Month: May 2022

The Employment Allowance has risen from £4,000 to £5,000 – meaning smaller firms will be able to claim up to £5,000 off their employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) bills.

Announced by the Chancellor at last month’s Spring Statement to reduce employment costs, the change takes an extra 50,000 firms out of paying NICs and the Health and Social Care Levy. This increases the total number of businesses not paying NICs and the Levy to 670,000.

According to the Chancellor, 94% of businesses benefitting from the £1,000 increase are small and micro businesses, and the sectors that will see the highest numbers of employers benefitting are the wholesale and retail sector (87,000); the professional, scientific and technical activities industry (63,000); and the construction sector (52,000).

Note, the Employment Allowance only covers employers’ NIC contributions.

Employers can pay employees a fixed rate per mile to cover the costs of using their own vehicles on company business.

The present agreed rates per mile are:

• Cars and vans – 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and then 25p per mile.
• Motorcycles – 24p per mile.
• Bikes – 20p per mile.

What if you are paid more than these rates?

If your employer pays you more than these rates the excess paid over the agreed rates will be taxed as a benefit in kind.

Employers would need to declare these benefits at the tax year end on form P11D.

What if you are paid less than these rates?

If employers pay less than these rates employees can claim for the shortfall as an expense against their taxable income.

Parliamentarians will debate the government’s ground-breaking Online Safety Bill which requires social media platforms, search engines and other apps and websites allowing people to post content to improve the way they protect their users.

Ofcom, the regulator, will have the power to fine companies failing to comply with the laws up to ten per cent of their annual global turnover, force them to improve their practices and block non-compliant sites. Crucially, the laws have strong measures to safeguard children from harmful content.

Ahead of Tuesday’s debate, the government is launching the next phase of its Online Media Literacy Strategy. It aims to help vulnerable and ‘hard-to-reach’ people, such as those who are digitally excluded or from lower socio-economic backgrounds, navigate the internet safely and teach them to spot falsities online.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will spend £2.5 million to advance the plan through the next year including on training, research and providing expert advice. This includes a new Media Literacy Taskforce featuring experts from a range of disciplines and a boost to the Media Literacy Fund, which gives teachers and local service providers the skills they need to teach people to improve their critical thinking of what they see online.

1 May 2022 – Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 30 July 2021.

19 May 2022 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 May 2022. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 May 2022).

19 May 2022 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 May 2022.

19 May 2022 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 May 2022 is payable by today.

31 May 2022 – Ensure all employees have been given their P60s for the 2021/22 tax year.

1 June 2022 – Due date for corporation tax due for the year ended 31 August 2021.

19 June 2022 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 June 2022. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 June 2022)

19 June 2022 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 June 2022.

19 June 2022 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 June 2022 is payable by today.