Van Benefit Charge
• From 6th April 2021, the van benefit charge is reduced to zero for employees provided with vans that produce zero carbon emissions.
Capital allowances from 1st April 2021 – Cars
• A 100% first year allowance for cars will only be available for electric cars or cars with zero CO2 emissions which have been purchased new and unused.
• The 18% Writing Down Allowance (WDA) is only available on purchases of cars with CO2 emissions not exceeding 50g/km.
• Where a car is purchased and has CO2 emissions exceeding 50g/km, WDA will only be available at the special rate of 6%.
• The reduction in the emissions threshold to 50g/km will also apply to the 15% restriction for leased vehicles.
The Super Deduction
• Companies investing in qualifying plant and machinery can claim a 130% capital allowance deduction for £1 of qualifying expenditure.
VAT Returns
• From 9th April, HMRC will no longer accept VAT Returns using software that uses eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) to make the submission.
• Check with your software supplier.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
• A 2% SDLT surcharge for the purchase of residential property by non-UK residents, comes into play from 1st April 2021.
Research & Development (R&D)
• A cap on the amount of the payable R&D tax credit for SMEs comes into force for accounting periods beginning on or after 1st April 2021.
• The cap limits the amount of R&D tax credit to £20,000 plus 300% of its total PAYE and national insurance contributions.
• Note – the cap does not apply to those companies who:
a) Have employees creating, preparing to create or, managing intellectual property and
b) Do not spend more than 15% of their qualifying R&D expenditure on subcontracting R&D to, or the provision of externally provided workers by, connected persons.
Optional Remuneration Arrangements (ORA)
• The transition period ends on 5th April 2021 for ORA made pre 6th April 2017 for cars with CO2 emissions above 75g/km, accommodation and school fees.
• This means that the modified ‘cash equivalent’ rules apply when calculating benefit in kind for the 2021/22 tax year onwards.
Off Payroll Working (OPW) for the Private Sector
• OPW for the private sector finally comes into force from 6th April 2021.
• This can have significant ramifications for:
a) ‘Large’ businesses who deal directly or indirectly (e.g. via an agency) with a Personal Services Company (PSC).
b) The agency/cies between the PSC and the ‘Large’ business.
c) The PSC.
Employing Veterans from the Armed Forces
• From 6th April 2021, employers of veterans will be entitled to a 12-month exemption from secondary National Insurance Contributions (employers NIC) for the first year of civilian employment.
• It only applies to earnings between the secondary threshold and the upper secondary threshold.
• For the 2021/22 tax year it will be a manual retrospective claim at the end of the tax year.
• Initially this 12-month exemption will be available until 5th April 2024.
National Minimum Wage (NMW)
• Don’t forget the NMW goes up from 1st April 2021.
Worker 25 years + £8.91 per hour Worker 21 – 24 £8.36 per hour Worker 18 – 20 £6.56 per hour Worker under 18 £4.62 per hour Apprentice £4.30 per hour
If you wish to discuss these or other issues, please do contact us.