Self-employed people can deduct allowable business expenses when calculating their taxable profits. However, where a cost has both a business and private element, only the business proportion can normally be claimed.
For example, if a mobile phone bill is £200 for the year, with £70 relating to
Self-employed people can choose to use simplified expenses to calculate certain business costs using flat rates rather than working out their actual expenses.
The system can save time and make record keeping easier, but it will not necessarily produce the best tax position. It is therefore worth
Employers must make sure their staff receive at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage rate that applies to them. The correct rate depends on the worker’s age and, in some cases, whether they are an apprentice.
Since 1 April 2026, workers aged 21 and over are entitled to the
A company does not have to be formally closed to become dormant for Corporation Tax. A company is usually considered dormant if it has stopped trading and has no other income, such as investment income.
A new limited company that has not yet started trading can also be dormant for Corporation Tax.
Making a trading loss whilst not ideal can sometimes generate a tax refund. If you are a self-employed individual or a member of a trading partnerships, a trading loss can potentially be set against other income or capital gains. This can reduce the amount of tax payable and, where tax has already
The rate of Corporation Tax payable depends mainly on the level of a company’s taxable profits. The main rate is 25% and applies where profits exceed £250,000. Companies with profits of £50,000 or less generally pay Corporation Tax at the small profits rate of 19%. But note, these two thresholds
The Government has announced plans to consider major changes to the rules governing when companies can make distributions to shareholder.
As part of a wider corporate reporting overhaul announced on 6 September 2026, the Government is considering replacing the existing rules on distributable
The Government has named nearly 660 employers for failing to pay workers the National Minimum Wage, highlighting how costly National Minimum Wage compliance failures can become.
The latest naming round, published on 3 September 2026, involved around £4 million being repaid to more than 27,000
A strong VAT control system should clearly identify who is responsible for VAT, document the processes involved and regularly check that controls are working. HMRC also recommends keeping procedures up to date when the business, its systems or the VAT rules change.
Businesses should also review how
The tax rules concerning what constitutes a distribution for tax purposes have remained largely unchanged since Corporation Tax was introduced in 1965. HMRC has recently published a consultation looking at possible changes to bring the rules more closely into line with modern commercial