Guides and Downloads

Use these guides for education and information on specialist subjects. If you have questions then please contact us and we'll be happy to help.

We believe we are more than just your average accountancy firm. Our goal at Barnes Roffe is to engage our clients through a proactive relationship, which provides you with the resources and tools you need to enable you to take charge of your finances with confidence.

Tax news, audit news and any new accounting news ... with the help of our topical tips, blogs and key guides you can enjoy the benefit of being regularly informed of business and accounting updates which are likely to be relevant to you and your business.

PLEASE NOTE: By the very nature of this type of information the details of tax law might have changed since they were published, so contact your Barnes Roffe partner before acting on any matter contained in these documents.

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2024 Spring Budget Summary


In what was widely expected to be Mr Hunt’s final Budget ahead of an election, speculation in the final run up focused on the trade-offs that might be required around cutting taxes and meeting both fiscal rules and spending commitments. Ultimately the Chancellor had it both ways, with some headline grabbing measures aimed at easing the tax burden on earners and families, while also introducing some tax increases to cover their costs.


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Tax Tables 2024/25


Welcome to the Barnes Roffe 2024 Spring Budget Tax Tables.

While the majority of the 2024/25 tax rates were released in the autumn, the Chancellor kept some surprises for Budget day. With detailed speculation in the last few days ahead of the Budget on whether income tax or national insurance would take the tax-cutting limelight, there were announcements across a range of key areas.


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Year end tax planning


As we near the end of the 2023/24 tax year in April, our year-end tax planning guide provides valuable information that may positively impact your tax bill.

Take a look at the guide today to ensure you’ve considered all areas of personal tax and utilised all your tax reliefs and allowances before the end of the tax year.

We can advise on how to navigate the complexities of tax, create a tax planning strategy and utilise tax reliefs and allowances to save you money.


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Autumn Statement 2023


Jeremy Hunt’s second Autumn Statement was set against a much less financially turbulent background than his first. However, politics still loomed large with a likely election in the next 12 months prompting calls for tax cuts from within the Conservative party.


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Reorganising your business structure


Over time businesses grow, develop and change so it can be a good idea to reorganise or rationalise the business structure. This process has a whole host of benefits across the business lifecycle, such as minimising risk, cost savings and the simplification of processes.


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Expanding Abroad Guide


There is a wealth of opportunities for companies that plan to do business internationally. This guide aims to help you to grow your business through international markets. It covers points to consider before expanding abroad, support available and tips and advice when considering foreign markets.


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Planning your business exit


After years of hard work and building your business, handing over the reins and leaving your business can be daunting. Whether you’re selling your business, passing it onto family or considering an IPO, our guide on planning your exit will help you tackle this critical stage in your business lifecycle.


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Tax Tables 2023/24


While the majority of the 2023/24 tax rates were released in the autumn, some changes involved unwinding the announcements of Mr Hunt’s predecessor. With inflation and cost of living concerns foremost for the majority of individual and business taxpayers, the Chancellor needed to balance longer-term economic imperatives with perhaps shorter-term political concerns.


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2023 Spring Budget Summary


The first Budget since October 2021 was widely expected to be an uneventful affair. Five months ago, the then new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, presented an Autumn Statement that was more of a Budget than many formal Budgets. Not only did his Autumn Statement result in a greater increase in the tax burden than most Budgets – £55 billion by 2027/28 – it was also accompanied by a Finance Bill.


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How to increase the value of your business


The main goal of many business owners is to build a business which they will eventually sell or pass on to family members. Therefore, building and increasing business value is an important consideration as you run your business and when you’re making major business decisions.


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Accessing Your Company Profits


When business owner-managers take profits from their business, it isn’t surprising that they want to do so in the most efficient manner. There are various ways to do this that can minimise both tax and national insurance contributions (NICs). Of course, tax is not the only issue. You will almost certainly need to draw a basic level of income to cover your personal requirements, regardless of the tax cost, and it will also be necessary to retain sufficient profits in the company to cover its future needs.


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2022 Tax Tips

2023 Tax Planning Tips


The Spring Budget in March 2023 relaxed the limits on contributing to pension savings for individuals and their employers and removed the lifetime limit on the value of tax-efficient pension pots. The bad news is that the threshold for 45% tax was lowered to £125,140 from April 2023, and for taxpayers in Scotland the highest rate of tax above that threshold was raised to 47%.


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Making The Most Of Fringe Benefits


Although the main rate of employee national insurance contributions (NICs) has been reduced by 2% to 10% from 6 January 2024, fringe benefits still have a definite tax advantage when compared to conventional salary. Even if there is not much, if anything, in the way of income tax saving, directors and employees can avoid NICs. Certain tax-advantaged fringe benefits will also mean no, or little, NICs for the employer, with these types of benefit particularly suited to a salary sacrifice arrangement. There has been no corresponding reduction to the rate of employer NICs.


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You And Yours – Estate Planning


All too often, people put off estate planning. This is understandable as, rather than preparing for the here and now, it requires you to consider what will happen when your life is over, hardly something most of us rush to contemplate.


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Investing Tax Efficiently


The whole tax system has grown increasingly elaborate, thanks to revenue-raising tweaks such as the taxation of child benefit and multiple reforms of dividend taxation. As more changes are introduced, the complexities increase.


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Making Tax Digital


HMRC has embarked on a plan to modernise the UK’s tax administration system by 2030 to facilitate more digital reporting in ‘real time’, i.e. closer to the time of transactions. This project includes the restructure of HMRC’s own internal systems.


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Off Payroll Working


If you work as a contractor, there are three different possible tax treatments which could apply to your engagements depending on your circumstances. For contracts not subject to the off-payroll working (IR35) rules, whether working in the private or public sector, you will
be in a position to withdraw profits on a very advantageous tax basis.


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Pension Tax Planning For High Earners


With intense pressure on government finances, the overall tax burden in the UK is likely to remain at an historically high level for the foreseeable future, with higher earners continuing to shoulder most of the burden. Higher and additional rate taxpayers currently pay over two thirds of all income tax.


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Retirement And Tax


Tax does not disappear once you start the retirement process. While your income is likely to fall when you cease work completely, you will still have an income tax liability if your pension and other incomes exceed your available allowances.


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Starting And Selling A Business


Anyone contemplating starting a new business, especially a bricks and mortar one, needs to factor in current economic conditions. The UK might just avoid recession in 2024, and inflation has now fallen to 3.9% (November 2023). However, consumer spending is being curtailed due to higher costs of living, and unemployment is expected to increase during 2024. Many self-employed businesses, in particular, are struggling to cope with higher costs, and their take home pay is not rising in line with inflation.


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Strategies For A High Tax Environment


The income tax system has changed significantly in recent years. Until the spring 2021 Budget, governments had focused on increasing the personal allowance, but despite this the number of income tax payers today is much the same as in 2010/11 and will increase sharply in the coming years because of the freezing of the personal allowance.

At the same time, the share of income tax paid by those with higher incomes has increased: the share of total income tax receipts paid by the top 25% of taxpayers rose from 71.3% in 2010/11 to an estimated 78.5% in 2022/23.


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Tax Allowances For Business Investment


Companies can qualify for, a 100% first-year allowance, which effectively means full expensing for qualifying capital expenditure. There is also a 50% first-year allowance for special rate pool expenditure. Both of these allowances were set to expire on 31 March 2026, but have now been made permanent.


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Taxation of property


The property outlook for 2024 is somewhat better than it was a year ago. Rents remain high, mortgage costs look like they will come down following the reduction in the rate of inflation to 3.9% (November 2023), and the recent extension of the mortgage guarantee scheme for a further 18 months to June 2025 will help support property prices at the lower end of the market. Although further regulation – in the form of the Renters Reform Bill – is on the cards, the government has backtracked over the introduction of energy performance targets for landlords.


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