Adam Fernandes - The Cloud Accountants, Unit 3 Fen End, Astwick Road, Stotfold (2026)

18/06/2026

⚽ EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL MATCH OFFICIALS

In Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) v HMRC, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) concluded that football referees engaged by PGMOL were not employees for tax purposes.

The decision followed a long procedural history, including appeals up to the Supreme Court, and focused on the correct application of employment status principles.

PGMOL provides referees for professional football matches. HMRC argued that match officials should be treated as employees, meaning that PAYE and National Insurance contributions should have been applied to match fees.

The case had already been considered by multiple courts. The Supreme Court confirmed that when a referee accepted a match appointment, there was sufficient mutuality of obligation and a framework of control.

However, it sent the case back to the FTT to determine the overall employment status using a comprehensive test.

The FTT considered the overall relationship between PGMOL and the referees. Key findings included:

✅ No ongoing obligation: PGMOL was not required to offer matches, and referees were not required to accept them

✅ High level of flexibility: Referees could decline appointments or withdraw without sanction

✅ Short, discrete engagements: Each match appointment was a separate, limited arrangement

✅ Limited integration: Refereeing was generally undertaken alongside other full-time work

The FTT concluded that, viewed as a whole, the relationship lacked the characteristics of employment. The referees were self-employed, and therefore PGMOL was not required to operate PAYE or account for employer National Insurance on the payments made to them.

This case shows the numerous factors that must be considered when determining whether a worker is employed or self-employed.

🔗 If you have any questions regarding your employment status, or of the status of individuals you engage, please get in touch – we’d be happy to help: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

16/06/2026

👓📰 R&D CLAIMS AT THE FIRST TIER TRIBUNAL

A recent First Tier Tribunal case (Beer Express Ltd v HMRC) demonstrates the pitfalls involved in over-reliance on R&D advisers. The FTT’s task was to answer a straightforward question: had Beer Express proved that its projects met the BEIS Guidelines for R&D?

Under those guidelines, qualifying R&D must aim to achieve an advance in science or technology by resolving genuine technological uncertainty - not merely improving a company’s own processes.

The Tribunal found there was no clear explanation of the technological baseline, no defined advance, and no identified uncertainties for any of the projects.

Instead, the supporting reports were described as vague and unconvincing, offering little more than high-level descriptions.

Equally damaging was the absence of input from a “competent professional” - someone with the technical expertise to explain why the work qualified. Beer Express’s director was found to be honest and credible, but lacked the detailed technical knowledge required.

When HMRC challenged the claims, the adviser who had prepared them had disappeared, leaving Beer Express to defend a case it could not fully explain.

The FTT dismissed the appeal in full, concluding that Beer Express had failed to discharge the burden of proof required to access R&D relief.

In recent years, HMRC have vastly increased their scrutiny of R&D claims, so it's important to use advisers who are competent in this area – like us 😁

🔗 To find out more about our first-class accounting services, give us a call and one of the team will be very happy to chat things through with you: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

11/06/2026

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: AN UPDATE 📢

🎯 NEW R&D TARGETED ADVANCE ASSURANCE SCHEME

HMRC have introduced a targeted advance assurance service for Research and Development (R&D) tax relief claims. The service, which is a pilot, aims to provide Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with clarity on complex or high-risk areas before a claim is made.

The new targeted scheme is open to any SME wishing to obtain HMRC’s assurance in any of the following areas:

✅ Whether the project meets the definition of R&D for tax purposes

✅ Whether overseas expenditure qualifies for relief

✅ Whether the company can claim R&D relief where work is contracted by one company to another

✅ Whether the company qualifies for exemption from the PAYE and National Insurance contributions cap

The scheme will run alongside the existing full claim advance assurance service, which is only available to first-time claimants.

09/06/2026

DIVIDENDS ON THE 2025/26 SELF-ASSESSMENT TAX RETURN

For taxpayers required to submit a Self-Assessment Tax Return, new boxes on the 2025/26 employment page form will require the following information for each directorship held by an individual:

✅ If the company was a close company

✅ The company’s name and registration number

✅ Dividends the taxpayer received from the close company during the tax year, and

✅ The highest percentage shareholding that the taxpayer held during the tax year.

A penalty of £60 may apply for failing to provide the required information.

It's therefore important that you notify your accountant of each directorship that you held during the year.

In light of HMRC’s recent scrutiny of close company dividends, it'll be wise to make sure that dividend procedures are tight, lawful, and compliant.

🔗 If this is the kind of thing you'd like our assistance with, and want to discuss the different first-class accounting services we have for our clients, please feel free to get in touch and speak with the team: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

We'd love to hear from you!

04/06/2026

😎 💷 MORE GREAT BRITISH SUMMER SAVINGS 😎 💷

Last month Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, announced ‘Great British Summer Savings’ – a package of measures aimed at cutting costs for families, particularly those with children.

The second of two measures that are of particular importance to businesses is:

TEMPORARY REDUCED RATE OF VAT

From 25 June to 1 September 2026, the 5% reduced rate of VAT will apply to the following eligible activities:

✅ Children’s meals. To qualify for the reduced rating, the meal:
☑️ Must be held out for sale as a meal for children
☑️ Must be a supply of catering by a restaurant, café or similar establishment and consumed on the premises
☑️ Must not be takeaway food
☑️ Can include drinks

✅ Children’s cinema, theatre, show, and concert admissions tickets

✅ Admission to qualifying attractions that are suitable for children. This includes amusement parks, museums, heritage sites, zoos, and soft play areas. The reduced rate applies to all admissions, regardless of the customer’s age.

🔗 If you’d like to know more about these measures, please get in touch - we can discuss how they may affect you and your business: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

02/06/2026

😎 💷 GREAT BRITISH SUMMER SAVINGS 😎 💷

On 21 May 2026, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, announced ‘Great British Summer Savings’, a package of measures aimed at cutting costs for families, particularly those with children.

The first of two measures that are of particular importance to businesses is:

TAX-FREE MILEAGE RATES 🚘

A 10p per mile increase in tax‑free mileage rates will apply in the 2026/27 tax year, backdated to April 2026.

The increase relates to the amount per business mile driven that attracts tax relief and affects both employees and the self-employed.

To find out more about HMRC’s updated mileage rates guidance get in touch: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

26/05/2026

At The Cloud Accountants we have years of experience providing expert Accounting Set Up services to both corporate and individual clients.

We provide...

✅ Self-assessment
✅ PAYE
✅ VAT
✅ CIS
✅ MTD
✅ Xero / Dext

Setting up a business is exciting, especially when you know that you’ve got a killer product / service. But one of the first and most important steps you must take is to sort your financials. Get the basics right and all the other good stuff will follow.

To find out more about our Accounting Set Up services, give us a call and speak with one of the team: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

21/05/2026

❓❓ STAMP DUTY LAND TAX (SDLT): WHAT IS ‘MIXED USE’?

When buying property in England, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) often represents a significant cost. One crucial distinction is whether a property is treated as purely residential or mixed‑use.

Mixed‑use property includes both residential and non‑residential elements, such as a house with farmland, commercial buildings, or genuinely non‑residential land, and it is taxed at lower SDLT rates than residential property.

This makes mixed‑use classification attractive, but it is also an area closely scrutinised by HMRC. That was highlighted in HMRC v Christopher Brzezicki [2026] UKUT 00125, a recent Upper Tribunal decision. Mr Brzezicki bought a large house together with a fishing stream and an island and claimed the purchase was mixed‑use.

While the First‑tier Tribunal initially agreed, the Upper Tribunal overturned that decision and ruled that the entire property was residential, because the stream and island formed part of the house’s “grounds” rather than being genuinely non‑residential land.

Although the stream bred trout naturally, it was not being run on a commercial basis when the property was purchased.

The case shows that even unusual features like streams or separate parcels of land will not automatically create mixed‑use treatment. The key question is how the land is used and whether, in ordinary terms, it is part of the home.

🔗 Before relying on mixed‑use SDLT rates, get clear advice. We will be happy to assist you in this area, so please get in touch: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

19/05/2026

🧱 APRIL 2026 CHANGES TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY SCHEME (CIS)

As outlined in Autumn Budget 2025, several changes took place on 6 April that may affect those who use the Construction Industry Scheme.

From April 2026, contractors are required by law to either:

✅ File a CIS return every month, including nil returns in months where they have not used a subcontractor; or
✅ Inform HMRC in advance that they will not pay subcontractors that month by submitting an inactivity request.

From April 2026, with the nil filing requirement back in place, HMRC have reinstated a full CIS late filing penalty regime. If you file a late CIS return, a £100 fixed penalty will apply. You may also subsequently be charged:

✅ A second fixed penalty of £200 after two months.
✅ A tax-geared penalty at six months of a minimum of £300 or 5% of any liability which should have been shown on the return.
✅ A further tax-geared penalty at 12 months.

The amount of this penalty will depend on why the return was late.

In situations where a business makes or receives a payment they knew or should have known was connected to fraud, HMRC now have enhanced powers to immediately remove Gross Payment Status (GPS), assess for lost tax and charge a penalty of up to 30%. If GPS has been immediately removed, the time limit for reapplication is increased from one year to five years.

14/05/2026

❓ WHAT QUALIFIES FOR CAPITAL ALLOWANCES? ❓

In Orsted West of Duddon Sands (UK) Limited & Ors v HMRC, the Supreme Court considered whether major pre‑construction costs could qualify for tax relief as capital allowances.

The case arose from offshore wind projects where the companies spent significant amounts on environmental surveys, seabed studies and technical investigations before any turbines were built.

The companies argued that these costs were an essential part of creating bespoke assets and should therefore attract tax relief. HMRC disagreed, and the Supreme Court ultimately sided with HMRC.

The Court’s decision turned on a single statutory phrase: capital allowances are only available for expenditure incurred “on the provision of plant or machinery.”

The judges held that this wording requires a close and direct link to the physical asset itself. While the surveys were necessary to decide whether and how to build the windfarms, they were seen as preparatory. They put Orsted in a position to construct plant, but they were not part of providing the plant itself.

Although this case involved offshore windfarms, the lesson is far broader. Many businesses incur substantial costs before buying or building long‑term assets: feasibility studies, design work, professional fees or regulatory assessments.

After this decision, those costs are less likely to qualify for capital allowances unless they are tightly bound to the actual acquisition or installation of the asset.

When planning major investments, don’t assume all upfront project costs will attract tax relief.

Map costs carefully as they arise and separate genuinely asset‑related spending from earlier feasibility or exploratory work. Getting that distinction right early can avoid unpleasant tax surprises later.

🔗 If you need support with this, feel free to reach out and speak with our team about how we can help you: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

Adam Fernandes - The Cloud Accountants

18/06/2026

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