Tax E-News – January 2025

Happy New Year and welcome to the January 2025 edition of Tax E-News. We hope that you find this informative. Please contact us if you wish to discuss any matters in more detail.

January 2025

SCOTTISH AND WELSH BUDGETS

Scotland
The key tax takeaways from the Scottish Budget, held on 4th December, concerned the Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT) and Land & Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT).
Scottish Rate of Income Tax
If a taxpayer’s main residence is in Scotland or they are otherwise classed as a ‘Scottish taxpayer’, their non-savings/non-dividend income is subject to the SRIT. Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Local Government, Shona Robinson, announced that the SRIT will not be increased and no new bands will […]

Wales
The Welsh Budget took place on 10th December 2024. There were no changes announced to the Welsh Rate of Income Tax (WRIT). For 2025/26 the rates and bands remain the same as those applicable in England and Northern Ireland.
Land Transaction Tax
The Higher Residential Rates of Land Transaction Tax (LTT) apply to purchases of additional residential properties in Wales. […]

GET READY FOR MAKING TAX DIGITAL FOR INCOME TAX

Prior to the Autumn Budget, there was hope that the new Labour Government might further delay the introduction of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for IT). However, such hopes were dashed on Budget day, with confirmation of the previously-announced timescales and an additional announcement that individuals with income from trading or property of over £20,000 will be mandated to comply with MTD for IT requirements in future. The mandate timescales are as follows: […]

CORPORATE TAX ROADMAP

The Government published a ‘Corporate Tax Roadmap’ as part of Autumn Budget 2024. The Roadmap is designed to give corporate businesses (and, in some areas, non-corporate businesses) certainty about the tax framework ahead to give confidence in business decisions being made now. The Roadmap sets out the areas in which the Government intends to maintain the status quo for the duration of this parliament, as well as areas in which change is expected. […]

PAYROLLING BENEFITS IN KIND

‘Payrolling benefits in kind’ means that employee benefits in kind (e.g. company cars and medical insurance) are reported to HMRC through the employer’s payroll. Employees’ tax codes are amended so that any income tax due on the benefits is paid throughout the tax year. If a benefit has been payrolled, it does not need to be included on form P11D.
Payrolling is possible for all benefits in kind, except for employer-provided living accommodation and beneficial (interest-free or low-interest) loans; these must still be reported on the P11D […]

HMRC SCAM WARNING

With the 31 January self assessment deadline fast approaching, HMRC has warned taxpayers to be alert to fraudsters. In the past year, there has been a 16.7% increase in scam referrals to HMRC, with almost 150,000 received in the year to November 2024. A significant proportion of those referrals were fake tax rebate claims […]

DIARY OF MAIN TAX EVENTS

JANUARY  / FEBRUARY 2025