Accountancy advice – now for some good news!

More time to pay Self-Assessment tax

There’s another reason to remember 1 April, other than it being April Fool’s Day! The government has given those who pay tax via Self Assessment until then to either make payment or set up a payment plan (Time to Pay arrangement) – and they won’t incur a late payment penalty. So, it’s worth doing it by midnight on 1 April and you won’t be charged the initial 5% late payment penalty.

The payment plan can be set up online and allows you to pay in monthly instalments until January‌‌ 2022.

If your business is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, you can contact HMRC for help and support on 0300‌‌ 200‌‌ 3822.
 

VAT deferral new payment scheme – join from 23‌‌‌‌ February

If your business deferred paying VAT due in the period from 20‌‌‌‌ ‌March to 30‌‌ ‌June‌‌ ‌2020, did you know that you can opt to pay it back in monthly instalments? You can join the VAT deferral new payment scheme, which is interest free.

If you don’t want to pay the deferred VAT in full, on or before 31 March 2021, this might be an excellent option for you.

The new scheme lets you pay your deferred VAT in up to 11 monthly instalments, interest free. The service opens on 23 February and closes on 21 June 2021 and you choose the number of instalments, from 2 to 11, depending on when you join.

For example, if you join in March, you’ll be able to pay your deferred VAT in 11 instalments or fewer. If you join in June, you’ll pay 8 monthly instalments or fewer. Read more about this – it might be just what you need to give you a bit of breathing space!

Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) – last call!

Bounce Back loans have been a lifeline to some businesses who are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This month, the government announced that businesses that took out loans under BBLS will now have greater flexibility to repay them with Pay as You Grow.

If you don’t know about the BBLS, it was launched in May 2020 and the closing date for new BBLS applications is 31 March 2021. Small businesses can apply for a 100% state-backed loan worth up to £50,000.

The great news is that recent changes mean:

• You can extend the length of your loan from six to ten years. This could reduce monthly repayments by nearly 50%.
• You can delay your repayments for a further six months. Businesses can opt to make no payments on their loans until 18 months after they originally took them out.
• You can top up if you didn’t borrow the full amount initially.

You can also make interest-only payments on Bounce Back loans for six months (you can use this option up to 3 times).

 

If you’d like further accountancy advice on these or other issues, please contact us!