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Dunhams Accountants & Financial Planning

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Dunhams Accountants & Financial Planning

Welcome to Dunhams Accountants & Financial Planning. We provide expert advice to businesses of all sizes and in all kinds of sectors.

We are a team of highly experienced Manchester Based Chartered Accountants and Tax Consultants who can help you manage your business and grow your company. Talk to us and we will provide you with a unique plan to address all of your business's financial needs - outsourcing, accounts, payroll, auto enrolment, audit, business start-up, commercial advice, business planning, exit strategy, business sa

les and acquisitions, tax mitigation, financial advice, raising finance, funding options, grants, VAT planning, and business insurance.

14/07/2026

MONTHLY FOCUS: PROVIDING FURTHER TAX-FREE BENEFITS TO EMPLOYEES
Read the full article:- https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/2026/monthly-focus-providing-further-tax-free-benefits-to-employees/

In this further examination of tax and NI free benefits. Providing benefits that are exempt from income tax is a great way to reward employees in a tax-efficient way. Which benefits qualify for tax-free treatment?

page contents:
Home-to-work travel
Employer-provided equipment and Homeworkers
Incidental overnight expenses
Living accommodation
Long service awards
Medical check-ups and treatment
Meals
Mileage allowance payments and passenger payments

If you would like any assistance with any of these points.

Please Call Us on 0161 872 8671

10/07/2026

HMRC urges agents to review excepted estates
Read the full article:- https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/2026/hmrc-urges-agents-to-review-excepted-estates/

HMRC is reminding tax agents to review inheritance tax (IHT) returns submitted for excepted estates following changes introduced from 1 January 2025. The warning follows concerns that some estates may have been incorrectly treated under the new rules. What should you check?

Get the Accounting Services to Enhance Your Business

The changes introduced from 1 January 2025 significantly widened the circumstances in which an estate can qualify as an excepted estate. As a result, many estates no longer require a full inheritance tax account to be submitted to HMRC.
Accountants Dunhams - HMRC urges agents to review excepted estates

Instead, personal representatives can provide the relevant information as part of the probate application. HMRC has now advised agents to review estates that have been administered under the revised rules to ensure they were correctly classified. An estate that is incorrectly treated as excepted could result in the wrong information being provided to HMRC or delays in the administration of the estate.

If you would like any assistance with any of these points.

Please Call Us on 0161 872 8671

30/06/2026

HMRC targets “dodgy shops” in new compliance crackdown
Read the full article:- https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/2026/hmrc-targets-dodgy-shops-in-new-compliance-crackdown/

The government has announced a new crackdown on businesses suspected of facilitating tax evasion, with HMRC increasing its focus on so-called “dodgy shops” used to enable tax fraud. What is HMRC targeting?

Get more Help with Your Business Accounts

The initiative is aimed at businesses that provide services designed to help others evade tax, including the creation and sale of false invoices, the operation of disguised payroll arrangements and other schemes intended to conceal taxable income.
Dunhams Accountants - HMRC targets “dodgy shops” in new compliance crackdown

According to HMRC, these businesses play a key role in enabling wider tax evasion and undermine compliant businesses. Announcing the campaign, Tax Minister James Murray warned operators that HMRC is increasing enforcement activity and making greater use of intelligence and data analysis to identify those involved. The government says the measures form part of its wider strategy to close the tax gap and tackle the hidden economy.

HMRC already has a range of powers available, including penalties, criminal investigations and the ability to publish details of those involved in facilitating tax avoidance and evasion. The latest announcement suggests that more resources will be directed towards identifying and disrupting businesses that provide these services.

If you would like any assistance with any of these points.

Please Call Us on 0161 872 8671

23/06/2026

Mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind delayed
Read the full article:- https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/2026/mandatory-payrolling-of-benefits-in-kind-delayed/

The government has revised plans to introduce the mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind from 6 April 2027, which will now be limited to company cars, vans, fuel and medical benefits. What’s the full story?

Ask Dunhams for more Help with Your Payroll

Due to feedback, the government has announced that the mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind will be phased in over two years. Previously it was announced that all benefits in kind aside from employer-provided accommodation and loans would need to be reported through payroll from 6 April 2027. However, mandatory payrolling will now only apply to company cars, vans, fuel and medical benefits from 6 April 2027. Further technical guidance will be released in July 2026.
Dunhams - Mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind delayed

From 6 April 2028, mandatory payrolling will apply to all other benefits in kind, apart from employer-provided accommodation and loans. Employer-provided accommodation and loans can be payrolled on a voluntary basis, although they are difficult to value in real time.

If you would like any assistance with any of these points.

Please Call Us on 0161 872 8671

16/06/2026

Timetable for agent multi-factor authentication rollout published
Read the full article:- https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/2026/timetable-for-agent-multi-factor-authentication-rollout-published/

HMRC has published further details of its plans to introduce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for tax agents. The rollout is intended to strengthen security across HMRC’s online services and will be introduced in stages over the coming months. What do you need to know?

Accounting Services for all your Business Support.

HMRC has confirmed that MFA will be introduced in stages, beginning during summer 2026 and extending over the following months. Agents will be notified when their accounts are brought within the new regime, with the requirement eventually applying across HMRC’s online services.

Once enrolled, users will need to provide a second form of authentication in addition to their password. This is expected to involve a code generated by an authentication app or sent to a registered device. The requirement will apply each time a user signs in to affected services.

If you would like any assistance with any of these points.

Please Call Us on 0161 872 8671

09/06/2026

Recovering underclaimed input tax
Read the full article:- https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/2026/recovering-underclaimed-input-tax/

Your business has incorrectly failed to claim input tax on a particular expense for five years. You know it can only be corrected for four years to comply with the legislation, but are you aware of a potential three-month extra claim in some cases?

Get the Correct Tax Services.

Four different errors

There are only four different categories of error that will be relevant to your business as far as part returns are concerned:

1. output tax overpayments
2. output tax underpayments
3. input tax underclaims; and
4. input tax overclaims.

For the first three categories, you can only make corrections going back a maximum of four years, based on the final date of the VAT period; this window applies to both under and overpayments.

Example. It is 2 February 2027 and you have identified output tax errors of £1,000 per quarter for the last five years, they are all underpayments. You only need to correct them for periods March 2023 and later if you submit calendar quarter returns. Periods up to and including December 2022 are out of time. The total VAT owed is £16,000, i.e. from March 2023 to December 2026 inclusive. As this amount exceeds £10,000, you must disclose it separately to HMRC online and not include it on your next return.

If your quarterly sales in Box 6 of the next return will exceed £1.6m, i.e. the error of £16,000 is less than 1% of this figure, you can include it on the return because it is also less than £50,000.

HMRC will charge interest when you submit the error correction notice. Interest is not a penalty and is classed as commercial restitution because the money has been in your bank account for too long rather than HMRC’s account.

If you would like any assistance with any of these points.

Please Call Us on 0161 872 8671

04/06/2026

HMRC clarifies treatment of averaging relief under MTD IT
read the full article:- https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/2026/hmrc-clarifies-treatment-of-averaging-relief-under-mtd-it/

HMRC has updated its guidance to explain how averaging relief claims will operate under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT). The clarification addresses concerns about how farmers and creators will claim relief once quarterly reporting becomes mandatory. What has changed?

Get more Help with your Tax Relief

Averaging relief is available to farmers, market gardeners and certain creative artists whose profits fluctuate significantly from year to year.
Dunhams - HMRC clarifies treatment of averaging relief under MTD IT

The relief works by averaging profits over two or five years, helping to smooth income and reduce the impact of higher tax rates in particularly profitable years. Under MTD IT, taxpayers are required to submit quarterly updates throughout the year. This led to uncertainty over how averaging relief would fit into the new reporting framework, as entitlement to relief can only be determined once profits for multiple years are known.

If you would like any assistance with any of these points.

Please Call Us on 0161 872 8671

28/05/2026

Judge criticises use of fabricated AI-generated cases in HMRC appeal
Read the full article:- https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/2026/judge-criticises-use-of-fabricated-ai-generated-cases-in-hmrc-appeal/

A tax tribunal judge has criticised the use of apparently fabricated case references generated by artificial intelligence in an appeal against HMRC. The incident highlights growing concerns over the use of AI tools in legal and tax proceedings. What happened?

Get more Help with Your Business Tax

The case involved an appellant who cited authorities that could not be traced by the tribunal or HMRC. During the proceedings, it became apparent that several of the referenced cases did not exist and appeared to have been generated using AI tools. The judge expressed concern that material had been submitted without proper verification, noting that the tribunal process depends on parties accurately presenting legal authorities and supporting evidence. While AI tools are increasingly used in professional and advisory work, the judgment underlined that responsibility for checking accuracy remains with the individual relying on the material.

If you would like any assistance with any of these points.

Please Call Us on 0161 872 8671

19/05/2026

MONTHLY FOCUS: TAX PLANNING FOR MARRIED COUPLES (NON BUSINESS INCOME)
Read the full article:- https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/2026/monthly-focus-tax-planning-for-married-couples-non-business-income/
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In this further look at tax-saving strategies for married couples, we turn our attention to non-business income, and how tax allowances and reliefs can be used to reduce the overall tax bill.
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Page Content:
UNEARNED INCOME
ALLOWANCES AND TAX RELIEFS
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Get more help with your Personal Tax

UNEARNED INCOME
What types of unearned income can be split and how should it be done?

Any type of income can be split as long as the asset that produces the income goes with it.

We’ve already explained in Part 1 that a gift of income from one spouse/civil partner to the other is caught by anti-avoidance rules, known as the “settlements legislation”, unless the asset which produces the income is also transferred.

ALLOWANCES AND TAX RELIEFS
How might tax allowances and reliefs be used for tax planning?

If either, or both, spouses/civil partners are entitled to tax reliefs or allowances in addition to their personal tax allowances, they will reduce the respective amounts on which each of them pays tax.

If the couple can split their income, it might be possible to change who gets the tax reliefs to achieve the same result, or at least some tax saving.

If you would like any assistance with any of these points.

Please Call Us on 0161 872 8671

Address

11 Warwick Road Old Trafford
Manchester
M160QQ

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

https://dunhamsaccountants.co.uk/

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