- These days it is possible for the VAT man to turn up unannounced and there is no regular cycle – could be more than once a year or once in 5 years. If the visit is without appointment you do not have to allow entry to your premises, you can insist on an appointment to give you time to prepare.
- If you use work computer equipment, phones, blackberries etc. at home (e.g. for personal use as well as for your job), ensure your company has a policy governing use of these devices for your job to avoid being liable for a personal tax charge.
- Employers who offer childcare vouchers can save £373 a year in NI contributions for each employee using them. As employees can also make big savings, consider a scheme as a staff benefit. On 2007/8 figures, the maximum that each parent can save is £1196 per year for a 40% taxpayer.
- Unless the appointment is for ante-natal care or is a reasonable adjustment under disability legislation, there’s no legal requirement for you to give time off to staff for medical appointments. Even if they are unable to book it in their own time. Perhaps suggest it is made at the beginning or end of the day.
- A nursery owner was the first employer to be prosecuted for failing to pay the National Minimum Wage. She was fined £2500 plus costs. Make sure you’re paying at least £5.73 an hour for over 22s since 1 October 2008.
- Tax law now says only one phone per employee can be tax exempt. However, you get to choose if you have 2 phones. Simply treat the one with the most private calls as exempt.
- If you get an e-mail asking you to provide your credit card details etc. to obtain a tax repayment, simply ignore it. However, you can now check if the Taxman’s heard of the scam via his website.
- Paper tax returns must now be in by October 31 or you’ll incur a penalty of £100. Online filing gives you until January 31 2009, but don’t leave it to the last minute as you must receive and activate your user ID and PIN.
- Certain claims management firms are apparently paying employees to divulge confidential accident details. Avoid this problem by relocating your accident book and making it clear that co-operation with these firms is a sack able offence.
- The interest rate you can charge late payers is base rate (1%) plus 8% on a simple basis. Use a straightforward formula to check that the figures are correct. Visit the Bank’s website for the current base rate.
- The good news is that you are covered for purchases made overseas if you paid with a credit card. But the card must have been issued to you personally (not your company).
- The info that you are required to give to register with sites such as Face book could be very valuable to fraudsters. Banks may even decline reimbursement if you have given away ID details recklessly.
- IF your bank loses a cheque don’t be fobbed off with a poor excuse. You can expect compensation for inconvenience plus the face value of the cheque if it can’t be replaced.
- The statutory holiday entitlement is changing. The holiday entitlement increased to 4.8 weeks from 1 October 2007 and will further increase to 5.6 weeks from 1 April 2009. The holiday entitlement can include bank holidays. If you already receive paid time off for bank holidays in addition to your four week holiday entitlement your holiday entitlement has not increased.
- Redundancies : For a calculator visit www.businesslink.gov.uk for a calculator or call:
BERR Redundancy Payments Helpline 0845 145 0004
Acas Helpline 08457 47 47 47 - Did you know the following are not covered by the minimum wage?
The genuinely self-employed, office holders, directors (unless they have an employment contract)
School children below school leaving age
The armed forces
Fishermen
Voluntary workers
Prisoners working under prison rules - Companies Investigation Branch
Companies Investigation Branch investigates existing companies where there is suspicion of corporate abuse or other grounds to investigate. In April 2006 Companies Investigation Branch merged with the Insolvency Service, an Executive Agency of the Department for Business & Regulatory Reform. - Mileage charge on privately owned cars: If you pay 20p per mile instead of 40p, then for an employees who drives 8000 miles you will save £1600.00. Moist of the 20p difference can be claimed back by the employee on their self assessment form. Be cautious about the contract of employment.
- Printing: By printing on both sides of paper you could cut your paper costs by 40% - you will need a printer that offers duplex printing. Using compatible ink cartridges and toners could save up to 75% on ink costs.
- PAY: Offering an employee extra holiday instead of extra salary could be a benefit for both employee and company.
Employees Salary 4% Pay rise 1 extra days leave 3 extra days leave 15000.00676.8065.00195.0020000.00902.4087.00261.0025000.001128.00108.50324.00 - Advertising: When planning your next advertising campaign take account that research shows that a four coloured add will attract just 7% more than a black and white one yet could cost you 50% more
- Monitors: Replacing CRT monitors with LCDs reduces power consumption by 90%
- PC’s: Switching off/ hibernating PC’s could save £60.00 per PC
- Energy: Buying Energy Star Equipment uses 25% less energy
- Claiming bad debt relief: You can reclaim VAT on an unpaid sales invoice if all the following conditions are met:
1: The VAT has been included on an earlier VAT return
2: The debt in question is more than six months overdue for payment
3: The invoice(s) have been written off as bad debts in your business accounts. Assuming the conditions are met, you can recover the VAT originally paid by adjusting your next return. You should add the VAT element of the bad debt to the input tax figure in Box 4. - Mileage allowance: Did you know that if you are paying your employees mileage allowance for the use of their private cars you can claim VAT back on the fuel element part of the expense charge.
Disclaimer:
These tips may not be relevant to your circumstances, further advice should be sought before implementation
