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FINANCIAL ADVICE
TAX & ACCOUNTANCY TIPS
The General Election and the start of Brexit negotiations has in many cases meant that proposed changes to our tax system have been put on the ‘back-burner’. Beyond the topical changes to which I have previously referred, the tax world has been relatively quiet. It is therefore perhaps a good time to reflect on some issues that are important at this time of year.
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July Tax Payments
For those that are assessed for personal tax arising through the self-assessment system, the need for making one of your on-account tax payments is fast approaching. 31st July is the deadline for payment of your 2nd on account payment of tax for the 16/17 tax year. However, the value of that payment does not have to be dictated by the tax arising from your 15/16 assessment. Should you expect that your taxable profits for the 2016/17 period will be lower than the prior year, you are entitled to register an election with HMR&C to reduce your on-account payment to reflect the anticipated change in circumstances. However, be careful not to use this facility flippantly, as should tax liabilities ultimately exceed the on-account payments made, HMR&C will seek to charge daily interest for late settlement and could issue penalties if the facility is deemed to have been abused.
Well done if you have already prepared your 16/17 tax return, in which case you should already know the quantum of your July payment.
Bank Details for HMR&C!
For those that may be expecting a personal tax refund please be aware that HMR&C are moving away from issuing hard copy cheques to personal taxpayers. As such they will be expecting you to provide personal or agent bank account details when completing your self-assessment return. Failure to co-operate could give rise to delays in repayment.

Dean Flood, Chartered Certified Accountant and Partner at Rowland Hall
www.rowlandhall.co.uk Tel: 01375 373 828 / 01268 696 878
Summer Holidays
If you are lucky enough to be escaping for some holiday this summer, don’t forget to plan around your absence for those matters where deadlines remain. Being away for holiday is not a viable excuse to HMR&C where late filing penalties are levied, so plan ahead to ensure your payroll returns and PAYE liabilities are filed and paid in accordance with RTI requirements.
Benefits in Kind
Reporting benefits in kind for employees must be dealt with through the P11d system and the deadline for submitting that information was the 6th July. If you have overlooked that process you must attend to this as soon as possible to avoid the accumulation of penalties which will multiply with the passage of time.
Unused Personal Allowances
For those taxpayers who are not higher rate payers and who have a partner who is not utilising their personal allowance, there is scope for 10% of the personal allowance to be transferred to the tax paying partner. This has to be dealt with online by the individual surrendering the allowance. This could result in a tax saving of up to £220 for the 16/17 tax year and can be backdated to the prior year. See more details at: www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance-guide.