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

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

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

1 December 2022 – Due date for Corporation Tax payable for the year ended 28 February 2022.

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

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

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

30 December 2022 – Deadline for filing 2021-22 self-assessment tax returns online to include a claim for under payments to be collected via tax code in 2023-24.

One of the key features of the new VRS is that every business will be automatically signed up to Making Tax Digital (MTD) VAT as part of registration. This removes the need for businesses to take that extra step.

To complete a VAT registration, you will need your:

• name
• date of birth
• National Insurance number
• ID, such as your passport or driving licence
• details of turnover and nature of business
• bank account details (or a reason if no bank account details are provided)
• Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number

If you are registering a limited company, they must have a Company Registration Number and a Corporation Tax Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) to complete the VAT registration process. Individuals and Partnerships do not need to have a Self-assessment UTR to register for VAT, but if they do have one, they must supply it.

HMRC recommend that you have this information to hand when starting an application. If you are waiting for information to register you can save and edit the application for 7 days by clicking ‘Save and Exit’. This will soon be increased to 28 days.

Where it’s not possible to calculate individual costs, an averaging process can be adopted. There are also other considerations that must be met to qualify for this relief.

Another way to benefit staff tax-free for Christmas is to consider making small gifts.

You don’t have to pay tax on a benefit (gift) to your employee if all of the following apply:

• it cost you £50 or less to provide
• it isn’t cash or a cash voucher
• it isn’t a reward for their work or performance
• it isn’t in the terms of their contract

Gifts that fall into this category are known as a ‘trivial benefit’; and whilst they may be much more than trivial in substance, you don’t need to pay tax or National Insurance or let HMRC know you are making the gift.

Any gifts that do not meet this definition will likely be taxable.

Gifts to directors are treated in a similar fashion with one over-riding condition: a director cannot receive trivial gifts of more than £300 in total each tax year. This restriction only applies to the directors of “close companies”. A close company is a limited company with five or fewer shareholders.

Watch out for VAT charge

If you recover the input tax charged when you buy gifts for employees, and if the total value of gifts given to an employee in a tax year exceeds £50, then you will have to account for VAT on the total value of gifts provided. If this is the case, you may be advised to avoid recovering the VAT in the first place.

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

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

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

31 October 2022 – Latest date you can file a paper version of your 2021-22 self-assessment tax return.

1 November 2022 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 January 2022.

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

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

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

The amount you receive will include a ‘Pensioner Cost of Living Payment’. This is between £150 and £300. You will only get this extra amount in winter 2022 to 2023. This is in addition to any Cost-of-Living Payment you get with your benefit or tax credits.

You will get your Winter Fuel Payment automatically (you do not need to claim) if you are eligible and either:

• receive the State Pension; or
• receive another social security benefit (not including Adult Disability Payment from the Scottish Government, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit).

If you do not receive either of these, or if you live abroad, you may need to make a claim.

If you’ve got a Winter Fuel Payment before, you do not need to claim again unless you’ve deferred your State Pension or moved abroad.

Energy Grant

In addition to the Winter Fuel Support, all UK households will receive a grant which will automatically reduce their energy bills by a total of £400 during the coming winter period.

The grant will automatically be credited to energy suppliers’ accounts in equal instalments of £66 from October – November 2022 and in instalments of £67 from December 2022 to March 2023.

To make payments on the same or next day

• online or telephone banking (Faster Payments)
• through your online bank account
• CHAPS

To make payments within three working days

• Direct Debit
• Bacs
• standing order (only for businesses using the Annual Accounting Scheme or Payments on Account)
• online by debit or corporate credit card
• at your bank or building society

If the deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, your payment must arrive in HMRC’s bank account on the last working day before (unless you pay by Faster Payments).

However, there are three hoops that these claims need to jump through. The tax deduction is worked out as the lower of:

• 20% of any finance costs – costs not deducted from rental income in the tax year plus any unrelieved finance costs brought forward, in the above example £2,000;
• 20% of property business profits – the profits of the property business in the tax year (after using any brought forward losses); and
• 20% of adjusted total income – the income (after losses and reliefs and excluding savings and dividends income) that exceeds your personal allowance.

It is the final condition that can catch taxpayers out and deny relief. For example, if the majority of earnings are dividend income, and other earnings in total are lower than the annual personal tax allowance, currently £12,570, then no relief for finance charges can be claimed.

This could impact director shareholders of smaller companies with personal property income and finance costs, who many have adopted the high-dividend low-salary approach to taking remuneration from their company

This is a further justification for ongoing tax planning to ensure that all options are considered and reviewed to minimise overall tax payments.