When registering yourself or your business with HMRC, it’s essential that you do it correctly. If you register yourself incorrectly, you may find yourself in bother, and more importantly, you could end up with a sizeable bill to pay. When Do I Need to Register? If you are going to be trading through a limited…

With the drastic increase in phone scams throughout the UK, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have begun using new control measures, putting a stop to fraudsters copying and using some of the tax authority’s well-known helpline numbers. Successful Scamming Victims have reported receiving phone calls (mainly from 0300 numbers) claiming to be a legitimate call…

Do you run a small business? Perhaps you are an independent contractor or a freelancer working from home? If so, it’s essential to know where you can save money and also what percentage of costs you are entitled to claim back. Individual savings may seem relatively low and somewhat pointless until you add them up…

With the new 2019 tax year having just begun, there are a few main changes that you should be aware of. The main changes are to the following: · Tax and allowances · Company car, van and fuel benefits · Student loans · Personal tax relief and benefits · Workplace pensions Tax and Allowances Personal…

All employees are entitled to a payslip. Payslips can be in paper format, be emailed or accessed through a website. How payslips look can vary from employer to employer, but the following information must be included: Gross pay – the employee’s earnings before any deductions Net pay – the employee’s earning after deductions (this is…

Keeping records to support tax or VAT returns is a legal requirement in the UK. To ensure you are paying the correct amount of tax, HMRC will need to see a record of your figures each tax year. Failure to supply accurate records could result in legal action. Benefits of Good Record Keeping Keeping track…

Why not let us manage your accounts? Why Use Aston Black? When starting your own business, handling accounts can be daunting, but here at Aston Black we take away the hard work, so you can focus on running the actual business. A long-established accounting firm, based in Milton Keynes with 25 years experience, we have…

As a Sole Trader, one of the upsides is being able to work for yourself, choose your own hours, your own jobs, having no-one to answer to. But a huge part of being self-employed, or a sole trader as it is otherwise known, is that you have to calculate and pay your own taxes, rather…

So you’ve started a bit of a side hustle. Great work. And you are actually starting to see the money coming in from all that hard work. Amazing! But don’t forget that all income must be taxed, and you don’t want to feel the sting of HMRC when you get a letter in January telling…

Many of us will have a hobby, creating a product or service, that at first, friends and family start to request, then a neighbour then the friend of a neighbour… But how do you know when HMRC will see your hobby as a trading company? And when will you be liable to register with HMRC?…