If you do not pay your tax bill on time and cannot make an alternative arrangement to pay, HMRC can take ‘enforcement action’ to recover any tax you owe.
You can usually avoid enforcement action by contacting HMRC as soon as you know you have missed a tax payment or cannot pay on time.
They may agree to let you pay what you owe in instalments, or give you more time to pay.
Otherwise, there are a number of enforcement actions HMRC can take to get the tax you owe. They can:
• collect what you owe through your earnings or pension
• ask debt collection agencies to collect the money
• take things you own and sell them (if you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland)
• take money directly from your bank account or building society (if you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland)
• take you to court
• make you bankrupt
• close down your business
If you do not pay your tax on time, you’ll probably have to pay interest on the outstanding amount. You may also have to pay a penalty or surcharge.

In a recent news story published on the GOV.UK website, HMRC confirmed that nearly 1.8 million married couples and those in civil partnerships are claiming the Marriage Allowance to save up to £252 a year in Income Tax.
The allowance enables married couples or those in civil partnerships to share their personal tax allowances if one partner earns an income under their Personal Allowance threshold of £12,570 and the other is a basic rate taxpayer.
They can transfer 10% of their tax-free allowance to their partner, which is £1,260 in the 2021-22 tax year. It means couples can reduce the tax they pay by up to £252 a year. Couples can also backdate their claims for any of the four previous tax years, which could be worth up to £1,220.
If you are eligible, and still not making a claim, you can complete an application online at https://www.gov.uk/apply-marriage-allowance.

1 August 2021 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 October 2020.
19 August 2021 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 August 2021. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 August 2021)
19 August 2021 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 August 2021.
19 August 2021 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 August 2021 is payable by today.
1 September 2021 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 30 November 2020.
19 September 2021 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 September 2021. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 September 2021)
19 September 2021 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 September 2021.
19 September 2021 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 September 2021 is payable by today.

If you sell second-hand vehicles and you were not charged VAT when you purchased the vehicle, using the Margin Scheme will save you money.
If you did not use the VAT Margin Scheme, you would have to account for VAT on the full selling price of each vehicle. However, if you use the Margin Scheme, you can account for VAT on the difference between the price you paid for a second-hand vehicle and the sales price when you sell the car.
If you sell a vehicle for less than you paid for it, you will not have to account for any VAT on the sale.
You do not have to use the Margin Scheme, it is optional.
If you decide to use it, there are conditions you will have to meet. If you cannot meet all the conditions, you cannot use the scheme. The main conditions published by HMRC are:
• the vehicles must be eligible,
• you must have acquired the vehicles in eligible circumstances – in most cases, this means that you have obtained eligible vehicles for resale in circumstances where VAT was not chargeable,
• you must calculate the margin in accordance with the rules of the scheme, there are special rules about how to calculate your buying price, your selling price and your margin under the scheme, your margin may not be the same as your profit margin,
• you must meet the record-keeping rules of the scheme, there are special rules about invoicing and stock records.

You can claim up to £1,000 each tax year in tax-free allowances for property or trading income. If you have both types of income, you will qualify for a £1,000 allowance for each.
If your annual gross property income is £1,000 or less, from one or more property businesses you will not have to tell HMRC or declare this income on a tax return. You may be required to complete a tax return for other income.
Likewise, if your annual gross trading income is £1,000 or less, from one or more trades you may not have to tell HMRC.
If your annual gross trading or property income, from one or more trades or businesses is more than £1,000 you can use the tax-free allowances instead of deducting any expenses or other allowances.
This would be useful if your actual expenses were lower than the £1,000 allowances. However, you cannot use the allowances to create a trading loss. You can deduct up to £1,000, but not more than the amount of your income. This is known as ‘partial relief’.
If your expenses are more than your income it should be beneficial to claim expenses instead of the allowances.
You cannot use the allowances in a tax year, if you have any trade or property income from:
• a company you or someone connected to you owns or controls,
• a partnership where you or someone connected to you are partners,
• your employer or the employer of your spouse or civil partner.
You cannot use the property allowance if you:
• claim the tax reducer for finance costs such as mortgage interest for a residential property,
• deduct expenses from income from letting a room in your own home instead of using the Rent a Room Scheme.

Charity sponsorship payments are different from donations because your company gets something related to your business in return. Typically, your business brand would be promoted by the charity in some way.
You can deduct sponsorship payments from your business profits before you pay tax by treating them as business expenses.
Payments qualify as business expenses if the charity:
• officially supports your products or services,
• allows you to use their logo in your own printed material,
• allows you to sell your goods or services at their event or premises,
• links from their website to yours.
If you are unsure whether a charity payment qualifies as a sponsorship payment or a donation, contact the HMRC charities helpline, 0300 123 1073.

Expenditure on business entertainment is not allowable as a deduction against profits. Nor may a deduction be made for any expenditure which is incidental to business entertainment.
The meaning of ‘incidental’ is not defined by HMRC but should be interpreted to mean any expenditure that is incurred directly or indirectly in connection with the provision of entertainment.
This might include payments to a third party for the organisation of entertainment or the costs of issuing invitations to customers. It will also include the cost of maintaining assets, such as yachts, which are used for business entertainment purposes.
Traders may obtain entertainment through barter arrangements in which their own goods or services are exchanged for hospitality. The amount to be disallowed is the larger of:
• the value at which the transaction is recognised in the profit and loss account, and
• the cost of the goods or services exchanged for business entertainment.

1 July 2021 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 30 September 2020. 6 July 2021 – Complete and submit forms P11D return of benefits and expenses and P11D(b) return of Class 1A NICs. 19 July 2021 – Pay Class 1A NICs (by the 22 July 2021 if paid electronically). 19 July 2021 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 July 2021. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 July 2021). 19 July 2021 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 July 2021. 19 July 2021 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 July 2021 is payable by today. 1 August 2021 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 October 2020. 19 August 2021 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 August 2021. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 August 2021) 19 August 2021 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 August 2021. 19 August 2021 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 August 2021 is payable by today.

You must declare goods that you take with you to sell outside the UK – for example if they are in your baggage or in a private vehicle. There is a different process if you take goods abroad temporarily (for example samples for a trade fair) or use a courier or freight forwarder. Most countries have a limit on the value of goods you can bring in duty free. If you are taking goods to another country temporarily for business reasons and you think you’ll be over the duty free limit, you can usually get an ATA Carnet to avoid paying duty. This includes things like: samples to show at trade fairs or sales meetings publicity materials recorded film and audio equipment you need for work like laptops, cameras or sound equipment goods for educational, scientific or cultural purposes personal effects and sports goods If you are taking a vehicle, get a CPD Carnet instead. If your goods have a total value of £1,500 or less, you may be able to make any customs declaration required online. Otherwise, you will need to make a full export declaration. You will need to show customs your declaration before you can leave and if you are taking restricted goods, take the licence or certificate with you.

Tax credits applicants should be vigilant and alert to potential scams, HMRC has warned. In the 12 months to 30 April 2021, HMRC responded to more than 1,154,300 referrals of suspicious contact from the public. More than 576,960 of these offered bogus tax rebates. In the same period, HMRC has worked with telecoms companies and Ofcom to remove more than 3,000 malicious telephone numbers, and with internet service providers to take down over 15,700 malicious web pages. HMRC responded to 443,033 reports of phone scams in total, up 135% on the previous year. Anyone doing their tax credits renewal who has received a tax or benefits scam email or text might be tricked into thinking it was from HMRC and share their personal details with criminals, or even transfer money for a bogus overpayment. HMRC’s Cyber Security Operations identifies and closes down scams every day. The department has pioneered the use in government of technical controls to stop its helpline numbers being spoofed, so that fraudsters can no longer make it appear that they are calling from those HMRC numbers.