Simple Accounting (NW) Ltd

12/12/2025

As we head into our busiest time of the year, we kindly ask that any clients who have not yet provided their accounts please send us the necessary details as soon as possible.
Please also note that our office will be closed from 23rd December until 4th January.

19/11/2025

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA), which will require eligible self-employed individuals and landlords to submit quarterly updates.

Who and When Quarterly Reporting Applies

The mandatory requirement to submit quarterly updates is being phased in based on your total gross income from self-employment and property:

From April 2026: Mandatory for those with an annual qualifying income over £50,000 (based on your 2024-2025 tax return). Please note, this is on income not profits. I did advise a few clients it was based in profits (which would make more sense), I did get this wrong it is based on income before expenses.

From April 2027: Mandatory for those with an annual qualifying income over £30,000.

From April 2028: Mandatory for those with an annual qualifying income over £20,000.

If you meet or exceed these thresholds, you will need to use MTD-compatible software to keep digital records and send summary updates to HMRC every three months.

29/04/2025

Nearly at the end of April - we have been working hard to get through the self assessments :)

07/04/2025

New 2025/26 Tax Allowances
The new tax year is here. To help you make the most of your money this year, here's a straightforward overview of tax allowances for 2025/26.

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ISA Allowance: Remains at £20,000 across all ISAs, including a £4,000 allowance for Lifetime ISAs. You can now open more than one ISA of the same type in a tax year. Find out more.

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Pension Annual Allowance: Remains at £60,000 but can be as little as £10,000 for high earners or if you’ve accessed a pension. Find out more.

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Junior ISA Allowance: Invest up to £9,000 in a child's future. Find out more.

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Personal Allowance: Earn up to £12,570 before paying tax.

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Dividend Allowance: Remains at £500 this tax year. Any income received from dividends above the allowance is subject to tax at your marginal rate.

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Capital Gains Tax Allowance: Remains at £3,000. The profit or gain made when you sell or transfer an asset that’s increased in value since you acquired it, which is above this allowance, is subject to tax. Use our calculator.

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Personal Savings Allowance: The amount of interest you can earn on your savings before you must pay tax on it is £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers, and £500 for higher rate taxpayers.

27/03/2025

MTD IT to be expanded in April 2028
by Emma Rawson

Today’s Spring Statement included a number of surprise Making Tax Digital announcements, including confirmation that the income threshold will be lowered to £20,000 from April 2028. Emma Rawson looks at what was announced, and what it might mean in practice.

The first taxpayers will be mandated into MTD in 2026/27, meaning the first self assessment returns under the regime are not due until 31 January 2028. This only gives a narrow two-month window for HMRC to take stock before bringing a further 900,000 lower-income taxpayers into the regime in April 2028.

The government has also said that they will continue to consider how to “bring the benefits of digitalisation” to the 4m sole traders and landlords with income below £20,000. It therefore appears that this threshold could be lowered even further in the future.

20/01/2025

HMRC warning: Britons earning over £50,000 have two weeks to act or risk 'nasty tax surprise'

The warning is especially crucial for parents earning above £50,000 who claimed Child Benefit in the 2023/24 tax year, as they must declare this through self-assessment or face penalties.

HMRC collected £220million in late filing fines last year

19/01/2025

Good news for some !!

HMRC sends 370,000 letters over major state pension error which could result in £7000 refund

The issue relates to people - mainly women - who may have missed out on an old version of National Insurance credits. Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) reduced the number of qualifying years you need on your National Insurance record to claim the state pension

09/01/2025

The deadline is fast approaching - please do use any of these excuses for being late

My pet dog ate my tax return—and all the reminders.

A classic, ‘dog ate my homework’ turn; it would appear that somebody’s dog has quite the taste for tax returns.

I fell in with the wrong crowd.

This is quite an impressive excuse—if you’re a teenager on the brink of being expelled from secondary school. We’re not sure with regard to self-assessment though.

I’ve been busy looking after a flock of escaped parrots and some fox cubs.
While a pretty admirable pursuit, we’re not quite sure a flock of parrots counts as a reasonable excuse for filing your tax return late!

Our business doesn’t really do anything.
So bold. Almost so bold, in fact, for it to inspire respect. Almost?

I was in Australia.
And yet, you still owe tax in the UK!

Accountancy for small businesses and individuals - Self assessments from £199+VAT Ltd comp acc 495+vat

06/01/2025

HMRC to email self-assessment reminders: how to tell the real from the fake

If you're among those who need to file a self-assessment tax return but have left it almost until the last minute, you're likely to receive a nudge via email from HM Revenue and Customs.

For the first time, HMRC has decided to send email as well as postal reminders, and from today it is emailing 650,000 people who file their tax returns online, but have yet to either complete this year’s return or pay what they owe before the 31 January deadline.

Despite the move towards more digital-friendly communication, HMRC will still never email you about rebates or to ask for your bank account details, and these emails won't contain any confidential information.

How do you know if it's a genuine HMRC email?

You'll only receive an email if you usually complete your return yourself – it won't be sent to those who use an accountant or tax agent for their returns.

Genuine HRMC emails will always include the department's logo and your full name. HMRC has also issued some guidance about what it will and won't include in this email correspondence.

05/01/2025

Crypto Currency, do I need to pay tax on profit from buying and selling Crypto?

Do you have to pay tax on crypto in the UK?
Yes - cryptocurrency is taxable in the UK. HMRC is clear that crypto may be subject to both Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax depending on the specific transaction.
How much tax do you pay on crypto in the UK?
For capital gains from April 2024 this allowance will drop to £3000 as announced by the Government (https://www.gov.uk/.../autumn.../autumn-statement-2022-html) you'll pay 10% or 20% tax. For additional income from crypto over the personal allowance, you'll pay between 20% to 45% in tax. The exact amount you'll pay will depend on the transaction you've made, the tax that applies, and the Income Tax band you fall into.
Is any crypto tax free?
Let's start with the good news - you won't always pay tax on crypto in the UK. Transactions that are tax free include:
Buying crypto with GBP.
HODLing crypto.
As always if you need any advice on your crypto activity give us a call at the office on 03337 720263 or [email protected]

04/01/2025

ATTENTION DOG BREEDERS. We have had a few clients that HMRC have approached due to not declaring the income from breeding dogs. They have access to the free insurance which you provide your details to when selling the puppies. Therefore if you have not been disclosing the income, then now is the time to act before HMRC approach you. We can help prepare the undisclosed income form for you. This will save considerably in penalties as you have provided the information before HMRC this called a promoted response. If you need any help, please send an email to [email protected]

02/01/2025

eBay, Etsy and Vinted sellers 'to have details shared with HMRC' from January

People who regularly sell items on sites like eBay, Etsy and Vinted have been warned their details could be shared with HMRC under major tax changes at the start of 2025. It's part of tighter monitoring around so called side hustles, where people make extra money on top of their salaries.
The tax authority wants to ensure everyone is paying the correct amount of tax. Now selling platforms will be required to pass details of sellers to HMRC in certain circumstances.

This will relate to people with at least 30 transactions or making £1,700 or more in a year.
It you think you may need to do a tax return, please contact us for more information