Changes on contracted-out NICs & how you report to HMRC!

Contracting Out of Additional State Pension
From 6 April 2016, employees of contracted-out defined benefit (DB) schemes will automatically be brought back into the State Pension scheme and will no longer be able to use a contracted-out salary related (COSR) occupational pension scheme to contract out of the State Scheme. Employees will, depending on their level of earnings, start to accrue entitlement to the new State Pension instead.

National Insurance Contributions
Eligibility for the contracted-out National Insurance Contributions (NICs) rebate of 3.4% for employers and 1.4% for employees will also cease from this date.

This will bring with it some changes in what and how you report to HMRC:

• from 6 April 2016: You will not be able to use your Contracted-out Salary Related (COSR) occupational pension scheme to contract employees out of the new State Pension scheme

• there will no longer be a requirement to report the Employers Contracting-out Number (ECON) and Scheme Contracted-out Number (SCON) details on Full Payment Submission (FPS) for tax years commencing 6 April 2016 and onwards

• there will no longer be a requirement to separate the National Insurance (NI) earnings between the Primary Threshold (PT) and Upper Accrual Point (UAP) & UAP to Upper Earnings Limit (UEL)

• there will be a requirement to report NI earnings between the PT to UEL as there was prior to 2009

• there will be one less column to complete on forms P11 and P60. These forms will be updated in due course and available on the Basic PAYE Tools or can be ordered from the Employer order-line.

All HMRC systems will be amended to reflect these changes and the UAP data field will be removed from the FPS and Earlier Year Update (EYU).

All payroll software will need to be amended.

National Insurance Categories from 6 April 2016
Contracted-out National Insurance tables/ categories D, E, I, K, L, N, O and V will be replaced by Standard National Insurance tables/categories A, B, J, M, P, Q, R, T, Y and Z

Contact us if you have any further questions!☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com 

Tax Diary Of Main Events - February & March 2016!

UK Tax Deadlines for February & March 2016

Date	What’s Due
1 February	Corporation tax for year to 30/4/15
19 February	PAYE & NIC deductions, and CIS return and tax, for month to 5/2/16 (due 22 February if you pay electronically)
28 February	Surcharge of 5% on 2014/15 self -assessment tax still unpaid.
1 March	Corporation tax for year to 31/5/15
19 March	PAYE & NIC deductions, and CIS return and tax, for month to 5/3/16 (due 22 March if you pay electronically)

Contact us for all your Tax needs!
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Stamp Duty Land Tax Changes from April 2016!

Consultation on 3% SDLT Supplement on Second Homes from April 2016!

You should be knowing that you must pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if you buy a property or land over a certain price in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The current SDLT threshold is £125,000 for residential properties and £150,000 for non-residential land and properties.

HMRC are consulting on the details of the higher rates of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on purchases of additional residential properties announced in the 2015 Autumn Statement.

The Government will include detailed rules in the Budget on 16 March 2016.
The higher rates will not apply if at the end of the day of the transaction an individual owns only one residential property, irrespective of the intended use of the property.

In line with the CGT rules there will be an 18 month period between sale of a previous main residence and purchase of a new main residence for the purpose of determining whether the higher rates apply.

To know more about Stamp Duty Land Tax, Exemptions and more, go to www.gov.uk

Contact us for all your Tax & Accounting needs!
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Single Director Companies Excluded From £3,000 Nic Employment Allowance!

From 6 April 2016 the Employment Allowance increases from £2,000 to £3,000, but if you’re the only employee in a company, and also the director, your company will no longer be eligible for the NICs Employment Allowance.

HMRC is currently consulting on the draft legislation for this change which will mean that the £3,000 allowance will not be available to offset against the employers’ NIC liability of such companies. 

Contact us for all your Tax & Accounting needs!
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How to Write a Perfect Press Release?

A well-written press release should be short, to the point and contain all the essential information in the first paragraph.  Most importantly, it should be a complete story that could be published without too many changes, as all the facts are there and the content is well structured.

Here are a few tips to help you to put together a good press release.

Put in the most newsworthy information

Who, what, when, where should be at the top, with the least important information at the bottom - this is called the inverted pyramid model and it is how journalists are trained to write.

Facts and photos

Boost your story with relevant data and good photos (ideally taken by a professional photographer, not taken on a smartphone). Include one photo and say “more available” rather than clogging up journalists’ inboxes with big files.

Call a spade a spade

A journalists’ job is to untangle professional jargon before it reaches the press. You can make their life a bit easier by avoiding technical terms and writing in plain English.

Quotes

Quotes are important but they need to add something to the story without repeating information contained elsewhere. Try to avoid being “thrilled” “honoured” or “excited”.

Don’t attach your story, put it in the body of the email

Don’t send one line emails saying “See Attachment”. It may not be opened. Always paste the press release directly into an email so it can be easily read on a smartphone or tablet.

Give it a good headline

Your headline should tell the story even if a person doesn’t actually read the rest of the article. If you want ideas on how to write a good headline, just pick up a newspaper and have a read. Which headlines catch your eye and why? Now try to write a similar headline for your press release.

Are you ready to write your business Press Release yourself? Let us know your experience and the response. Also share with us if you have any more points to add.