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Monday 9am - 4:30am Tuesday 9am - 4:30am Wednesday 9am - 4:30am Thursday 9am - 4:30am Friday 9am - 4:30am

A R Dury & Co

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A R Dury & Co

We also offer book-keeping services to clients at very competitive fees. You can rest assured we will aid you through every step of the way.

At Dury & Co we can take all the book-keeping, payroll and other paperwork off your hands, as well as the normal annual accounts and tax work ensuring you and your business are completing everything that legally needs to be completed. Our team of experienced accountants based in Nailsea, Bristol, aim to provide a package that includes management consultancy, personal tax and business tax planning,

together with advice on what accounting software to choose and how to use it effectively. We will also assist you in reviewing the strategic plans for a business and discussing the best way forward, offering systematic and competent tax planning for small and medium sized businesses, as well as individuals. We also offer advice to start-up businesses, including how to obtain finance and setting up a new company and the potential hurdles involved. We pride ourselves on having a dynamic and proactive approach to your accounts and tax affairs, and can make safe assurances you will not be left disappointed by our service.

25/09/2024

Although many expect a rise in capital gains tax (CGT) rates to be announced in the October 2024 Budget, data shows that the reduction in CGT rates has increased receipts.

HMRC data reveals that the recent cut in CGT for residential property transactions from 28% to 24%, effective 6 April 2024, may have contributed to a rise in receipts. From April to August 2024, CGT receipts reached £854 million, up from £778m during the same period the previous year.

This trend may reflect a warming property market, with sellers taking advantage of potential interest rate cuts or rushing to sell ahead of a possible CGT hike. Over recent years, the number of individuals paying the top CGT rate of 28% on residential property and carried interest gains has surged. Between 2016/17 and 2022/23, the number of taxpayers paying the top rate more than doubled, from 50,000 to 120,000.

Frozen tax bands, rising mortgage costs, and landlords’ inability to offset interest against rental income have increased buy-to-let property sales. With further changes expected in the Budget, the coming months may see a continued surge in property transactions as individuals try to avoid higher taxes.

20/09/2024

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued a press release debunking some common myths about whether or not someone needs to register to complete a self-assessment tax return.

The basic requirement is that anyone who needs to complete a self-assessment return for the first time to cover the 2023-24 tax year, needs to tell HMRC by 5 October 2024.

Here are the myths and the realities highlighted by HMRC:

Myth: I don’t need to file a return because HMRC hasn’t been in touch.
The reality is that it is each taxpayer’s responsibility to determine whether or not they need to complete a tax return.

You may need to register and complete a tax return if you:
• have started to be self-employed and earned gross income of more than £1,000.
• earned below £1,000 but want to pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions to protect your pension and benefit entitlements.
• have become a new partner in a partnership.
• have received untaxed income above £2,500.
• need to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge because you receive Child Benefit and you or your partner earned more than £50,000.
Myth: Tax has to be paid at the same time as the return is filed
The deadline for paying tax for the 2023-24 tax year is 31 January 2025. Tax can be paid any time before this date, it does not need to be paid at the same time the return is filed.

Myth: I don’t need to file a return because I don’t owe any tax
Tax returns need to be completed to claim tax refunds and to claim tax relief on business expenses, charitable donations, and pension contributions. A return also needs to be completed to be able to pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance Contributions if you want to protect your pension and benefit entitlements.

Myth: HMRC won’t expect a return from me if I don’t need to file one
Taxpayers need to tell HMRC if they no longer need to file a tax return, perhaps because they’ve stopped being self-employed or stopped renting out a property. Especially if HMRC have sent you a notice to file a tax return they will expect one and keep reminding you and may charge a penalty if they don’t receive it.

If you think you don’t need to complete a return it is best to tell HMRC as soon as your circumstances change.

Myth: I have to file a tax return and pay tax on things I sold after clearing out the attic
Although there has been speculation on this, the tax rules are that selling old clothes, books, CDs and other personal items through online marketplaces do not trigger a requirement to file a return or pay income tax on the sales.

If you are not sure whether you need to file a tax return for the 2023-24 tax year, please just get in touch with us. We’ll be happy to let you know what you need to do and to contact HMRC on your behalf.

03/09/2024

HMRC has introduced new advisory fuel rates, effective from 1 September 2024, impacting company-car drivers across the UK. These rates, which apply to petrol, diesel and electric vehicles, are used to either reimburse employees for business travel or to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel.

Notably, the rates for petrol engines have been reduced. For engines up to 1,400cc, the rate is now 13p per mile, down from the previous rate of 14p. Engines between 1,401cc and 2,000cc see a rate of 15p per mile, while those over 2,000cc are now at 24p per mile. Diesel engines have also seen reductions, with the rates set at 12p for engines up to 1,600cc, 14p for those between 1,601cc and 2,000cc, and 18p for engines over 2,000cc.

The rates for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles remain unchanged, with up to 1,400cc engines at 11p, those between 1,401cc and 2,000cc at 13p, and engines over 2,000cc at 21p per mile.

Electric vehicle owners face a rate reduction as well, with the advisory rate now set at 7p per mile. Hybrid vehicles continue to be treated as either petrol or diesel, depending on their primary fuel source.

These changes come as the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association advises its members and their customers to seek out the best energy tariffs for home charging to optimise costs. The adjustments to the advisory fuel rates reflect ongoing shifts in fuel and energy costs, as well as vehicle efficiency improvements.

Businesses and employees alike should review these new rates to ensure they are accurately reimbursed for their travel expenses under the new HMRC guidelines.

01/08/2024

The Bank of England cut interest rates today after encouraging signs that inflation has fallen, after holding them at a 16-year high of 5.25% for the past year.
The decision had been on a knife-edge having been held at 5.25% in each of the past seven updates.
Now, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted by a majority of 5 to 4 to cut the bank rate to 5%.

26/07/2024

Last weekend before the July 2024 payment needs to be with HMRC. Don't get caught out make sure payments are paid by the 31st July 2024.

19/07/2024

More than half a million taxpayers are now caught in a 60% tax trap, a figure that has increased by nearly a quarter over the past year due to frozen thresholds.

In the 2022/23 tax year, 537,000 taxpayers paid 60% tax on a portion of their income, a 23% increase from 436,000 the previous year. This situation arises from a flaw in the current income tax system, where individuals earning between £100,000 and £125,140 pay 60% tax on that segment of their earnings. The tax-free personal allowance of £12,570 is gradually reduced once annual earnings exceed £100,000.

High-earners falling into this tax trap have surged as inflation has driven up wages. Projections indicate that an additional 300,000 people will be drawn into the higher-rate tax bracket this year, with the total number of 40% tax rate earners reaching a record 4.4 million.

Furthermore, over one million people are now paying the 45% additional rate tax, with an extra 180,000 taxpayers expected to surpass the £125,140 threshold by year-end. The previous Government froze these thresholds until April 2028, and the current Labour Government has not intended to raise them during this parliament. As a result, more individuals are being impacted by these high tax rates, exacerbating the financial burden on UK taxpayers.

03/07/2024

If you are taxed under Self Assessment and less than 80% of the tax that you owe is collected at source (for example, under PAYE), you will need to make payments on account of your 2023/24 tax liability if your tax and Class 4 National Insurance bill for 2022/23 was £1,000 or more. Each payment on account is 50% of your previous year’s tax and Class 4 National Insurance liability.
The first payment on account for 2023/24 was due by 31 January 2024. The second payment must be made by 31 July 2024.
As the 2023/24 tax year has now ended, you will be able to assess your profits for that year. If they are less than in 2022/23, you may wish to reduce your payments on account to reflect your actual profits and the tax and National Insurance that you will be liable to pay. This can be done through your personal tax account or on form SA303.
It should be noted that if you reduce the payments by too much, you will be charged interest on amounts not paid on time.

01/07/2024

The number of additional rate taxpayers will surpass one million for the first time as tax thresholds remain frozen.
Since the tax thresholds were frozen in 2021, HMRC is predicted to collect £63.2 billion in income tax this year, bringing the total to £272.6bn, which is £16.3bn more than the previous year.
This situation has resulted in 1.77 million people over the state pension age paying income tax since 2021, and this number will only increase as the thresholds remain unchanged until at least 2028.
Furthermore, due to the freezes, an additional 1.9m people have been pushed into the 40% tax bracket, with 310,000 more expected to join this year. Since 2010, it is predicted that there will be up to 6.1m more taxpayers, including 3.3m higher-rate taxpayers and 900,000 additional-rate taxpayers.
People will be paying more tax on their income, and HMRC is also expected to collect an extra £10.4bn in tax from savings in 2024/25. A basic rate taxpayer will pay 20% on any savings income over £19,050.

27/06/2024

With our personal and work lives now requiring us to have so many passwords, it is difficult to keep coming up with new passwords.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have been championing the three random words method as a strategy to help with this problem. This method involves choosing three words at random and combining them to make a password, for example: paperhumbleconnect.

Weak passwords can be easily cracked, but the longer and more unusual your password is, the more difficult it is for a cybercriminal to crack it.

In recent years much advice has been given about using long, complex passwords that contain random letters, numbers and symbols. However, generating, remembering, and entering this kind of password is impractical for most of us.

So, faced with yet another password to choose we may be tempted to opt for a variation of a familiar word, name or date, or perhaps reuse a password we use elsewhere. Common tactics include substituting numbers for letters.

Of course, the problem then is that tactics are familiar to cyber criminals who adjust their approach to match.

While a random password created by a password manager may be the strongest option, NCSC note that take-up of password managers remains very low.

And security that is not usable for people doesn’t work.

The three random words method is considered to be long enough and strong enough for most purposes and is easy enough for most people to understand and use.

21/06/2024

Inflation has met the Bank of England's (BoE) target for the first time in nearly three years, with prices rising 2% in the year to May, down from 2.3% in April. This comes as the general election on 4 July approaches, with parties debating how to manage the cost of living.
May's lower inflation was due to slight drops in food and soft drink prices, and slower price increases for recreation, culture, and household goods.
Prices for bread, cereals, vegetables, sugar, jam, and chocolate fell between April and May. However, food prices remain 25% higher than at the start of 2022. Petrol prices rose by 0.7p per litre, while diesel prices fell by 0.8p per litre.
Despite falling inflation, millions of households continue to struggle with the cost of living. Lower inflation rates mean prices are rising slower, not decreasing. The BoE's interest rate hikes aim to curb consumer demand, increasing mortgage rates and rents.
Official figures show that average rents paid to private landlords rose by 8.7% in the year to June. Mortgage rates remain high as lenders await the BoE's next interest rate decision.

11/06/2024

Last year, HMRC increased scrutiny on VAT registrations, rejecting 17% of applications. Of 314,000 applications, only 261,000 were approved, 52,000 failed to meet HMRC's stringent rules, and 1,000 were withdrawn.

HMRC's excessive caution against VAT fraud could hinder business growth despite its success in clamping down on fraudsters, some of whom face substantial penalties.

Businesses have faced additional challenges due to HMRC's customer service struggles. The average caller now waits over 25 minutes to connect with a VAT officer. This situation is expected to persist until HMRC utilises its latest £51 million emergency funding to improve helpline operations.

VAT applications are typically rejected for two primary reasons. First, HMRC may find the application contains incorrect information, such as errors in the personal details of company directors, addresses, business descriptions, or financial details. Second, HMRC's misunderstandings, especially regarding business activity descriptions, can lead to rejection.

Applications can also be withdrawn by businesses, often due to HMRC requesting more information or the business misinterpreting VAT rules and the requirements for registration.

Address

Ivy Court, 61 High Street
Bristol
BS481AW

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4:30am
Tuesday	9am - 4:30am
Wednesday	9am - 4:30am
Thursday	9am - 4:30am
Friday	9am - 4:30am

Website

http://ardury.co.uk/

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