Research & Development (R&D) tax relief can benefit many UK businesses. The tax benefit often goes unused because it’s assumed by small businesses to be either irrelevant to their business or too complicated as a process to go through. This quick guide will cut through the hoops and show you:

• What counts as R&D?
• What is R&D tax credit?
• How can a company qualify for R&D tax relief?
• How to apply for it
• Where to find help with your R&D tax relief claim

Tracking the different costs of your business is not the most exciting thing to do and it can seem daunting at first. But it doesn’t have to be rocket science and in this post, we ‘ll show you how to do it effectively. You will learn about:

• HMRC’s rules on tracking business expenses and the different costs your business should be tracking
• Categorising your costs
• Tracking the different costs with accounting software
• Using other tracking apps and software for tracking and storing
• Turning tracking expenses into a habit
• How to get help with your business expenses

HMRC begins reminding you to file your tax return early enough for anyone not to have any excuses for filing late. Yet, many people still leave their self-assessment to the very last minute. In this post, we’ll explain why this is not a good idea and how you could benefit by filing your tax return early. Early tax returns could:

• Help you avoid penalties
• Give you more time to file your tax return
• Reduce errors and problems you might have
• Allow you to budget your money better
• Help you enjoy the holiday season

Many things happening in the British parliamentary system right now are causing concern for small businesses across various sectors. With Brexit deadline approaching, it isn’t much of a surprise to hear that the government has decided to delay its introduction of the new reverse charge VAT for builders. So what is the government planning to do next? In this short post, we’ll examine:

• What the government has ruled
• What the reverse charge VAT for builders is about
• What the timeline going forward is going to look like now
• How you can get help with your tax planning

The world of business is all about making decisions. One of the most important choices you have to make involves business structure. Do you want to set up a Limited Company or work under an Umbrella Company? To help you with this conundrum, this article will answer questions like:

• Who is in charge of a Limited Company vs. Umbrella Company?
• What are the advantages of both of these business models?
• Which one helps you earn more?
• How does IR35 influence the decision?
• Where to get help?

Your marriage could help land you a little present from the taxman. If you or your partner are earning below the personal allowance, one of you could transfer up to £1,250 to your higher-earning partner to help them get a bigger tax break if they apply for marriage allowance. In this guide, we’ll examine what the marriage allowance looks like in action by discussing the following topics:

• Who is eligible for the marriage allowance?
• What happens if your eligibility changes during the tax year?
• Whether you have to be in employment to use the allowance
• How the marriage allowance works
• Whether you can backdate it
• How you can save more as a couple with your taxes
• How to get help with your tax planning

When you sell something you own for a profit, you need to pay Capital Gains Tax on your gains. But not every asset is included and the rate of tax can vary. To ensure you keep most of the profit to yourself, we’ve looked at the key things you need to know about Capital Gains Tax. This post examines things like:

• What are the Capital Gains Tax rates?
• How Capital Gains Tax allowance can reduce your tax bill
• What are the current 2019/2020 Capital Gains Tax rates?
• What exclusions are there to the tax?
• How losses could impact your tax bill
• Where and when to pay Capital Gains Tax
• What are the future changes to the tax?
• Where to get help with Capital Gains Tax

Going through an audit is not a dream come true for any business owner. Audits can be expensive, time-consuming and stressful. But they can have potential benefits too and by knowing about them, you can ensure your company makes the most out of an audit. In this post, we’ll provide you with top advice on auditing your business by examining key questions, such as:

• What is an audit?
• Who should be in charge of the audit?
• Does your business need to undergo it?
• What are the benefits of auditing?
• What is the auditing process?
• How can you get help with your audit?

Making Tax Digital (MTD) scheme has started, but not without problems. Many businesses have either failed to register or had problems with the registration process, leading them to miss the first VAT return deadline. That’s why HMRC recently issued a clarification regarding the MTD registration and VAT filing penalties. In this short update, we’ll explore:

• What the MTD VAT scheme means for businesses
• What the recent HMRC guidance says about penalties
• What businesses should do if they haven’t registered
• How businesses can finally register for MTD
• Where to get help with MTD registration

Charities do a lot of good in different sections of society. But these charitable actions do not exempt from the legalities of being part of the wider community. That’s why financial reporting for charities is a major part of successful operations. In this short guide, we’ll explore what charities must report and to whom by covering questions like:

• What are the documents charities need to prepare?
• What forms of accounting should charities use?
• Who needs to see the accounts?
• How and when to report annual returns?
• What about the annual trustees’ report?
• How to find help with financial reporting for charities?