Northampton Accountants

Does you stationery break the law?

webbnaadmin — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:34:53 +0000

You could be fined up to £1,000 if your company letters do not comply with Companies House regulations. It is our understanding that Companies House are taking a much harder line with companies who do not comply.

The four items that must be shown are:

The company name, including the word limited or ltd – if you trade under a different name the registered name must still be shown but can be in small type as long as it is clear and legible.
The registered office address – it must be clear that this is the registered office.
The company registration number.
Whether your company is registered in England, England & Wales or Scotland.

The regulations also apply to emails.

Other documents such as invoices, compliments slips and order forms only need show the company registered name.

If you want to include the names of the directors you can do so, but you must include all directors.

Directors can be fined up to £1,000 if letterheads are not compliant and £100 per day if warnings are not heeded. Companies House normally sent out warnings to those not complying prior to imposing the fines.

Please call us on 01604 790646 for further information.

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Verification of new staff

webbnaadmin — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:51:06 +0000

As an employer you have a duty to carry out verification procedures on prospective employees. You should take up written references, obtain proof of identity in the form of a photo ID and proof of address and also obtain documentary evidence of any qualifications. You should also obtain documentary evidence of an individual’s right to work in the UK.

Under the Employment Practices Data Protection Code you should explain your verification procedures to prospective employees and obtain a candidate’s permission to approach third parties.

The younger generation often offer their social media website on their CV or application forms. For various legal reasons it is better to only visit these sites once an employer is in a position to offer a position to a candidate. The permission is assumed if the information
is provided by the candidate.

For more information, please call us on 01604 790646.

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Are you liable for your employees underpaid PAYE?

webbnaadmin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:31:21 +0000

HMRC sends notices of underpayment of PAYE to the individual concerned and under normal circumstances there is no resulting consequence for the employer.

However, if the employer had made a mistake in calculating the PAYE then it could be liable for any underpayment. PAYE regulations state that the employer is liable unless it can show that “reasonable care” was taken in calculating the PAYE.

One of the main reasons for underpayment of PAYE is the use of an incorrect tax code. To ensure that it was not the fault of the employer it is worth asking that all employees notify the employer of any tax codes issued by HMRC. This will ensure that “reasonable care” was used and remove liability on the employer.

Please call us on 01604 790646 for more information.

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Did you know that your staff costs could soon be increasing?

webbnaadmin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:05:20 +0000

With effect from October 2012 the government are phasing in enforced pension contributions for ALL employers and employees earning over the lower earnings limit (currently £102 per week).

All employers will be required to set up a pension scheme that complies with the new rules. If you do not, the government will impose a scheme on you.

This means that the employer will be forced to contribute 3% of an employee’s salary into a pension scheme. The employee will be forced to contribute 4%.

Employees are allowed to “opt out” of this scheme but only after they have joined the scheme in the first place. Doing nothing will mean that employees are automatically enrolled on to the scheme. Employers who do not set up their own schemes will have to use the Governments own scheme, commonly known as NEST.

We strongly recommend that you start planning now to minimise the impact of these new rules on your wage bill and consequent profits and to prepare your employees for a potential drop in their take home pay.

Please call us on 01604 790646 for further information.

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Claiming expenses for working at home

webbnaadmin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 07:43:56 +0000

In order for expenses to be allowed for working from home they must be “wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the
duties of the employment”. Whilst “wholly and exclusively” are relatively easy to prove and evidence “in the performance of the duties of the employment” might not be so easy.

A recent tribunal held that expenses claimed by an individual for working at home merely put him in a position to do his job and were not part of his job. Whilst this decision was a harsh one and flies in the face of previous case law, the only way to guarantee that the expense can be claimed is to have a “homeworking” policy in employment contracts.

Please call us on 01604 790646 for further information.

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Reasonable care?

webbnaadmin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:19:52 +0000

In a recent tribunal a tax payer argued that HMRC were unduly harsh in imposing a 15% fine due to an error on a VAT return. The tax payer had claimed input VAT on the date of exchange in acquiring property instead of the date of completion. This had the effect of the tax payer claiming the input VAT one quarter too early. HMRC inspected the return and imposed a penalty, reduced from the normal 30% to 15% because the disclosure was prompted.

The tax payer argued that there was no loss to HMRC. HMRC argued that the taxpayer had merely misinterpreted the law and so no further reduction should apply. The tribunal agreed with HMRC but reduced the penalty to 7.5% because of the unusually large and one-off nature of the transaction.

Please call us on 01604 790646 if you require further information or assistance in other areas.

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Taxman suspends business records checks

webbnaadmin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:41:48 +0000

A year or so ago HM Revenue and Customs embarked on a system of random visits to businesses to check their records. They initially stated that they would visit 50,000 businesses but after carrying out less than 3,000 checks they have given up on their current format.

The records checks are likely to start up again in the near future and we await their revised guidance and hopefully a more acceptable
estimate of intended visits.

Please call us on 01604 790646 for further information.

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The end of the tax year is looming…

webbnaadmin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:01:31 +0000

The end of the tax year is looming and as much as it is difficult to think about, none of us live forever. Normally giving away cash or assets will still form part of your estate should you die within 7 years. You can, however, give away £3,000 each year in cash or assets and it will not form part of your estate should you die. If you didn’t give away £3,000 in the last tax year you can give away £6,000 before 5 April 2012 and take advantage of the exemption.

You can also make small annual gifts of up to £250 to as many people as you like and they too will be exempt from Inheritance Tax.

Please call us on 01604 790646 for more information.

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Sole trader in financial trouble?

webbnaadmin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:01:33 +0000

Sole traders are personally responsible for all debts incurred by their business, so if the business fails it can be disastrous. The debts for which the sole trader is liable even extend to employees being able to claim redundancy.

The sooner a sole trader in trouble can talk to an Insolvency Practitioner the more likely they are to save their business.

The options open to a sole trader in financial trouble are:

Agreement with creditors to pay over time
Bankruptcy – there is little chance that the individual will be able to continue in business. Business assets will be sold
and there will be little chance of the individual getting a business bank account again.
Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) – if this can be set up in time it can mean the business will be saved. Debts are frozen at the time of the IVA, part of the debt is usually written off and a repayment plan is agreed.

Please call us on 01604 790646 for further information.

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Trading whilst insolvent

webbnaadmin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:00:02 +0000

What are the pitfalls of trading whilst insolvent? If you are a director of a company, are you worried about the consequences of trading whilst insolvent?

Directors are not normally liable for the debts of a company; there are, however, two situations where they can be.

The first is for “wrongful trading”. That is to say the Directors have allowed an insolvent company to continue trading and then the situation gets worse.

The second is for “fraudulent trading”. Clearly this is where the Directors have deliberately set out to defraud creditors, whether they be suppliers, the bank or HM Revenue and Customs.

It is crucial that any insolvent company take immediate professional advice, please contact us if you are worried on 01604 790646.

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