to be chasing your accountant

The National Insurance fund was introduced in England back during World War I as a way for employers and employees alike to contribute towards their own healthcare needs. However, it quickly expanded into providing support for people who lost jobs or were unable to access medical treatment because of it, which is why today’s taxation system includes both employee payrolls AND self-employed profits tax payments too! National Insurance contributions (NIC) are essentially payments made by both employees and self-employed people to help cover their future healthcare costs and other benefits like maternity or unemployment pay. The amount you pay depends on how much you earn, and there are different rates for employees and the self-employed. How does National Insurance Effect an Employee? The government has announced that all employees will be required to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions starting next year once they earn more than £9K per year. This increases the current threshold of just over $4300, which begins at roughly 18-20 thousand dollars for an individual annually or 16 euros if you live outside London. The rate above this primary amount goes up by 0% but moves onto 12%. Additionally, whatever remains after paying these two rates combined amounts can accumulate without further taxation until reaching Los 50 KILOS (which could happen quite quickly). The extra 1.25 percentage points in National Insurance contributions for certain employees earning under £50,270 a year will be phased out over four years starting April 2022 as the rate of employment increases to 6%, increasing costs significantly and putting some companies at risk from Brexit without access to European Union member countries. That currently provide low-cost labor markets due to reason but offer no advantages like free movement laws when it comes down towards hiring new staff members or even just transferring current workers between facilities located throughout different regions. When you’re self-employed, National Insurance can be tricky. The good news is that there are two different types of payouts depending on how much profit your company makes—Class 2 and 4, respectively. The first type requires payment at £3 per week when it reaches the threshold for small profits with rates increasing by 15 cents every year until it topped off at 4% total employment versus typical 7%. This rate goes up another 25c if someone has been working more than 18 months without any additional hours worked each month but only due exclusively. The impact of national insurance on employees The tax increase will have a significant impact on both employers and employees. The employee’s take-home pay may decrease, but this is not certain yet because it depends on whether they receive any bonuses or other forms of incentive payment from their employer, which are taxed at 10%. So far, there has been no change announced for these types of payments however we expect that possibility soon enough, given recent developments within parliament In addition to an increased cost due solely due to its connection with HMRC (the government). Another 2 percentage points worth -12% overall additional expense manifest themselves through changes made internally by companies such. How will it affect me if I am employed and self-employed? In the case of both self-employment and employment, you must pay: Class 1 NIC on your income from employment; Class 2 and Class 4 NIC on your self-employed income. When you receive your paycheck, two different types of taxes will be collected from the payroll department: Class 1 NICs and 4th NIS. The first payment for these charges comes on January 31st following tax year-end; however, they’re assessed every day as part of our salary during working hours – so keep watching! When you complete your Self Assessment tax return. HMRC will automatically calculate the amounts of Class 2 NIC and Class 4 NIC, taking into account the overall maximum amounts due. You can read more about NIC for the self-employed in our self-employment section. what is the purpose of the National Insurance system? The following are the purposes of National insurance system: Employees and employers alike pay a tax on their wages; the self-employed pay it out of their profits. When employees were laid off or required medical care, they established the fund in 1911. As a result, the NHS, welfare payments, and the state pension are no longer paid for by taxes. The National Insurance fund may also be used as a funding source for other government initiatives. What are people saying about the tax hike? It’s feared that the rise would hit the lowest-paid workers hardest. As a result, employees who earn between £9,564 (£9,880 from April) and £50,268 pay a 12% National Insurance contribution. A rate of 2 percent applies to profits over this threshold. As a result, if your salary exceeds £50,000, you will pay less in National Insurance. The Health and Social Care Levy will function similarly to National Insurance. When the UK’s tax year begins and ends? Missing a deadline might result in a penalty, so staying on top of essential dates and deadlines is critical. Additionally, it would help if you watched for any changes in the law that might affect your firm. A weekend or holiday payment deadline may necessitate paying your account on the final working day before it expires, so keep this in mind when making your payment. The tax year ends at what time of the year? Taxes in the United Kingdom are due by April 5 every year. The end of the tax year is one of the most significant events for tax purposes in the calendar. Rates and allowances tend to fluctuate annually; thus, this is the case. A good example is the ISA, where you may save is reset at the beginning of each fiscal year. Once your stipend is spent, it is gone forever. It implies that you should make as much contribution before the next tax year begins as possible. According to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS). The end of the tax year should

Making Tax Digital also known as MTD is a part of the government’s ambition. Its purpose is to be one of the most digitally advanced tax authorities in the whole wide world. When Making Tax Digital (MTD) was first announced one unique caption caught my eye. This particular headline which was ‘Making tax easier: the end of the tax retrieval’ was found in a document published in 2015. However, in 2022, I soon realized this unique caption was rather a misleading one. Now, what does MTD imply for Self-assessment taxpayers? Well, it’s pretty simple actually. From April 2024, All businesses, as well as landlords whose gross income from either self-employment or rent is greater or is equal to 10,000 pounds, will be required to keep a digital record. They will be needed to make submissions of their data to HMRC electronically. Things You Must Know About MTD ITSA Business records and data should be kept electronically. Although spreadsheets can be used, it’s more appropriate to use online accounting software and apps such as Cloud accounting software for businesses to fulfill the very first condition. Starting from April 2024, all sole traders and landlords must comply with MTD ITSA. The partnership does not need to conform until April 2025. LLP’s partnership with corporate partners will need to comply from a date that is yet to be confirmed. Hence, the date is left to decide in the future  Some Taxpayers will not be required to follow MTD. That is if their combined business and rental income is less than £10,000 in tax from the year 2022 to 2023. New and existing enterprises with a turnover that surpasses £10,000 for the first time will be needed to follow MTD from the 6th of April. For example, a new business that initiates trading in April 2024 and exceeds the turnover test on 5 April 2025 only after 12 months. Such a business will be required to follow MTD from the sixth of April 2026. An exemption will be applied for those that are digitally excluded. For example, those who do not use computers or electronics for religious reasons or those that are unable to use such electronics due to age, disability and location. Administrators, executors and trustees will also be exempted from compliance with MTD. It is to be noted that very few will be exempt from this regulation. More About Making Tax Digital Separate submission of data will be made for each business and rental type. For example, if a sole trader collects rental income from residential property and amasses income from a furnished holiday let. He /she will be required to make a total of 3 submissions of data under MTD ITSA. And if that sole trader is also enlisted for VAT, then he /she will be required to submit data under MTD VAT too. Hence the sole trader will have to submit data under both MTD ITSA and MTD VAT. Quarterly submission of data will be required. This data must be electronically submitted to HMRC. These submissions may include designatory information like national insurance numbers and financial information including sales income and expenses. For landlords, the details of their properties will be needed. The standard quarterly intervals are on normal quarter dates like the 30th of June, 30th September, 31st March and 31st December. The due date for these quarterly submissions is the fifth of August, the fifth of November, the fifth of February and the fifth of May. A fifth submission will also be required that would include the financial data as well as the taxable profit of its businesses. This would be taken after making appropriate tax and accounting adjustments. This type of submission will also include information on other things like rental or non-trading income. This may also include pension or employment income, investment income or taxable savings. Lastly, a sixth submission will also be required to ensure that all the data submitted is accurate, definitive and final. The due date for these submissions would be 31 January following the tax year-end. Due date of these tax payments will not change and will remain the same for the time being. What you should do To Prepare for MTD ITSA If you’re using accounting software to record transactions in your business then you should check. Whether it’s MTD compatible or not. If you’re not using any software then try consulting. Or take advice from your accountant to figure out which software is most suitable for you. Once you find the one that you are most comfortable with it would become easier for you to follow MTD requirements. One such software is Cloud accounting software which comes with many advantages and benefits. It is not only MTD compatible but it can also give your accountant to empower you and give you useful advice on real-time tax estimates and planning tips. If you are a landlord or small business with an income less than £150,000, then consider using a ‘cash basis’ for accounting. It is much simpler to account for expenses and income. It would also make it easier for you to compile data for submitting under MTD ITSA. If you are not required to comply with MTD, then there’s no need to worry. You just have to continue filing your self-assessment tax return as you did before. Hence, on a serious note, for some taxpayers, it is not ‘the End of the tax return. Top Tip Get help and advice from your trustee accountant to choose the best possible Cloud accounting software as well as app and get started as soon as possible. Account-ease has an entire squad which is devoted to cloud accounting and is ready to help you. Therefore, you can get advice, support as well as training from account-ease.co.uk. Which will make it easier for you to comply with the requirements of MTD.

When you are running a business there is so much to think about. Keeping important accounting and tax dates in mind can become difficult to keep track of. There are a lot of dates but as a contractor or freelancer you need to be aware of these tax dates and deadlines, so that you don’t run into problems with HMRC such as late filing and penalties. This can be very challenging when you are busy in your day-to-day business operations. At Account-Ease, we provide accounting for contractors and freelancers so we are aware of all the key tax and accounting dates for both. Stay on top of these dates, we have put together an accounting and tax calendar to help you out. Key dates for contractors and freelancers If you’re self-employed, you have to keep all annual tax deadlines in mind, so you don’t miss any important dates and risk having to pay fines or penalties. You’ll also have different obligations to HMRC depending on whether or not you employ other people or if you’re a sole trader or own your very own limited company, for instance. By being aware of your accounting responsibilities, you can have peace of mind that you’re submitting documents to HMRC on time, every time. If you’re unsure whether you’re meeting all of these obligations or filling out paperwork correctly, it may be best to seek the expert advice of specialist accountants for the self-employed, who will be able to answer all your questions and assist with everything you require. In the meantime, you can check out our list of important dates for contractors and freelancers: 22nd January – PAYE and NIC’s The deadline to pay PAYE and National Insurance contributions for the quarter ending 5th December. If you pay by post, the deadline will be 19th January 31st January – Self-Assessment This is one of the most important dates in the tax calendar for self-employed individuals. If you have any income outside of PAYE tax, you will usually have to submit a self-assessment tax return, which shows HMRC how much you earned and need to pay in tax. Our guide to filling out and understanding your self-assessment tax return explains how to do this in detail. 31st January – First Payment on Account 31st January is also the deadline for submitting your first payment on account, which refers to the amount of income tax and National Insurance contributions you have to pay. Your second payment arrives six months later. 6th April – New Tax Year 6th April is when the new tax year starts, which means that new legislation, including new tax rates, will come into effect on this date. 22nd April – PAYE and NICs The deadline to pay PAYE and National Insurance contributions for the quarter ending 5th April. If you pay by post, the deadline will be 19th April. 1st February – Penalties Start If you fail to submit your self-assessment tax return before 1st February (extended to 1st March this year), you incur a £100 penalty. There are also further penalties that are applied the later the tax return is filed such as £10 per day from month 3 for up to 90 days. 31st May – Issue P60s If you have employees, you have until 31st May to issue their annual P60s. Speak to your small business accountants for more information on this. 6th July – Filling P11Ds If applicable, you have until 6th July to submit P11D(b) forms to HMRC. You also have until this day to issue P11Ds to your employees. 22nd July – PAYE and NIC’s The deadline to pay PAYE and National Insurance contributions for the quarter ending 5th July. If you pay by post, the deadline will be 19th July. 31st July – Second Payment on Account 31st July is the deadline for your second payment on account. Both payments account for 50% of your tax bill so, if you have to pay £2,000 in tax the previous year, you pay £1,000 on your first payment and the other £1,000 in July. 5th October – Registering for Self-Assessment This is a critical deadline for those who have never submitted a self-assessment tax return before. When you become self-employed, you should make it a priority to register with HMRC. This registration needs to occur by 5th October following the end of the first tax year, for which you have to submit a self-assessment tax return. 22nd October – PAYE and NIC’s The deadline to pay PAYE and National Insurance contributions for the quarter ending 5th October. If you pay by post, the deadline will be 19th October. Filing Annual Accounts At the end of the financial year of your limited company, you have to prepare full annual accounts (called statutory accounts). These annual accounts are prepared from your business’s financial records. They include a ‘balance sheet’ that shows the value of everything your company owns, owes and is owed. You will have to send a copy to your shareholders, to Companies House, to everyone who attends general meetings and to HMRC. When it comes to deadlines, you will file: First accounts with Companies House 21 months after your registration date Annual accounts with Companies House 9 months after your company’s financial year ends A Company Tax Return 12 months after your accounting period for corporation tax ends. Corporation Tax Your company must pay corporation tax on any taxable profits, and the deadline for this will depend on your company year-end. You have to register for corporation tax when you first start doing business. You also have to keep accounting records and prepare a company tax return (which has to be sent 12 months after the end of your accounting period) to figure out how much you will pay in corporate tax. You usually have to pay this tax – or report if you have nothing to pay – 9 months and 1 day after the end of your accounting period (which refers to the period covered by your tax return and can’t be longer than 12 months). VAT Return You will be required to file

IR35 initiated in 1999, is tax legislation whose purpose is to combat tax avoidance. They supply their services to clients through a limited company as its mediator. They are known by HMRC as “disguised employees” since these individuals act, behave and even look like employees. However, despite being on the payroll they are registered as limited companies due to which they need to pay less tax. A significant amount of capital can be saved in your business by employing these individuals as “contractors”. Through this, you no longer need to pay NICs or even provide employment benefits like sick leaves, paid holidays, pensions, etc. Making it ideal for both businesses and contractors. Inside IR35 & Outside IR35 An Inside IR35 is a term used by HMRC, for individuals enlisted as limited companies who act like employees but are in breach of this regulation. Whereas, outside IR35 is a term used for companies that don’t violate IR35 due to which no penalties will be inflicted on such companies nor would they have to pay an additional fee for it. How to Determine Your Status? Every business big and small will be accountable for setting its contractor’s tax status, since April 2020. The company would be penalized if the tax status is believed erroneous. Which shows the severity of tax status. HMRC can investigate the tax status of the contractor at any time they want. While they evaluate whether the individual is an inside or outside IR35. They will disregard the written agreement and instead they will consider the relationship between contractor and business to create a “national contract”. Three factors will be considered by them which are as follow: Control: Here the power held by the business will be assessed like how, when, why, and where the contractor completes the assigned task. The more control a business has, the more plausible that the contractor is inside IR35. Substitution: It means whether the task assigned can be completed by someone or is person-specific. If the latter is applied then you are most probably inside IR35. The mutuality of obligation: Is the business obligated to give tasks? Must the contractor receive or accept it? If yes then you are most likely inside IR35. Many more considerations are given by HMRC regarding the contract, their role in an organization, financial risks, and whether the desired equipment is provided by the company. Reason For Crack-down It has almost been two decades since IR35 came into existence. IR35 was mostly ignored up until 2018. It was up to contractors to choose whether their line of work falls inside or outside IR35 and charged accordingly. Soon the problem arises that most of the contractors decide to belong outside IR35. Due to this, they reaped many benefits of full-time stable work without the need to pay any tax. Hence, HMRC estimated these contractors avoided a total of 1.3 billion pounds in taxes annually as 90% of people chose to fall outside IR35 by setting their IR35 status. Impact of IR35 on Contractors Due to the IR35 government crackdown, many challenges were faced by contractors. Serious action was taken against those individuals that were assessed within IR35. This made contractors fall into millions of thousands of pounds in debt. If the contractors are assessed to be inside IR35, they will pay the same NIC and income tax as regular employees. However, they will be devoid of many employment benefits like paid leaves, pensions, sick leaves, etc from the business management. If assessed within IR35, a serious financial shock is inflicted on the contractor. As its net income is reduced significantly up to 25%. In the worst-case scenario, HMRC will trace back to six years and investigate all the contracts within this period to check if the law applies. Due to this, the contractor may end up with hundreds or even thousands of pounds in debt. Impacts of IR35 changes on the Public sector The severe IR35 rules implemented by the UK government in 2017 resulted in the mass withdrawal of contractors. A research study was conducted by CIPD and IPSE on the government IR35 crackdown impacts on the public sector. The results indicated that about 50% of the public sector employing managers thought that they had lost their contractors. On the contrary, 71% were desperately trying to keep their contractors. This whole process has exhausted resources and demands extra time. If similar IR35 changes continue in the private sector, the private companies can face equivalent impacts. These points have exacerbated the situation and could lead to backlash from both the private corporations and contractors. Impacts on Recruitment Industry Due to the IR35 crackdown, many contractors are now looking for permanent jobs. Once the law is put into effect it will be difficult for the companies to hire contractors. They will be charged for hiring a new employee. Earlier, contractors demanded higher salaries in exchange for their career rights. However, their Earning potential is exceptionally reduced due to the IR35, which affects this type of Employment request. Now either the company will downsize the employees or increase their fees to acclimate to the new law. Some businesses, like media and IT, will especially become aware of a difference as these businesses have a greater need for long-term contractors. So, a reduced pool of eligible people may easily lead to a skills shortage and companies will need to find new ways to attract contractors. History demonstrated that certainly, this was the case following the public sector crackdown. Approximately 80% of public sector hiring managers reported a rise in workload due to employing and paying contractors. On the other hand, the Government still has not prepared the plans for the IR35 crackdown. So, for now businesses of private contractors will run as usual. IR35 rules tackle tax avoidance through off-payroll working When a contractor is a ‘disguised’ employee, they’re taking advantage of the tax efficiency of working through a limited company, but otherwise they should be classed as an employee. Consider

Payroll year-end can be challenging, especially for small business owners, with tight deadlines and little space for error. Year-2020 is much more complicated due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s impacts, as new reporting rules have been implemented or updated. We all know it’s getting close to the time of year when payroll must be completed. Don’t panic; simply follow the points below for an easy, breezy, and lovely payroll year-end. Employee Details: Double-check that all of your employee’s information is right and up to date. You could face a penalty if you provide false information about your employees, or if there is an error in their information. You should be ensured about the employee names, their address and their social security numbers. Comparison of Payroll activity and Payment Summary Reports: You need to make sure that you have accurately recorded your previously submitted salary data of your employees. Many items can go unnoticed, such as a bonus that was left on the payroll for three months instead of one. Make sure your activity summary report and the payment summary details report for the current year are identical. Year End Adjustments: Check that both non-cash and cash revenue has been properly reported and taxed before processing the final payroll of year-end. The most common adjustments are: Usage of a company car for personal purposes Bonuses and other annual incentive pay Non-cash payments Transportation or parking provided by the company Sick pay Last Pay Run and Process Leavers: Process your last pay run and make sure that you are satisfied with your employee’s year to date figures. You need to process any leavers before your final submission. You can use payroll services for your business. It will remove the burden of payrolls and year-end payrolls. Check with your payroll service company to see if they have an online service where workers can review and correct data. If that’s the case, allow your workers to use the service to review and edit important data. We provide payroll services at account ease. We will complete your payroll and also submit RTI to HMRC. Week 53: Week 53 is an extra pay run you need this, if you run a weekly payroll (including fortnightly or four-weekly) then you may have to complete an extra pay run. This would happen if you owe workers money on the 5th of April, the end of the final year. Final Full Payment Submission: Once you are happy with all of the payment summaries of your employees and you have to work out all the details and procedures while using these steps. Then you can send your final Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HRMC. After your submission the HRMC lockdown the figures for this tax year for each employee. P 60 Forms: Produce P60 forms for your employees; each member of your team is legally entitled to one, and it must be received by May 31st. You employees need P60 to prove how much tax they have paid on their salary, for example: To claim back overpaid tax To apply for tax credits As proof of their income, if they apply for a loan or a mortgage New Year: You may have completed your Payroll Year End process at this stage, so now is a good time to look forwards to the coming year. Check that all of the existing workers have been rolled over to the new tax year. Consider what went well last year and how you might progress in the coming year. Keep track of the notes and lessons learned so that the method can be changed. We will assist you with your payroll: Payroll year-end is coming, so there’s no need to be panic. There is always time to get the payroll team prepared if you haven’t already. Hopefully, this article will make handling your payroll a little simpler, but don’t forget that our helpful and professional team at Account Ease will relieve your burden, because we have a reliable payroll service. There’s always time to get the payroll team prepared if you haven’t already. Account Ease is a Cloud-based accounting service. We work remotely and we required scanned documents only. You don’t need to carry a stack of paper or invoices to our office. You can either mail it to us or give us scanned papers, and we’ll take care of the rest.    

New Innovations in Business During Pandemic Everyone around the world is hit hard from covid-19. This pandemic not only causes fear among people, but it has affected business badly. This pandemic has forced us to think in different ways and bring new ideas for the new environment we are in now. We need to adopt new innovations in our business to make it successful. Adopt New Methods: We need to adopt new strategies for a successful business. We have many options in this form; we can make our business digital. We can use online payment and delivery methods. Advertise your business through live streaming, and increase your market value. Improve customer service: Try to respond to your customer queries quickly so that you can build your trust. Make a chatbox on your website for direct communication, and help your customers as soon as possible. You and your team should be flexible, understanding, and responsive to the challenges imposed by this pandemic. Keep informed your customers about any changes you made in your plans. Have Hope and Worry Less: Sometimes we can’t change our situation, but we can change our attitude towards the situation. We shouldn’t lose hope; it can panic us, and can worsen the situation. It is difficult for a stressful person to manage things wisely and efficiently. Get Support wherever you need: UK government is providing support to businesses, in the form of tax relief loans and grants. You can check your eligibility for financial support to pay wages as well. Self-employed individuals may be eligible for a taxable grant that covers up to 80% of trading income. If you want tax services Account Ease (AE) can make it easy for you.   Online Business: You can make your website and start selling your goods with contactless deliveries. You need to change your business module to fit in this pandemic. Advertise your business through digital media. Take advantage of the technology, and hire an online accountant or team who can help you to run your business without any hassle. You can hire Account Ease (AE) for your business accounts; we make it easy for you whether you are a freelancer or a businessman. Arrange a free video consultation with an Accountant local to you. COVID-secure Workplace: You need to educate your staff about the pandemic, and how they can stop the spread of this virus. Sanitize your workplace at the end of the day, provide hand sanitization and disinfectant in the workplace, and make sure everyone is following the rules. Don’t panic your staff. Make communication easy and friendly. Encourage your Team: You need to encourage your team and help them wherever they need. If they are working remotely try to communicate and socialize remotely. Send sincere messages checking in on their wellbeing and how they’re doing through this trying period to show concern and support their efforts and help them where ever they need. Show your employees that they are well-cared and their jobs are secure. It is important to know that your team atmosphere may need to shift as a result of some of us working remotely and juggling parental responsibilities. The most important aspect of leadership is to ensure that workers feel cared about and empowered to look after themselves and their families. Create Organizational Cuts: Whenever any organization or business faces a crisis they cut their budget down by 2% or 5%. But it’s not wise to cut down the resources without looking at the aftereffects. Organizations need to cut their budget according to their need. You can cut the budget for real estate if all of your employees are working remotely and you don’t need an office or building for your work or meetings. Be Brave and Stay Calm: We know that this time will pass one day. Our challenge is to face this situation and be successful. This time has pandemic has given us one more thing; we can try our ideas and do new experiments. It will help us learn new things new innovations in the market. Challenges are new but the spirit is evergreen. We will survive as individuals. As a business, we will be driven by our values. Grow your business with Account-Ease: We want to help our customers in this tough time. By allowing our clients to stay at home and stay secure, Account-Ease creates a Covid safe atmosphere. You don’t need to carry a stack of paper or invoices to our office. You can either mail it to us or give us scanned papers, and we’ll take care of the rest. Our services: Day to day Bookkeeping Services (also weekly and monthly) Annual accounts and Tax Filing Self-Assessment Tax returns Accounting Services for Small Businesses VAT Services Payroll Services Management Accounting  

Annual Investment Allowance There was no change announced for this and the last update was the extension of the AIA temporary 1 million until the end of 2021. Alcoholic Tax The extra tax on fuels and all alcohol types is frozen for the next year and the increased planning is cancelling. Mortgage Guarantee Scheme A new mortgage assurance scheme starts this year in April. This is a guaranteed scheme to lend money across the UK that offers mortgages to people with a payment of just 5% on houses with a value of up to £600,000. Under the program, all buyers will have the opportunity to fix their initial mortgage rate for the first five years should they desire to. COVID Relief: Retail, hospitality, and luxurious real estate in England will be given 100 per cent business rate relief till 30th June 2021. Nurseries also qualify the same behaviour as the above. Also, from the new tax year, the loan scheme for the opening of new businesses to relieve the economy of the country is expected to have guaranteed 80 percent recovery. Also, restart grants will also be given to non-essential retail businesses and hospitality and leisure which may not be open till the end of the year and will be given £6,000 and £18,000, respectively. Accounting and tax services by Account Ease (AE) With the New Year and many tax changes, let Account Ease do the strenuous tasks of accounting and taxation for you with the help of our team of experts and accounting software. We can also provide services of annual accounts and tax filing services. We have a plan for everyone whether it is small businesses, start-ups, or contractors. The new tax year will bring many changes and we can understand and merge them into your business in the perfect manner. You can have all your accounting and tax services done starting from £39.50. In today’s world, the biggest problem is the current going epidemic. Account Ease will help the businesses for planning their current and long-term goals. We offer year-end accounts services according to the financial reporting standards in the form of balance sheets, income statements that are easy to comprehend. Companies that fail to submit annual reports can be fined up to £1,500 and this task is difficult for someone unfamiliar. Our services can make them simpler for you. Also, all the organizations must submit CT600 to HMRC at the end of the accounting year the failing in submission can lead to penalties. This corporation Tax Return must be submitted in a specific format which is difficult without the help of accountants. Account Ease provides these services for you at a very low budget starting from £350. Conclusion: According to the economists and tax experts, the coming year will be of interest as it is clear from these and many other amendments that every organization is going to pay for the COVD-19 effects and going to live in these consequences for more than just a year. So, in these times let us bring ease to you. We are available anywhere at any time with our best team of experts for creating all kinds of accounting solutions.

IR35 IR35 is a term that refers to two pieces of tax laws aimed at preventing employers and employees from avoiding paying taxes. You must be mindful of the updates if you are self-employed as a Contractor or Freelancer. Your customer will bear a large portion of the burden for assessing the status of IR35. You have little to think about whether you are compliant and work properly outside of IR35. New Bill’s Proposed Changes in IR35 According to the new proposed Finance Bill of April 2020, clients from the private sector will be accountable for finding out whether contractors are excluded from IR35. Contractors who work for private-sector mid-to-large-sized businesses would be affected by the initiative. Contractors working in local businesses without the involvement of the government would be excluded. HMRC determines a small business centred on the Companies Act 2006, which specifies three key requirements to qualify as a small business that is as follow: An annual turnover can’t be more than £10.2 million. The overall value of the assets listed on the balance sheet must not exceed £5.1 million. The business hires no more than 50 employees. Application An updated web Check Employment Status Tool (‘CEST’) is accessible. The regulations that govern who is considered as applicable for IR35 purposes have not been altered. The only distinction is that the team in charge of determining this now belongs to the end customer rather than the contractor. In response, the available rules do not harm the status of a contract if it has been properly defined as either within or outside IR35 according to the current guidelines. IR35 & Account Ease (AE) Clients will be supposed to submit status information to the very first person in the labour chain of supply with which they negotiate. Contractors would be entitled to appeal their position to their customers personally if they believe a decision was taken inappropriately. According to HMRC, there must be no arbitrary evaluations that place contractors in IR35. Clients would be given guidance on how to determine their position with “fair consideration” and how the conflict process could work. It can be a tiring process for the employees and employers to make time for all this fuss. But no worries, AE is here for you to take up your all responsibility related to IR35. AE aims at providing you with these services at your doorstep with more comfort. Noncompliance for medium and large-sized Firms According to the proposed law, the team in the chain of supply nearest to the customer takes responsibility for all outstanding PAYE and NIC. The draught law does acknowledge, however, that HMRC does not enforce outstanding obligations under such circumstances. However, AE helps command HMRC to provide comprehensive advice on clarifying the measures for “fair treatment.” IR35 Compliant Account Ease is the most reliable platform for all your obligations about IR35, as paying the proper amount of national insurance and tax is all that is necessary to be IR35 compliant. The employee’s responsibility for verifying IR35 status gets transferred to the department or end customer by AE. On wages you draw during the year, you must fund state insurance and PAYE. For this, it is necessary to double-check that you’ve taken all necessary and appropriate deductions after the tax year. Businesses should be mindful of their new obligations and comprehend what IR35-compliant contracts entail. Operating in a limited partnership is normally also tax-efficient, that is all easy with our AE professionals.  

There is short-term support announced by the Chancellor in the budget. Rishi Sunak unveiled a package of support including extensions to the two major income support schemes, alongside extensions of universal credit, tax credits and stamp duty land tax. Support for business including restart grants, an extension of business rate relief, loss relief carrybacks being extended to three years and reduced VAT rates for the hospitality sector. We have summarized below the key points from the budget: Pandemic Support. While the people are going through such a challenging time, Mr Rishi extended the furlough Scheme until the end of September 2021. This Scheme pays 80% of employees’ wages for the hours they cannot work in this pandemic. This will help millions of people through “the challenging months ahead”. Organizations will contribute to employees’ wages 10% in July & 20% in August & September. The support for self-employed people will be extended until September where they will be eligible for grants such as Loans, allowances, contributions easily. A person minimum wage to increase in this budget is around £8.91 an hour from April 2021. Anyone who is an active credit claimant will get £500 onetime payment as a return. A weekly uplift of £20 in Universal Credit worth £1,000 a year is to be extended for another six months. Taxation There will be no changes adhere to rates of income tax and national insurance or VAT. A tax-free personal allowance will be fixed for people at £12,570 from April 2021 up to 2026. Higher rate income tax threshold to be fixed at £50,270 from April 2021 up to 2026 Corporation tax on company profits above £250,000 to rise from 19% to 25% in April 2023 Around 1.5 million small company tax rates will be kept at 19% with profits of less than £50,000 Stamp duty holiday on house purchases in England and Northern Ireland extended to 30 June No tax charge will be charged on sales of less than £500,000 Inheritance tax thresholds, pensions lifetime allowances and annual capital gains tax exemptions to be fixed at 2020-2021 levels until 2025-26. Health and education Remarkable support of £1.65bn for the UK’s vaccination rollout and £50m to boost the UK’s vaccine testing capability. £19m for domestic violence programs, funding network of respite rooms for homeless women. £40m of new funding for victims of the 1960s Thalidomide scandal and lifetime support guarantee. £10m to support armed forces veterans with mental health needs Business, digital and science Budget 2021 supports people to unlock £20bn worth of business investment. Firms will deduct investment costs from tax bills, reducing taxable profits by 130%. Firms will provide incentives with a rise to £3,000 and £126m for traineeships Hospitality firms will be maintained at a 5% VAT rate until September Business rates holiday for firms in England to continue until June with 75% discount after that Shops/Business that were forced to close, are granted £5bn to restart. £6,000 per premises for non-essential outlets due to re-open in April and £18,000 for gyms, personal care providers and other hospitality and leisure businesses New visa scheme to help start-ups and rapidly growing tech firms source talent from overseas. The arts and sport Nearly £400m budgeted for arts venues in England, including museums and galleries, re-open. £300m recovery package for professional sport and £25m for grassroots football & £1.2m to help stage delayed Women’s Euros football tournament in England in 2022.  The budget is what was expected, the retention of covid support and fixing of most of the tax rates is a positive sign and will bring in business confidence and certainty when markets will fully open. In these times of uncertainty if you need to consult about any of your bookkeeping, accounting or tax needs. We are providing free consultancy support to our new clients. Email: askus@account-ease.co.uk Call: 0208 133 4599