Next phase of digital tax scheme to start in 2026.

Making Tax Digital for income tax self-assessment (MTD for ITSA) was originally set to roll out in 2018, but the road to personal tax digitalisation has been relatively rocky to date.

While the Government successfully introduced MTD for VAT for returns starting on or after 1 April 2022, MTD for ITSA has been postponed five times in as many years.

The latest delay means that self-assessment customers won’t need to comply until 6 April 2026. These new rules won’t affect all taxpayers at once, either; instead, a more phased approach will aim to ensure the smoothest transition possible.

The phased approach

When MTD for ITSA arrives in April 2026, only self-employed sole traders and landlords with an income over £50,000 will be mandated to follow the rules. Those earning £30,000 and above will need to keep digital records from April 2027 onwards.

The Government has launched a review into accommodating the needs of smaller businesses and is yet to announce a date for extending the legislation to partnerships.

Reasons for the delay and other changes

According to the Institute for Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), this deferral offers an opportunity for the Government to “get MTD for ITSA right”.

The Treasury acknowledged that the economic challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis are already putting a strain on businesses across the UK.

As such, transitioning to a new way of doing taxes will put a greater administrative burden on self-assessment customers, many of whom are still unaware of the requirements for MTD for ITSA.

The Government hopes that delaying the rules will give customers more time to get their finances in order and familiarise themselves with MTD-compatible software.

Furthermore, the proposed phased approach could benefit many taxpayers, particularly those earning less than £30,000 a year. With more time to spare, HMRC will be able to look into ways to adapt the new service to support those with the smallest incomes.

Meanwhile, the ICAEW stated that the delay was “inevitable” due to only a small number of people participating in the MTD for ITSA pilot and several problems with digitalising the tax reporting of certain kinds of income.

What you need to do for MTD for ITSA

Keep digital records

Once the Government introduces MTD for ITSA, self-assessment customers must create and store digital records of all business income and expenses using MTD-compatible software.

You can find a full list of compatible software on the HMRC website, and you still need to enter your Government Gateway user ID and password into your software and follow the instructions to authorise it.

Send quarterly updates to HMRC

Once set up, your software will automatically add up your digital records every three months, creating totals for each income and expense category.

These quarterly updates will give you an estimate of your tax bill. You do not need to adjust these updates if you don’t want to – but doing so may make the estimate more accurate.

Your software provider will also prompt you to send updates for each income source to HMRC every quarter. You will need to do this within a month of each standard quarterly period ending or else face a penalty.

Self-assessment customers with more than one business will need to meet the requirements for each individual business – that means separate records and separate submissions for each income source.

Finalise your business income

Instead of completing a self-assessment tax return at the end of each year, you will need to finalise your business income with a final end-of-period statement (EOPS).

If you need to make tax or accounting adjustments to your EOPS, you should do so before your final submission.

For the time being, it looks like the current deadlines for tax payments and payments on account will stay the same, so you’ll still need to keep those dates in your diary.

According to HMRC, your software provider will help you meet these requirements, prompting you to send updates in time and advising you on how to adjust to this new way of working.

You can authorise an agent to act on your behalf if you prefer. That means that if your accountant is already handling your self-assessment returns under the current rules, you won’t need to re-authorise them for MTD for ITSA.

While making the transition to MTD for ITSA is a significant change, there are many advantages to keeping digital records beyond simply helping you stay compliant.

Why you should keep digital records

Technology has revolutionised how we do our taxes, and paper records are quickly becoming a thing of the past – not just because of upcoming MTD rules. Storing your financial records digitally offers a wide range of benefits.

Instant updates

Keeping digital records means no more scrambling around for the latest financial statements. Instead, all the information you need can be stored in the cloud and updated in real time.

Once you’re signed up, you’ll be able to create instant reports and forecasts with the confidence that you’re always working on the most recent figures.

Furthermore, automatic quarterly updates under MTD for ITSA will allow you to keep a closer eye on your estimated tax bill throughout the year, giving you more time to put cash aside before the self-assessment deadline.

Freedom to work from anywhere

It doesn’t matter whether you’re at home, in the office, or on a long train journey – so long as you have a device with an internet connection, you’ll be able to log onto your account and view real-time data with ease.

Stay secure

MTD-compliant software can also help you keep your data secure. You’ll be able to restrict access to financial information to the people you choose and revise permissions at the click of a button.

Storing everything digitally will also make it easier to create backups, helping to ensure you don’t lose important data.

Easy collaboration

Cloud accounting software is also perfect for collaborating with your accountant on the go. Multiple users can access the same data simultaneously, allowing you to work on tasks with others and reducing the risk of anyone using outdated information.

Starting your digital journey

While MTD for ITSA rules won’t come into effect for a few years, going digital sooner rather than later will help you prepare well ahead of 2026.

Get in touch to find out how we can support your business with MTD for ITSA.

Why it pays to save for retirement.

Tax relief is one of the best features of using a pension to save for retirement.

When you pay into your pension, some of the money that would have gone to the Government as tax goes instead into your pension pot, which can help reduce the amount of tax you pay and boost your savings.

How does pension tax relief work?

There are two ways you can get tax relief on your pension contributions.

If you’re in a workplace pension scheme, your employer chooses which method you use; if you’re in a personal pension, you always have to use the relief at source method.

The easiest way to check which method your scheme uses is to ask your HR department (or whoever handles payroll for your employer) or, if you’re self-employed, your pension provider.

Relief at source

With the relief at source method, your pension contributions receive a boost from the Government matching the highest rate of income tax you pay: 20%, 40% or 45%.

In practice, this means for every £1 a basic rate taxpayer contributes to their pension, the Government tops it up by 25p because £1.25 taxed at 20% is £1; conversely, higher and additional rate payers see every £1 they contribute become £1.66 and £1.82 respectively thanks to tax relief on their contributions.

If you live in Scotland and pay tax at the Scottish starter rate of 19%, you still get tax relief on your pension contributions at 20%.

Here’s how the relief at source method works step by step:

1. Your employer deducts tax from your taxable UK earnings as usual.
2. They then deduct your pension contribution from after-tax pay and send this to your pension provider. If you’re self-employed, you will contribute your taxable UK earnings directly to your pension provider.
3. Your pension provider then claims 20% in tax relief from the Government, which they add to your pension pot.

This method is better for people who don’t pay tax – for instance, if their income is below the personal allowance – as they still get tax relief.

However, people who pay higher income tax rates than 20%, whether employed or self-employed, have to claim the extra tax relief through their tax return or directly from HMRC.

Net pay

Through the net pay method, you make your contributions before paying taxes. As a result, you will pay less tax as it will be calculated based on a lower amount of UK earnings.

Here’s how the net pay method works in more detail:

1. Your employer deducts the total amount of your pension contribution from your pay before deducting your taxes.
2. You then pay tax on your UK earnings minus your pension contribution. As a result, your tax bill will usually be lower.
3. Although you’ve paid the total amount of your pension contribution yourself, you get the tax relief straight away by paying less tax.

Unlike the relief at source method, no matter the rate of income tax you pay, you get the entire tax relief without having to claim it.

However, this method means you won’t get any tax relief if you do not pay income tax.

Limits on tax relief you can receive

While there is no limit on the amount of money you can put into your pension each tax year, there are limits on the amount you can save while claiming tax relief.

First, the Government only gives tax relief on pension contributions that are the higher of:

• 100% of your relevant UK earnings in a year
• £3,600.

So, if you personally put all of your £20,000 salary into your pension pot one year plus £5,000 you had set aside, you would only be entitled to tax relief on the first £20,000, leaving you with a net contribution of £30,000 (£25,000 from yourself and £5,000 from the Government. You do not get tax relief on contributions made by your employer.

If your relevant UK earnings are less than £3,600, your gross pension contributions are limited to this £3,600. That means only the first £2,880 of your payments will receive tax relief, as the Government’s subsidy would leave you with £3,600 in your pension pot.

Second, only contributions within the annual allowance qualify for tax relief; contributions that go over it may be taxable, which effectively claws back any excess tax relief given.

For most people, the annual allowance is £40,000, but it reduces by £2 for every £1 you earn if you have an adjusted income above £240,000. So, an individual with an adjusted income of £280,000 would have an allowance of £20,000.

This ‘tapering’ ends at £312,000, so everyone will always have an annual allowance of at least £4,000.

If you’ve triggered the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA), your allowance may also be £4,000. The MPAA is usually activated if you take your entire pension pot as a lump sum or start to take lump sums from your pension pot.

The annual allowance applies across all your pension savings – not per pension scheme. It also applies to combined employee and employer contributions.

However, you can use unused allowance from up to the previous three tax years to receive tax relief on higher contributions (this is known as ‘carry forward’, and conditions apply).

What counts as relevant UK earnings?

Tax relief on pension contributions is only available on relevant UK earnings, which include:

• income from employment (including salary, wages, bonus, overtime or commission)
• self-employment profits
• benefits-in-kind
• redundancy payments above the £30,000 tax-exempt threshold.

They don’t include the following:

• dividends
• savings income
• rental income
• pensions in payment
• state benefits.

To get tax relief on pension contributions, you must be a UK resident and below the age of 75.

How much can you build up in your pension?

Although there is no limit to the amount you can save in pensions, there is a lifetime limit on the amount you can build up without potentially having to pay a tax charge when you access your pension or transfer it overseas.

The lifetime allowance limits your tax-free pension pot to £1,073,100 and will remain frozen until April 2026.

Any amount above your lifetime allowance is subject to a tax charge of 25% if paid as income or 55% as a lump sum.

Talk to us about your pension contributions.

The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) welcomes a report by the House of Lords expressing concern over proposed reforms to the R&D scheme.

 The report, published on 31 January, highlights the need to pause any upcoming changes to the SME and R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) schemes. Some of the changes are due to come into effect this year, while other, more significant reforms are set for April 2024.

Elsewhere in the report, both the ATT and Finance Bill sub-committee underline the risk of fraud and error in the current R&D schemes but conclude that any proposed rule changes will be ineffective in isolation.

The proposed changes due to come into effect in April 2023 include the following:

• A reduction in the rate of relief available under the SME regime.
• Additional administrative requirements, including providing additional information when making a claim and pre-notifying of an intention to claim where no claim has been made in the past three years.

HMRC launched a consultation at the start of January, which proposes merging the RDEC and the SME R&D schemes, set to launch in April 2024.

The Government says it aims to change the way R&D works to “ensure taxpayers’ money is spent as effectively as possible”.

Those who wish to comment on the proposal can do so until 2pm on 13 March by emailing RDTaxReliefs@hmtreasury.gov.uk.

Senga Prior, chair of the ATT steering committee, said:

“We do not consider that restricting the level of relief available to all SMEs is a proportionate way to target abuse.

“We agree with the House of Lords report that the administrative changes proposed will not, on their own, reduce the level of fraud and abuse in the R&D relief scheme. Instead, we think that, in many cases, they will merely increase administrative burdens for businesses.”

Speak to us about claiming R&D relief.

Speaking at Bloomberg’s European HQ in London on 27 January, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt outlined plans to grow the UK economy and turn the country into “one of the most prosperous countries in Europe”.

Hunt set out four ‘pillars’ for growth, including ‘enterprise’, ‘education’, ‘employment’ and ‘everywhere’.

Ideas include turning the UK into the next ‘silicon valley’ for tech innovation; wider access to university; bringing more people who are economically inactive into the workforce, and “levelling up” the country.

Hunt signalled that tax cuts would only come “when the time is right”, focusing instead on reducing inflation, which he described as the “best tax cut” the Government could offer right now.

Hunt said:

“Our plan for this year remains to halve inflation, grow the economy and get debt falling. But all three are essential building blocks for much bigger ambitions for the years beyond.”

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) was optimistic about the Chancellor’s focus on growth.

Tony Danker, director general of the CBI, said:

“It’s only by improving the UK’s languishing performance on productivity that we can realise the huge economic potential in every corner of the country.

“There is much to get behind here with the Chancellor’s emphasis on using innovation as the foundation of the UK’s future economy and championing the strengths of the UK tech sector.”

However, the Institute of Directors (IoD) slammed Hunt’s speech, writing the Chancellor “should add a fifth E for ‘empty’ to his vision for the economy”.

Chief economist of the IoD Kitty Ussher said:

“Business needs government action to counteract the negative mood, for example, through a continuation of the capital investment super-deduction, through tax credits for employers who invest in skill shortage areas and a plan to incentivise the net-zero transition for the SME sector.”

Get in touch to discuss your business.

Despite a record 11.7 million people submitting their tax returns on time, over 300,000 taxpayers missed the self-assessment deadline.

On 31 January, 861,085 taxpayers filed online to meet the deadline, some with minutes to spare – 36,767 individuals filed in the last hour before the deadline.

The peak filing hour on the day was between 16:00 and 16:59 when 68,462 taxpayers submitted their tax returns.

In total, 11,733,465 (97.3%) returns were received before the deadline, meaning an estimated 327,407 taxpayers missed the deadline – equating to £32m in late penalties for HMRC.

Around 10.9m (94.5%) of returns were filed online, with 385,296 (3.4%) filed on paper following adjustments.

HMRC urges customers who missed the deadline to submit theirs as soon as possible or risk facing a penalty.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer service, said:

“Thank you to the millions of customers and agents who got their tax returns in on time.

“Customers who have yet to file and who are concerned that they will not be able to pay in full may be able to spread the cost of what they owe with a payment plan.”

Contact us to talk about your tax returns.

The Bank of England (BoE) has raised its interest rate by 0.5% to 4% following a monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on 2 February.

This is the tenth consecutive time the Bank has increased interest rates, resulting in the highest base rate in 14 years.

The MPC voted by a majority of 7-2 to increase the bank rate. According to the BoE, this decision will help meet the 2% inflation target in a way that “sustains growth and employment” in the medium term.

High energy prices and a tight labour market continue to affect inflation. However, the Bank suggests it is likely to have peaked in the UK and that any upcoming recession may be shorter and less severe than feared.

There is likely to be a further increase in interest rates later this year, with the Bank planning to raise the base rate to 4.5% before the summer.

Commenting on the decision, the BoE said:

“The MPC will continue to monitor indications of persistent inflationary pressures, including the tightness of labour market conditions and the behaviour of wage growth and services inflation.

“If there were to be evidence of more persistent pressures, then further tightening in monetary policy would be required.”

Talk to us about your finances.

Methods to identify risks ahead of time.

Businesses at any stage in their life cycle can benefit heavily from creating and implementing a business plan.

Not only is a business plan there to map out your goals and aspirations, but also to identify any financial risks and operational challenges you may encounter.

According to research conducted by Fundsquire, 20% of small businesses fail in the first year, and around 60% fail within the first three years of trading, while CB Insights discovered:

• 29% fail because they ran out of cash
• 18% fail because of pricing and cost issues
• 17% fail due to a lack of a business model
• 14% fail because of poor marketing.

A business plan will usually outline strategies to avoid all of these issues – that’s why it’s important to create a thorough plan as early as possible in your business journey.

Here are some things you should include and what your business plan can do for you.

Why might you need a business plan?

A business plan has a number of advantages, including helping communicate your business goals, market knowledge, and financial understanding to potential shareholders and investors.

A business plan is also instrumental in accessing funding. If you want a lender to take you seriously, you’ll need to prove that you understand how you’ll use their money to grow your business and give them a return on their investment.

It’s not just startups that can use a business plan to secure further funding. Existing businesses looking to expand will also be able to use their business plan as supportive evidence towards a loan or investment.

Business plans are not only for expansion, however; they are also a form of contingency.

With businesses currently facing rising energy costs and a 2023 recession looming, it’s never been more important to look ahead and prepare for every eventuality.

According to the Centre for Retail Research, the total number of closures over the last year was 50% higher than in 2021.

To avoid the risk of closing prematurely, your business plan should account for any threats you may face and how you would overcome these obstacles. Cashflow forecasting can play a big role in this process, especially for existing businesses.

Looking at previous sales data may also help you predict trade patterns, which can be especially useful for seasonal businesses. If you identify that business is usually slow at a certain time of year, you’ll know that you’ll have to save through this period.

What to include in your plan

Usually, it’s best practice to keep your business plan reasonably short. If you’re expecting others to read it, the last thing you should do is present them with a 300-page plan that makes them lose interest before they get to the important details.

That said, there are a few things you must include if you want your plan to be comprehensive and a solid representation of what you’re expecting of your business.

Basic business information and research

First, you’ll need to clearly explain your business in the simplest terms possible. This includes what services you’ll offer, who your target market is, and your business structure.

You’ll also need to show any market research you’ve carried out on your competition. It’s important to demonstrate that you understand current trends and how to adapt to any market changes that may occur.

Finances

Your financial planning will make up a large part of your business plan, including cashflow forecasting, an income statement and a balance sheet.

Your cashflow forecast will take into account any income or funding you’ve received or are due to receive as well as any expenses you’re likely to incur. You can also include sales forecasts based on previous trade data.

When creating forecasts, you should be as realistic as possible. If you overestimate your costs and expenses, it could result in cashflow issues further down the line, and you could end up not being able to cover essential costs of your business operations.

It’s also important to include any plans for funding or investment. You should explain how much you need to reach your business milestones and how you’ll use the money to develop your business.

Marketing

Your marketing strategy will also be an essential element of your business plan, requiring you to consider how you’ll stand out from your competition and determine the most cost-friendly and efficient ways to sell yourself to your target audience.

Your sales strategies will intertwine with your marketing strategy, and you’ll need to ask yourself a number of questions to make sure you’re taking the right approach. For instance, is your business better suited to trading online or in person? Could you sell through retailers or agents?

Management and operations

Any effective business plan should contain information on your management and personnel structure as well as your business operations.

In this section, address the strengths and responsibilities of each team member. By identifying potential weaknesses, you’ll be able to put measures in place to cover those gaps.

Training and development plans should also be present in your plan, alongside the costs associated with recruiting new staff.

Again, being realistic is essential. You should discuss your expected staffing costs and how they might grow over time, as well as how your business would continue to run if you were to lose a key member of the team.

As your business premises are a key part of your operations, they should also be part of your plan. You’ll need to identify the size of your premises to start with, making sure you discuss how you’ll fully utilise the space, how much it will cost and how long it will be viable for.

If you think you may need to relocate further down the line, include this. Investors will need to know how you are preparing for expansion and how you plan to afford to scale up.

Business equipment, maintenance and general upkeep will factor into your future costs as well as your operational plan. Alongside inventory control, you’ll be able to show others how you plan to meet demand and adapt to both the busiest and slowest trading periods.

If your systems are outdated or unsuitable, investors will likely be more sceptical about supporting your business from the outset.

Even though the business landscape looks somewhat uncertain right now, a bit of careful planning and confidence can help prospective business owners make their latest venture a success.

Although you might not consider an accountant to be the first port of call for help when building your business plan, a keen financial eye is the most useful tool to have when you’re assessing your business’s position now and in the future.

Contact us to discuss the best ways to build and implement a business plan.

How the April tax rise affects SMEs.

After multiple policy U-turns and much uncertainty, the main rate of corporation tax will rise from 19% to 25% from 1 April 2023, affecting companies with profits of £250,000 and over.

The legislation provides that small companies with profits up to £50,000 will continue to pay corporation tax at 19%, with profits between the two limits being subject to a tapered rate.

All UK companies must pay corporation tax on the profits they generate, while the profits of non-incorporated businesses, such as sole traders and partnerships, are taxed via self-assessment.

Context around the measure

The April 2023 corporation tax rise was first announced by the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, in March 2021 during his Spring Budget.

At the time, the Government’s fiscal policy had been to reduce the annual deficit and deliver “sustainable public finances” after Sunak signed off on £400 billion more spending than planned in 2020, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Treasury estimated the changes to corporation tax would increase tax by an additional £17.2bn a year by 2025/26.

However, after Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister in July 2022 and was replaced by Liz Truss, the Government’s approach to fiscal policy changed radically.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the third person to serve as Chancellor in 2022, delivered his ‘mini Budget’ on 23 September, where he announced a range of tax cuts and cancelled the planned rise in corporation tax.

However, following a strong negative market backlash to the mini-Budget, the Government was forced into a U-turn, with Truss confirming on 14 October the corporation tax rise would in fact go ahead as planned.

In documents accompanying the Autumn Statement by Jeremy Hunt, who replaced Kwarteng after he was sacked as Chancellor the day of the corporation tax U-turn, the Treasury upgraded its estimate of the value of the tax rise to £17.9bn per annum by 2026/27.

Despite the increase, the UK will remain the country with the lowest effective corporation tax rate in the G7.

New rates & thresholds

The corporation tax hike will be applied on profits exceeding £250,000 a year, which means around 10% of all UK companies will pay the full higher rate, according to Spring Budget 2021 documents.

The Government will also establish a ‘small profits rate’, which will hold corporation tax at 19% on profits of £50,000 or less.

According to the Government, this means 70% of actively trading companies – 1.4 million businesses – will be completely unaffected.

For profits between £50,000 and £250,000, the Government will introduce a taper to limit the increased tax burden on medium-sized companies.

If you have a profit of £300,000, all of it will be taxed at 25%, not just the amount above £250,000– unlike income tax, where portions of your income are taxed at gradually increasing rates after a tax-free allowance.

How the taper will work

Companies and organisations may be able to claim marginal relief if their profits from 1 April 2023 are between £50,000 (lower limit) and £250,000 (upper limit).

However, these limits are proportionately reduced if your accounting period is shorter than 12 months. The lower and upper limits are also proportionally reduced by the number of associated companies your company has; this is referred to as the ‘adjusted limits’.

So, if your company has three other associated companies, the limits are divided by four, reducing the lower limit to £12,500 and the upper limit to £62,500.

You cannot claim marginal relief if you are a non-UK resident company or a close investment holding company.

Organisations will be able to work out the amount of tax they pay with the following formula:

(Adjusted upper limit – Augmented profits*) x (taxable total profit ÷ augmented profits) x (standard marginal relief fraction).

The Government has developed a digital calculator on the gov.uk website to automatically calculate your corporation tax bill after marginal relief.

All you need to know is your information relating to the equation above and your company’s accounting period start and end dates.

*Augmented profits are ‘taxable total profits’ and any exempt distributions received from companies that are not 51% subsidiaries or held through a consortium.

What is the marginal relief fraction?

In the equation the Government has provided taxpayers, the marginal relief fraction is 3/200ths, which is the difference between the main rate and the marginal rate expressed as a fraction.

To explain where this fraction comes from, the Government says:

• Corporation tax payable on the upper limit = £62,500 (because £250,000 x 25% = £62,500).
• Corporation tax payable on the lower limit = £9,500 (because £50,000 x 19% = £9,500).
• The tax payable difference between the limits is, therefore, £53,000.
• Dividing £53,000 by £200,000 (the difference between the upper and lower limit) provides the marginal rate of 26.5%.
• The difference between the marginal rate of 26.5% and the main rate of 25% is 1.5%, which can also be expressed as 3/200.

Mitigating corporation tax

ALthough corporation tax is rising for a lot of companies, they can still benefit from tax planning.

For instance, the annual investment allowance will remain at its highest ever permanent level of £1 million from 1 April 2023.

Meanwhile, the R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) will increase from 13% to 20% to give more tax money back for innovative projects.

However, the SME additional deduction will be cut from 130% to 86% from 1 April, and the SME credit will decrease from 14.5% to 10%, to “improve the competitiveness of the RDEC scheme”.

There are also several tax reliefs available for creative industries, including video games tax relief, film tax relief and various television reliefs.

The Government also promised in the Autumn 2022 Statement to “build upon the success of the audio-visual subset of the creative industry tax reliefs” to “further incentivise the production of culturally British content”.

Contact us to discuss your tax plan and other ways to reduce your corporation tax liability.

HMRC is inviting people to comment on draft guidance relating to the upcoming R&D tax credit relief reforms.

The reforms, expected to be implemented from 1 April 2023, will change how R&D works in practice and set out additional information requirements when applying for the relief.

Anyone wishing to comment can do so until 28 February via the Government website.

Initially announced in the Spring Budget 2021, the Government set out plans to review the R&D system to ensure that the UK remains a competitive location for research.

One of the main focuses of the R&D reforms is on qualifying expenditure in the UK and overseas.

For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2023, expenditure on payments to subcontractors must be either UK-based or meet the overseas qualifying criteria for both SME R&D relief and the R&D expenditure credit.

Any companies wishing to claim R&D on overseas expenditure must ensure that the following three factors apply:

• the conditions necessary for the R&D are not present in the UK
• the correct conditions are present in the location where the work is carried out
• it would be wholly unreasonable to replicate the conditions in the UK.

There are also new reporting requirements, and first-time users of R&D relief will have to submit a claim notification form.

In order to apply, you will have to submit the following information:

• your unique tax reference (UTR) number – the same on your CT600
• contact details of the main R&D leader in the company
• contact details of any involved agent
• an agent reference number (if applicable)
• your accounting period start and end dates for the period where you carried out the R&D work.

The draft legislation for these measures was published for comment on 20 July 2022, and any final legislation will be taken forward in the Finance Bill later this year.

Talk to us about your R&D claims.

The Government has announced a new energy bills discount scheme (EBDS) for UK businesses, set to replace the current energy bills relief scheme (EBRS) once it ends in March.

The new support package will last from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, giving organisations a discount on high wholesale prices instead of capping energy costs. This means that firms will benefit from support in proportion to their usage.

As with the current scheme, eligible organisations do not need to apply for the discount and will automatically receive reductions to their bills.

Businesses in industries with particularly high energy usage and trade intensity, such as manufacturing, will receive a “substantially higher” level of support.

According to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, this reduced level of support will help bring down inflation while providing as much aid to businesses struggling with soaring energy bills as possible.

The Chancellor has also written to energy watchdog Ofgem to see if further action is needed to prevent energy companies from passing costs onto businesses.

Commenting on the downgrade of energy support, the Treasury said:

“The Government has been clear that such levels of this support, unprecedented in its nature and huge scale, were time-limited and intended as a bridge to allow businesses to adapt.”