Adam Fernandes - The Cloud Accountants

Adam Fernandes - The Cloud Accountants If you simply want compliance, then we may not be the firm for you.

We pride ourselves in being integrated in your business, whether that's a couple of meetings a year or something more frequent.

🗣️ GOV.UK CHAT: A NEW AI TOOL FOR TAX ANSWERS – PART TWOCaution is needed when using GOV.UK Chat – while it is useful, i...
16/07/2026

🗣️ GOV.UK CHAT: A NEW AI TOOL FOR TAX ANSWERS – PART TWO

Caution is needed when using GOV.UK Chat – while it is useful, it has limits.

It is important to understand that:

✅ It only uses published GOV.UK guidance
✅ It does not access HMRC manuals or deeper technical sources
✅ It is mainly suited to basic queries

This means it may not be reliable for more complex tax situations.

As with any AI tool, accuracy is not guaranteed. Responses can be incomplete or occasionally incorrect. These “hallucinations” can present wrong information as fact.

Treat GOV.UK Chat as a starting point, not a final answer.

To reduce risk:

✅ Use it to locate guidance, not replace advice
✅ Read the full response, including caveats
✅ Make sure your question includes all relevant details

GOV.UK Chat may be helpful for quick answers but it is not a substitute for professional advice.

🔗 If you're unsure, always check with us before acting: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

🗣️ GOV.UK CHAT: A NEW AI TOOL FOR TAX ANSWERS – PART ONEThe government has introduced GOV.UK Chat, an Artificial Intelli...
14/07/2026

🗣️ GOV.UK CHAT: A NEW AI TOOL FOR TAX ANSWERS – PART ONE

The government has introduced GOV.UK Chat, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot designed to help users find information more quickly.

It allows people to ask questions in plain language and receive instant answers based on official GOV.UK guidance.

The chatbot can answer a range of tax-related questions, including:

✅ Understanding Income Tax
✅ Calculating Stamp Duty
✅ Planning for retirement and the State Pension

Since its soft launch in March 2026, thousands of users have already used the tool, with tax queries proving especially popular.

⏰ MTD FOR INCOME TAX: 7 AUGUST DEADLINE IS NEAR ⏰Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is now live. Most self-employed...
09/07/2026

⏰ MTD FOR INCOME TAX: 7 AUGUST DEADLINE IS NEAR ⏰

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is now live. Most self-employed individuals and landlords who had turnover above £50,000 in 2024/25 were mandated into the regime from 6 April 2026.

Under MTD, you must keep digital records and submit updates to HMRC every quarter using compatible software. This is a significant change from the old system, where most reporting took place after the end of the tax year.

The first quarterly update for 2026/27 is due by 7 August 2026.

This deadline is approaching quickly, and it is important that records are complete and up to date well before then.

If we maintain your bookkeeping or prepare your submissions, you will need to send us your records in good time. Leaving this until the last minute creates unnecessary risk and may lead to delays or errors.

🔗 If you're unsure what information we need, or whether MTD applies to you, please get in touch as soon as possible: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

🛑 MANDATORY PAYROLLING OF BENEFITS IN KIND: PHASED INTRODUCTION CONFIRMED – PART TWOUnder the new system, employers will...
07/07/2026

🛑 MANDATORY PAYROLLING OF BENEFITS IN KIND: PHASED INTRODUCTION CONFIRMED – PART TWO

Under the new system, employers will report benefits through payroll each pay period using RTI, rather than reporting them after the year end.

While this change will reduce the need for year-end forms, it increases the importance of getting payroll right throughout the year. Errors will be picked up more quickly, and corrections may need to be made in real-time.

There is still time to prepare.

HMRC is continuing to work with software providers and will release further technical guidance during 2026, with final details expected ahead of the Autumn Budget.

Employers should start planning now.

Review the benefits you currently provide and identify which will fall into the first phase.

This is a significant shift in how benefits are taxed and reported. Preparing early will reduce disruption and make the transition much smoother.

🔗 Please get in touch if you would like help reviewing your benefits or preparing your payroll systems for these changes: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

⏰ MANDATORY PAYROLLING OF BENEFITS IN KIND: PHASED INTRODUCTION CONFIRMED – PART ONEHMRC has confirmed that mandatory pa...
02/07/2026

⏰ MANDATORY PAYROLLING OF BENEFITS IN KIND: PHASED INTRODUCTION CONFIRMED – PART ONE

HMRC has confirmed that mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind (BiKs) will now be introduced in two phases, starting from 6 April 2027.

This change will move the reporting of most benefits away from annual P11Ds and into real-time payroll, resulting in Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance being reported through the payroll each pay period (e.g. weekly or monthly).

From April 2027, the first phase will apply to:

✅ Company cars and car fuel
✅ Vans and van fuel
✅ Employer-provided medical benefits.

From April 2028, most other benefits will be brought into the regime, although beneficial loans and employer-provided living accommodation will remain voluntary.

🔗 Please get in touch if you would like help reviewing your benefits or preparing your payroll systems for these changes: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

🏗️ At The Cloud Accountants we're experts in construction, which can be a complicated industry to operate in.We have exp...
23/06/2026

🏗️ At The Cloud Accountants we're experts in construction, which can be a complicated industry to operate in.

We have experience in dealing with numerous contractors across the UK, providing taxation advice specifically regarding the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

It's important to note that CIS rules still apply even if your business is based outside the UK, but you carry out construction work as a contractor or subcontractor in the UK.

We can help you with:

✅ HMRC registration

✅ Onetime payments within CIS and avoid penalties

✅ Keep you accounts in order

✅ Updating you with any changes to CIS

🔗 Talk to our team to find out how we can help you with CIS and let us take the hassle away from you: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

⚽ EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL MATCH OFFICIALSIn Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) v HMRC, the...
18/06/2026

⚽ EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL MATCH OFFICIALS

In Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) v HMRC, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) concluded that football referees engaged by PGMOL were not employees for tax purposes.

The decision followed a long procedural history, including appeals up to the Supreme Court, and focused on the correct application of employment status principles.

PGMOL provides referees for professional football matches. HMRC argued that match officials should be treated as employees, meaning that PAYE and National Insurance contributions should have been applied to match fees.

The case had already been considered by multiple courts. The Supreme Court confirmed that when a referee accepted a match appointment, there was sufficient mutuality of obligation and a framework of control.

However, it sent the case back to the FTT to determine the overall employment status using a comprehensive test.

The FTT considered the overall relationship between PGMOL and the referees. Key findings included:

✅ No ongoing obligation: PGMOL was not required to offer matches, and referees were not required to accept them

✅ High level of flexibility: Referees could decline appointments or withdraw without sanction

✅ Short, discrete engagements: Each match appointment was a separate, limited arrangement

✅ Limited integration: Refereeing was generally undertaken alongside other full-time work

The FTT concluded that, viewed as a whole, the relationship lacked the characteristics of employment. The referees were self-employed, and therefore PGMOL was not required to operate PAYE or account for employer National Insurance on the payments made to them.

This case shows the numerous factors that must be considered when determining whether a worker is employed or self-employed.

🔗 If you have any questions regarding your employment status, or of the status of individuals you engage, please get in touch – we’d be happy to help: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

👓📰 R&D CLAIMS AT THE FIRST TIER TRIBUNALA recent First Tier Tribunal case (Beer Express Ltd v HMRC) demonstrates the pit...
16/06/2026

👓📰 R&D CLAIMS AT THE FIRST TIER TRIBUNAL

A recent First Tier Tribunal case (Beer Express Ltd v HMRC) demonstrates the pitfalls involved in over-reliance on R&D advisers. The FTT’s task was to answer a straightforward question: had Beer Express proved that its projects met the BEIS Guidelines for R&D?

Under those guidelines, qualifying R&D must aim to achieve an advance in science or technology by resolving genuine technological uncertainty - not merely improving a company’s own processes.

The Tribunal found there was no clear explanation of the technological baseline, no defined advance, and no identified uncertainties for any of the projects.

Instead, the supporting reports were described as vague and unconvincing, offering little more than high-level descriptions.

Equally damaging was the absence of input from a “competent professional” - someone with the technical expertise to explain why the work qualified. Beer Express’s director was found to be honest and credible, but lacked the detailed technical knowledge required.

When HMRC challenged the claims, the adviser who had prepared them had disappeared, leaving Beer Express to defend a case it could not fully explain.

The FTT dismissed the appeal in full, concluding that Beer Express had failed to discharge the burden of proof required to access R&D relief.

In recent years, HMRC have vastly increased their scrutiny of R&D claims, so it's important to use advisers who are competent in this area – like us 😁

🔗 To find out more about our first-class accounting services, give us a call and one of the team will be very happy to chat things through with you: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: AN UPDATE 📢 🎯 NEW R&D TARGETED ADVANCE ASSURANCE SCHEMEHMRC have introduced a targeted advance a...
11/06/2026

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: AN UPDATE 📢

🎯 NEW R&D TARGETED ADVANCE ASSURANCE SCHEME

HMRC have introduced a targeted advance assurance service for Research and Development (R&D) tax relief claims. The service, which is a pilot, aims to provide Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with clarity on complex or high-risk areas before a claim is made.

The new targeted scheme is open to any SME wishing to obtain HMRC’s assurance in any of the following areas:

✅ Whether the project meets the definition of R&D for tax purposes

✅ Whether overseas expenditure qualifies for relief

✅ Whether the company can claim R&D relief where work is contracted by one company to another

✅ Whether the company qualifies for exemption from the PAYE and National Insurance contributions cap

The scheme will run alongside the existing full claim advance assurance service, which is only available to first-time claimants.

DIVIDENDS ON THE 2025/26 SELF-ASSESSMENT TAX RETURNFor taxpayers required to submit a Self-Assessment Tax Return, new bo...
09/06/2026

DIVIDENDS ON THE 2025/26 SELF-ASSESSMENT TAX RETURN

For taxpayers required to submit a Self-Assessment Tax Return, new boxes on the 2025/26 employment page form will require the following information for each directorship held by an individual:

✅ If the company was a close company

✅ The company’s name and registration number

✅ Dividends the taxpayer received from the close company during the tax year, and

✅ The highest percentage shareholding that the taxpayer held during the tax year.

A penalty of £60 may apply for failing to provide the required information.

It's therefore important that you notify your accountant of each directorship that you held during the year.

In light of HMRC’s recent scrutiny of close company dividends, it'll be wise to make sure that dividend procedures are tight, lawful, and compliant.

🔗 If this is the kind of thing you'd like our assistance with, and want to discuss the different first-class accounting services we have for our clients, please feel free to get in touch and speak with the team: https://www.adamfernandes.co.uk/contact

We'd love to hear from you!

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