To our valued clients,

In light of the ever-changing situation with Covid-19/Coronavirus, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our best wishes to you all at this time.

We know this is a worrying time for many and would like to assure you that we have contingency plans in place to ensure we can continue to provide you with your regular services. We also appreciate that many businesses are now struggling and will be in need of support. We have therefore outlined below our working practices during this period and a summary of some of the financial measures announced by the government in recent days, as well as advice that many of you may require.

Wormald & Partners/WPFS Working Arrangements

This week, we have begun a phased introduction of home-working for the vast majority of our staff. We will remain as fully operational as possible during this time.

Please be aware however that we are not holding face-to-face client meetings until Government guidance suggests otherwise and our office will be closed from 3pm on Friday 20^th March. There will however be a small number of senior staff in the office until such time as the government prohibits this and we will therefore be able to take phone calls. We would request however that you email the partner/senior in charge of your case in the first instance. Our staff are also contactable via Skype and if you would like to contact us in this way please email us for the appropriate details.

We are encouraging our clients to send their documents to us electronically wherever possible. In order to assist you in this, we are offering all clients for whom we complete VAT Return or who use an online accounting platform free use of Receipt Bank during this time. If this would be of interest to you please contact us. Alternatively, we are happy to accept records by email, Dropbox, etc.

Employer/Employee Rights and Statutory Sick Pay

The government have announced various measures over recent weeks in order to assist businesses and individuals during this difficult time. We would advise all employers to read the advice provided by ACAS. This can be found here: ACAS Guidance. The government have announced that they will reimburse all small businesses (fewer than 250 employees) for the cost of providing 14 days Statutory Sick Pay for each employee. The process for reclaiming this has not yet been announced but we can assure you that we are constantly monitoring this situation.

In addition, if you have any queries relating to Employment Law or require any Human Resources advice, all of our clients have use of a specialist helpline through our partners Croner Taxwise. If you require these details then please contact us. Please bear in mind this helpline is likely to be extremely busy at the current time.

Self Employed – Statutory Sick Pay Rights

Unfortunately, the self-employed are not currently entitled to claim Statutory Sick Pay. If you are self employed and you require financial assistance, you will be able to claim one of the following allowances:

If you cannot work because you are ill/need to self-isolate – you will be able to claim Employment Support Allowance. You can find more information here: Employment Support Allowance

If your income has reduced as a result of Coronavirus but you are not ill/self-isolating – you may be able to claim Universal Credits. You can find more information here: Universal Credits

If you need any assistance whilst you are making these claims or have any queries then please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Difficulty Paying Your Tax Liability

If you are unable to pay your tax liabilities as a result of the financial strain of Coronavirus, then you should contact HM Revenue & Customs as soon as possible in order to discuss Time To Pay Arrangements with them. Unfortunately, HM revenue & Customs will not allow us to discuss this with them on your behalf, but if you need assistance with this then please do not hesitate to contact us.

HMRC Time to Pay Helpline: 0800 0159 559

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

The Chancellor has announced the introduction of a new Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to assist businesses during this time. This is expected to be available beginning the week commencing the 23^rd March 2020 and will be provided via the main high-street banks. We have reached out to our contacts in the banking industry for any guidance they have on the procedures involved, but if you feel this is a facility you will require please let us know and we will keep you informed with updates on this matter as guidance is released.

In the meantime, further guidance on this can be found here: Coronavirus Business interruption Loan Scheme

Small Business Cash Grant

The government have announced a £10,000 cash grant to small businesses, which will be delivered by your local authority. Eligibility for this will be determined by your business rates liabilities. If you are eligible for this grant, you should be contacted by your local authority, there is no need to apply. This funding should be provided in early April.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Industry

The government have announced a number of measures to support clients in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure industry. A £25,000 grant will be provided to businesses in these industries who operate from premises with a rateable value between £15,000-£51,000. There will also be a business rates holiday for businesses in these sectors for the 2020 and 2021 tax years. These grants will be provided by your local authorities and further guidance will be available on this shortly. The government anticipate these grants being distributed in early April 2020.

Healthcare Industry

We would like to extend our thanks to our clients within the healthcare industry for their work combatting this virus. We appreciate the strain your businesses are currently under and if you therefore require any additional assistance from us during this period then please reach out to us.

If your company is within the healthcare sector and has an accounts filing deadline prior to 1 June 2020, we will be writing to Companies House immediately requesting an extension to your filing deadline to ensure you do not need to worry about administration matters at this time.

Company Filing Deadlines

If your company accounts are due to be filed before the end of April, and you do not believe you will be able to provide us with the relevant information to complete your accounts prior to the deadline due to the Coronavirus outbreak, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can apply to Companies House to have your deadline extended.

If you have any queries on any of the above matters or need to discuss any matters with us then please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our team.

Kind Regards and Best Wishes,

Wormald & Partners

Billions of pounds lost in unclaimed funds.

Helping you plan for your retirement is one of our core services, ensuring you are prepared when the time comes to call it a day.

With medical advances enabling more people to live for longer, the average person who retires at 65 lives for another 20 years.

According to the Office for National Statistics, males who retire at 65 can expect to live another 19 years while the average female will be around for 21 years after turning 65.

Considering most people start working in their late teens or early 20s, retirement can be half the amount of time spent working. More…

Does it pay off to provide zero-emission cars?

Offering a company car as a benefit can be a valuable and attractive perk to any valued employee.

Unfortunately, it is not necessarily a tax-free perk and it may be liable for PAYE because HMRC considers the private use of a company car to be a benefit-in-kind.

In some cases it can even be quite costly to the employee, especially if the company also pays for the fuel.

Factors including fuel type, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, the car manufacturer and model, and how long the car is available in the tax year will all affect the amount of tax the employee has to pay. In addition, the employer may have to pay employer national insurance contributions (NICs). More…

Struggling retailers experienced their worst year on record for annual sales in 2019, according to figures published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Total sales among the UK’s beleaguered retailers decreased 0.1% last year and while that sounds fairly modest, it’s a contraction compared to figures showing 1.2% growth in 2018.

The figures showed total sales in November and December – historically buoyant months for retailers – were particularly weak, falling by 0.9% year-on-year.

The period took into account the impact of sales from Black Friday 2019, which was bigger than Christmas for sales of non-food items.

Black Friday, officially later than usual on 29 November 2019, boosted total retail sales in December by 1.9% and distorted the overall retail statistics for the year. More…

The hourly national living wage rate for over-25s will increase from £8.21 to £8.72 for 2020/21.

The Low Pay Commission published recommendations for the new rates, which kick in from 1 April 2020.

The national living wage is the Government’s minimum wage for over-25s. The minimum wage for under-25s will also rise.

Workers aged between 21 and 24 will get £8.20 an hour, while staff aged 18 to 20 will see their hourly rate rise to £6.45.

Under-18s will be paid at least £4.55 an hour – up from £4.35, with apprentices being paid at least £4.15 an hour. More…

An eagerly anticipated report into the controversial loan charge has provided respite for thousands of people.

The Government revealed a string of concessions to lessen the severity of the policy, which seriously distressed those affected.

Up to 50,000 people were paid through so-called disguised remuneration schemes dating back to 1999.

Prior to the publication of the report before Christmas, more than 8,000 of those had already paid backdated taxes to HMRC worth around £2 billion.

Those who had not declared any untaxed income or settled any liabilities had faced a midnight deadline on 31 January 2020. More…

Thousands of taxpayers used the Christmas break to file tax returns for 2018/19 through self-assessment.

Statistics from HMRC showed that 34,292 taxpayers submitted tax returns between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

Precisely 22,035 taxpayers filed on 24 December 2019, followed by 3,003 on Christmas Day and 9,254 on Boxing Day.

The number of people who submitted their papers to HMRC on Christmas Day 2019 increased by 387 on the previous year, when 2,616 people filed their returns.

The peak filing hour for submissions was between 12pm and 1pm on Boxing Day, when 946 tax returns were filed. More…

The new government intends to announce the 2020/21 tax rates, bands and allowances in a full Budget next month.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson secured a handsome majority on 12 December 2019, and swiftly returned Sajid Javid to the position of Chancellor.

Javid was poised to deliver his first Budget speech in November 2019, only for it to be cancelled following the decision to call the first December general election since 1923.

While resolving Brexit remains the biggest priority for the new government, time is running out to legislate for any tax changes before the start of 2020/21.

Johnson aims to finalise the UK’s departure from the EU before the end of this month, before holding an early Budget. More…

High earners could face large tax bills if they fail to declare pension contributions on their 2018/19 tax returns, according to a report.

When completing self-assessment, taxpayers are asked if they have put any money into a pension scheme above the annual pensions allowance.

For most people, this allowance is £40,000 – but for every £2 of income above £150,000, a high earner’s allowance is reduced by £1 to give an alternative figure known as the tapered allowance.

The maximum reduction is £30,000, so additional-rate taxpayers who earned more than £210,000 in 2018/19 will see their tapered annual allowance reduced to £10,000.

Pension contributions that exceed an individual’s tapered annual allowance will be charged at the taxpayer’s marginal rate, usually 40% or 45%. More…