It is important that these deadlines are met otherwise penalties and interest will be charged by the Inland Revenue. These are some of the important deadlines that currently apply:-

The following links may prove useful:

Dates for employers www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers/march.htm

Dates for individuals www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/keydates/keydates.htm

FLAT RATE SCHEME - For many businesses the much improved Flat Rate Scheme for VAT looks attractive. There is a link on the right-hand side of this page to the VAT Flat Rate Scheme website from Customs & Excise. If you would like to discuss this further please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. Remember the flat rate is calculated on gross income, not the net of VAT figure!

VAT DE-REGISTRATION - May we remind those businesses de-registering from VAT that there is an opportunity for them to recover final VAT paid on items such as accountancy and legal fees even after the final VAT Return has been submitted. Please get in touch with us if you think this may apply to you.

VAT ON CAR FUEL BOUGHT BY EMPLOYEES The rules for recovery have changed following a European Court ruling. There is currently no change where a mileage rate is claimed, as opposed to a reimbursement of petrol purchased.

We offer full support for Quickbooks and Sage. This ranges from general help and advice we give to businesses already using or setting up these packages to a full book-keeping service running on our own in-house computers.

HM Revenue & Customs has issued various guidance notes outlining full details of the new scheme which was to have become operational on 6 April 2006 but has been deferred until 6 April 2007. There are many important changes which must be complied otherwise there is a real danger that gross payment status will be withdrawn. The new computerised system will make it easier for HM Revenue & Customs to identify errors such as late payment of deductions or late submission of returns which could lead to loss of gross payment status. Now is the time for Contractors to review systems and make sure that they will be able to cope with the new scheme as soon as it begins.

It will remain the Contractors responsibility to determine the employment status of their workers. However HM Revenue & Customs is tightening up on the enforcement of this obligation and Contractors will have to certify on monthly returns that none of the workers listed on the Return are employees. There will be automatic penalties for incorrect or late Returns. It is likely that HM Revenue & Customs will seek the maximum amount of tax geared penalties where the employment status of workers has not been properly considered. Some of the other features of the scheme are as follows:-

1. The new scheme will dispense with cards, certificates and vouchers.

2. Subcontractors must continue to register with the Revenue but will be able to do this electronically or by phone.

3. When contractors take on a new subcontractor there will be no card or certificate to look at. Instead they must contact the Revenue to confirm whether payment should be made net or gross.

4. Tax deduction vouchers will be replaced with a monthly return which the contractor will submit to the Revenue. Automatic penalties will apply for any late or incorrect monthly returns.

5. Important if you are late paying your PAYE/CIS deductions more than 14 days late just once you will lose your gross payment status and go onto deductions immediately!

CONCLUSION - Clearly it is vital that the new scheme rules are fully complied with otherwise penalties will be charged. You need to get used to carefully considering the workers employment status each month and submitting monthly returns well before the deadline so that they are not submitted late.

Companies House filing deadlines have been reviewed and it has been decided that companies will be required to file their financial statements within 9 months of the year end. This is a reduction in the current requirement of within 10 months. This is to bring the filing of the accounts in-line with the Corporation Tax deadline. This change applies to accounting periods beginning after 5 April 2008.

As many of you will be aware the Budget was announced on the 12th March. For a change, we have produced our own key facts leaflet and this is now available using the budget tab at the top of the page.