Crouchers Ltd

📢 Dividend Tax Rates Are Rising in April 2026 – What Does This Mean for You?

The latest Budget confirmed a 2% increase to the ordinary and upper dividend tax rates from April 2026. For many owner-managed businesses, dividends play a key role in how directors extract profit — so this change may impact how you pay yourself from 2026/27 onwards.

🔍 What’s Changing? (From April 2026)
• Ordinary dividend tax rate: 8.75% ➜ 10.75%
• Upper dividend tax rate: 33.75% ➜ 35.75%
• Additional dividend rate remains 39.35%
• Tax-free dividend allowance stays at £500

These changes apply only to dividends, and the rate you pay will still depend on your total income.

💼 What This Means for Profit Extraction
Dividends have long been a tax-efficient way for director-shareholders to take income — but with rates rising, the balance between salary and dividends may need a rethink. The most efficient strategy will vary based on your income, pension contributions, other earnings and company profits.

You may want to consider:
✔ Whether a new salary/dividend mix could reduce your tax bill
✔ Bringing forward dividends before April 2026 (where suitable)
✔ How taking a higher salary might affect cash flow

If you’d like to review your remuneration strategy or understand how these changes could affect your take-home pay, get in touch with the Crouchers team. We’re here to help you stay tax-efficient and plan ahead with confidence. 💬
www.crouchers.co.uk

💼 Crouchers Ltd – Chartered Accountants in Milton Keynes, Rugby and Wellingborough 💼

Running a business comes with enough challenges—your accounting shouldn’t be one of them. At Crouchers Ltd, we provide tailored accounting, bookkeeping, tax solutions, and much more to help your business thrive.

✅ Personalised advice
✅ Expert tax planning
✅ Stress-free bookkeeping

Let us take care of the numbers so you can focus on growing your business.

📞 Get in touch today to see how we can help: www.crouchers.co.uk

Massive thanks to the Business Alliance for the Platinum upgrade for Crouchers Ltd on Saturday against Shrewsbury 🙌

A special moment for Savannah too, who had the honour of presenting the Player of the Match award to Callum Patterson 👏

What a day, what a result — thank you! ⚽️

🎉 A very Happy Birthday to Nirmalan! 🎂🎈

Wishing you a fantastic day filled with celebration and appreciation for all that you do. Thank you for your hard work and dedication – from all of us at Crouchers Ltd, we hope this year brings you every success and happiness.

🎂 Happy Birthday, Bron! 🎂

Wishing you a fantastic day from all of us at Crouchers Ltd! Your dedication, expertise, and positive spirit make a real difference to our team, and we’re lucky to have you with us.

Hope today brings you plenty of smiles, laughter, and maybe even a well-deserved treat or two. Here’s to a brilliant year ahead filled with success, fun, and everything you’re hoping for! 🎉🥳

⚠️ HMRC Warning: Self Assessment Scams on the Rise ⚠️

With the 31 January Self Assessment deadline approaching, HMRC has warned taxpayers to be extra vigilant against scams. Since February 2025, over 4,800 Self Assessment scams have been reported, including thousands linked to fake tax refund claims.

Scammers often target people at busy filing times, using convincing or threatening messages. Common scam tactics include:
❌ Fake tax demands by email, text or phone
❌ Messages claiming you’re owed a refund and asking for bank details
❌ Threats of legal action or arrest

HMRC has confirmed they will never:
✔️ Threaten arrest or legal action via voicemail
✔️ Ask for personal or financial details by email or text
✔️ Contact you to tell you about — or claim — a tax refund

If you receive a suspicious message, don’t click links or share details. You can report scams directly to HMRC via GOV.UK.

💬 Unsure whether a message is genuine?
Please feel free to contact us — we’re always happy to help you check.

🔗 More details: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/4800-self-assessment-scams-reported

🚨 Payroll Compliance Reminder for Employers 🚨

In 2024/25, HMRC uncovered £5.8 million in wage arrears affecting 25,200 workers. This led to 750 penalties totalling £4.2 million for non-compliant employers.

⚠️ Penalties can be as high as 200% of the underpayment, on top of repaying arrears. Employers may also be publicly named and could even face prosecution.

With seasonal and temporary staff, the risk of accidentally underpaying employees can increase — especially over busy periods like Christmas.

💡 Need help with payroll or advice on paying staff correctly?
Give Crouchers Ltd a call — we’re always happy to help. www.crouchers.co.uk

👉 Read more from HMRC: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/working-over-christmas-check-your-pay

📄 E-Invoicing: What Businesses Need to Know

E-invoicing is set to become a major change for UK businesses. The government has confirmed that VAT e-invoicing will be mandatory from 2029.

💡 What is e-invoicing?
E-invoicing is the digital exchange of invoice data directly between a supplier’s and a customer’s accounting systems. It’s not a PDF, photo, or email attachment — both parties must use compatible software that can transmit invoice data in prescribed fields.

📅 What’s coming?

From 2029: Mandatory B2B and B2G VAT e-invoices
Real-time reporting to HMRC will follow at a later date
A detailed implementation roadmap is expected at Budget 2026

The government believes e-invoicing will deliver administrative efficiencies, business growth and increased tax compliance.
Now is a good time for businesses to start thinking about their systems and processes.

— Crouchers Ltd
www.crouchers.co.uk

📌 Working From Home Tax Relief – Important Change from April 2026

From 6 April 2026, employees will no longer be able to claim tax relief on working-from-home expenses through their tax return.

Previously, some employees claimed:

A flat-rate deduction of £6 per week, or
Actual home-working costs where higher

The government has announced this change due to concerns that relief was being claimed by individuals who were not eligible.

👉 What hasn’t changed?
Employers can still reimburse home-working expenses tax-free, but only where the costs are wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the job. In practice, this usually means:

The employee’s contract requires them to work from home
Employees who choose to work from home will not qualify for tax-free reimbursement.

If you’re an employer or employee affected by this change and want to understand what it means in practice, feel free to get in touch.
https://bit.ly/3lfUsRU

✨ Happy New Year 2026 from Crouchers Ltd! ✨

Wishing all our clients and colleagues a successful, healthy, and prosperous year ahead. Thank you for your continued support — we look forward to working with you throughout 2026!

— The Crouchers Ltd Team

🎄 Merry Christmas from Crouchers Ltd! 🎄

Wishing all our clients, colleagues, and friends a joyful festive season. Thank you for your support throughout the year — we look forward to working with you in 2026! ✨

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! 🎅✨

🎄 Christmas Closing Hours – Crouchers Ltd 🎄

As the festive season approaches, we’d like to let our clients know that our office will be closed from 24th December to 1st January.

We’ll reopen and resume normal working hours on Thursday 2nd January.

Thank you for your continued support throughout the year. We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year! ✨

— The Crouchers Ltd Team