Newby Castleman

The photos are back, and a great reminder of our summer party at Mythe Farm's 4-hat tipi, at the ☀️🌈 end of last month :)

🌟 Venue and 'we love a' soapbox derby run by Eventurous Ltd
🫕 Bbq and bar Anthony's Catering
🪄 mind reading and magic by Edward Crawford.

Photos: Eventurous

The Great British Summer Savings VAT discount scheme is ending. To avoid problems with returns, businesses that took part need to make sure that till systems revert to the 20% VAT rate at midnight on Tuesday 1 September.

The government introduced this initiative at the end of June to help families with the cost of living over the summer. They introduced a VAT cut from 20% to 5% on kids’ meals in restaurants and tickets to attractions like theatres and soft play, alongside free bus fares in England for children aged five to 15.

More here https://www.newbycastleman.co.uk/industry-news/great-british-summer-savings-vat-discount-ends/

HMRC's self-assessment online service is offline today

Announced yesterday (and contrary to previous information), HMRC will start to enrol those who qualify for Making Tax Digital for income tax from September 2026.

Whilst this may sound like a convenience to some, note that HMRC will use the information they already hold, which may not include any changes since the last tax return.

The criteria for inclusion this year:

> to qualify for MTD for Income Tax for this tax year,
> you will be a landlord or self-employed person
> with gross qualifying income of more than £50,000 from all sources.

Therefore, someone who is both a landlord and self-employed will need to combine their income sources to determine whether they meet this threshold.

More > https://www.newbycastleman.co.uk/industry-news/making-tax-digital-hmrc-automatic-enrolment-from-sept-26/

🔴 There's a toughened-up approach from HMRC that aims to reduce abuse and non-compliance across construction industry supply chains.
🔅 Businesses that 'knew or should have known' that their transactions were connected to CIS or PAYE fraud could face serious consequences.
➡️ 'Knew or should have known' - recognising the risks > https://www.newbycastleman.co.uk/industry-news/construction-industry-scheme-cis-new-anti-fraud-measures/

Do you run an online / ecommerce business ? There's a new flat-rate duty being introduced on 1 July for low-value parcels being sent to Europe.

The traditional duty-free threshold that has existed for small parcels with a value under EUR 150, is being abolished.

A new flat-rate duty of EUR 3 for each 'line item' category in the parcel will come into force on 1 July.

* For example, if a parcel contains one shirt and two hats (with the whole parcel valued less than EUR 150), it is treated as containing two distinct items, and EUR 6 in customs duty should be paid *

Checklist:
🔅 What types of goods you export
✅ Is your business registered for IOSS
🔴 What is your typical order volume to the EU

Read more here > https://bit.ly/4esR7vn I We’re here to help with specific queries.

News for small companies & micro entities > Last week saw firm news on the Companies House reporting changes for these size businesses:

❌ From 1 April 2028, small companies and micro-entities will find that the current system of abridged accounts will be abolished.

✅ Profit and loss accounts will be required, and the filing will be through commercial software.

🔅 There will be no need for these companies to file a directors’ report.

More here > https://www.newbycastleman.co.uk/industry-news/companies-house-changes-for-small-companies-micro-entities/

🔎 R&D tax relief? Get assurance on a claim ... There's a new targeted advance assurance service for projects that are seeking clarification on specific high-risk areas for which assurance is being requested.

🎯 Under this, a company can make up to two applications for assurance. Each application can only include one project and one area of assurance. If you want assurance on another project or area, you will need to submit a separate application.

➡️ The pilot scheme will run until May 2027. Full story > >

Research and development tax relief? Get assurance on your claim Advance assurance is a voluntary service that allows you to send HMRC details of your company’s Research and Development work.

News from HMRC this week states that only 35% of the first cohort, who qualify for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, have registered for the new way to record and report income and expenses, leaving a lot of landlords and self-employed individuals still to do so.

🔴 HMRC won’t sign taxpayers up automatically. Read our webpage > https://bit.ly/4fdLXnW to see if Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is going to apply to you. It includes information about:

> Checking if you are affected
> Finding out your start date
> Choosing the right software

We’re here to help > https://www.newbycastleman.co.uk/get-in-touch/

🔴 May rate changes for motorists, hauliers & farmers. As part of a package of new benefits to help with the cost of living, the following measures support individuals and businesses most exposed to rising fuel costs.

🚗 5p fuel duty freeze to continue until the end of 2026.

🛻 Drive for work? tax-free mileage rate raised. This will benefit ‘those who need to drive for work, from care workers to plumbers’ source gov.uk.

🚚 Hauliers: there will be a 12-month road tax holiday for , saving the typical heavy lorry up to £912.

🚜 Farmers and the rail freight industry: the duty will be cut on red diesel by over a third until the end of 2026.

We're Leicester and Loughborough Tax I Audit I Advisory experts. More here/get in touch on these changes to indirect taxes https://www.newbycastleman.co.uk/industry-news/may-26-rate-changes-for-motorists/

May 26: rate changes for motorists, hauliers & farmers - Newby Castleman The government have announced rate changes for motorists, hauliers and farmers to help with the cost of living