Batchelor Coop Limited

08/10/2025

Speculation about which taxes might increase in the budget next month (and how much they might increase by) continues to mount. At the moment, nothing is certain.

However one move which is being reported as increasingly likely is a reduction in employees' National Insurance contribution rates offset by an increase in tax rates.

This would be a step towards simplification of the tax system and technically wouldn't breach the government's manifesto pledge not to increase taxes on 'working people' (since the move would be tax neutral overall for employees currently subject to NI). However, it could affect anyone who doesn't currently pay NIC on their income, including:
- Employees above State Pension age
- Pensioners
- Landlords
- Small company directors drawing their income via a low salary, topped up by dividends.

For now, it appears to be a case of sitting tight and waiting to see what happens before implementing any changes.

Other areas of possible change include Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax.

10/06/2025

Are you ready for MTD?

A recent survey suggests that almost half of sole traders feel unprepared for the upcoming changes - so if you aren’t ’MTD ready’ you are not alone.

Over the coming months we will be continuing our MTD pilot - utilising various software solutions in order to assess which of them will be the best option for you each of our clients. If you meet HMRCs criteria, you will need to make MTD submissions from 6 April 2026.

If you have any questions, call the office to speak to David, Rebecca, or your usual contact.

07/01/2025

Self Assessment tax payments are due on 31 January 2025. If taxpayers are struggling to make their tax payments they should make a time-to-pay arrangement with HMRC in order to minimise penalties and prevent recovery action being taken.

If you owe less than £30,000 you may be able to make an arrangement online. If you owe more, then you may still be able to enter into a payment plan but will need to apply by telephone.

As usual, a 5% surcharge will be applied to any 2023/24 liability not paid by the end of February if no formal arrangement is made before then. This is in addition to late payment interest.

04/12/2024

We are receiving an increased number of enquiries from recipients of letter from HMRC regarding ‘overseas assets, income or gains’.

The recipients of the letter often have American share portfolios linked to shares obtained through a current or previous employment. If you have received such a letter and wish to discuss it, please call us on 01304 620600 and ask to speak with Graham or Rebecca.

31/10/2024

Our budget summary is out - click on the link below to read it.

One possible issue not widely reported is that Twin Cab Pick-Ups with a payload over one tonne will be considered as cars for Capital Allowances and Company Car Tax purposes. A similar announcement was made in February this year, before an abrupt U-Turn just a week later. Now the government have confirmed that all Double Cab Pick-ups purchased or leased in the 2025/26 tax year or onwards will be treated as cars after all.

The key dates are 1 April 2025 for companies, and 6 April 2025 for sole traders and partnerships.

Our FREE monthly eNEWS email newsletter will keep you up to date with the latest news related to the world of accountancy.

20/02/2024

Last week we shared HMRC’s announcement that their previous guidance ruling that (most) twin-cab pick-ups were vans, was being replaced with guidance stating that they were cars.

Yesterday The Revenue decided that this vehicles were vans after all and have reinstated their previous guidance - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/update-on-hmrc-double-cab-pick-up-guidance

Hopefully there won’t be another update next week…..

17/02/2024

UPDATE - THIS GUIDANCE WAS WITHDRAWN ON 19th FEBRUARY 2024

Twin Cab Pickups - HMRC announcement 12 February 2024

For many years many - and indeed probably most - double cab pickups were accepted by HMRC to be vans for the ourposes of VAT, Capital Allowances, and for Benefit In kind purposes (company car/company van tax).

With effect from 1 July 2024 HMRC will “no longer interpret the legislation that defines car and van for tax purposes in line with the definitions used for VAT purposes”.

This means that most, if not all, double cab pickups will be considered by HMRC to be cars rather than vans for tax purposes. This is likely to make this type of vehicle much less attractive for employers and employees particularly, as the Benefit In Kind tax will be based upon the list price and Co2 emissions rather than a relatively low flat rate.

There are transitional arrangements for existing vehicles up until 30 June 2024. As this new interpretation could lead to a significant increase in tax payable by a business and/or its employees we would recommend discussing this with your usual contact before entering into any lease or purchase agreements.

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

23/11/2023

Read our summary of yesterdays here.

National insurance has taken most of the headlines today, but there are several other important issues for businesses and/or employers to consider

Our FREE monthly eNEWS email newsletter will keep you up to date with the latest news related to the world of accountancy.

08/08/2023

From today HMRC require additional information from businesses submitting R&D tax relief claims. This includes information about the R&D projects undertaken and also a requirement to identify the R&D agent (where applicable) used by the business. The declaration will need to be signed by a named senior officer of the claimant company.

Claiming tax relief for research and development is set to get harder as HMRC seeks to clamp down on the estimated £1.13bn of fraud and error in claims

26/05/2023

Our phones are currently down - if you try to call us, you may not be able to get through, and may receive an automated message saying that our number is not recognised. We hope this issue will resolved very soon. Our friends at Business Computer Solutions are working hard to get it up and running with a little downtime as possible.

In preparation for the switch off, we have replaced our existing phone system and fax machine with their modern, digital equivalents.

In the meantime, 1985 can have its phones back……..