The Government has announced a shake-up in how Benefits in Kind (BIK) are paid. The move will allow tax agents to run payroll BIK on behalf of clients for the first time.

The Government says it will help to reduce administrative burdens on employers and enable agents to support their clients more effectively.

If an employer provides a taxable benefit, such as the use of a company car, the taxable benefit has to be valued. For most types of BIK, the law sets out how to work out the value, with tax paid on the taxable value of the benefit.

Report expenses

It is currently the duty of employers to report taxable expenses or benefits for employees to HM Revenue & Customers (HMRC) directly through payroll or at the end of the tax year. They are also required to report how much Class 1A National Insurance (NI) is owed on all the expenses and benefits provided and pay any outstanding NI.

The Chancellor announced in the March Budget a move to simplify the tax system for taxpayers and their agents, and will deliver IT systems to enable tax agents to payroll BIKs on behalf of employers.

Agents will be able to report expenses related to company cars, health insurance, travel and entertainment, and childcare.

Digital reporting

HMRC has already confirmed that it will require the minority of digitally capable employers who still submit forms reporting employee benefits and expenses on paper, to use online forms from April 2023.

It will then move to issuing P6 and P9 coding notices solely using digital methods.

Expenses and benefits for each employee do not have to be reported at the end of the tax year if all expenses and benefits are payrolled.

There are penalties for non-compliance if employers carelessly or deliberately give inaccurate information in a tax return that results in not paying enough tax or over-claiming tax reliefs.

Need advice on Benefits in Kind payments and other taxation matters? Contact us.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has updated the rateable values of all businesses, and other non-domestic, properties in England and Wales from 1 April 2023.

The Government levies the charge on offices, shops, pubs, and warehouses. In fact, most non-domestic properties will attract business rates. They may also be charged where only part of a building is used for non-domestic purposes.

A Government business rates support package has been put in place worth around £13.6 billion over the next five years.

It includes measures to freeze the business rates multipliers at 49.9p and 51.2p in 2023-24, which, it is claimed, will see bills six per cent lower than they would have been without the freeze.

Changes to business rates in 2023:

• The multiplier represents the number of pence in each pound of the rateable value that will be payable in business rates before any relief or discounts are applied.
• A transitional relief scheme will cap bill increases caused by changes in rateable values at the 2023 revaluation.
• For retail, hospitality, and leisure business rates relief will be increased from 50 per cent to 75 per cent (up to £110,000 per business) in 2023-24.
• The increases are capped at £600 per year from April 2023 if businesses lose their eligibility for small business rates relief as a result of the revaluation.

The updated values reflect the property market as of 1 April 2021 and, while some sectors benefit, others have been hit hard by the Business Rates Revaluation 2023.

How are business rates calculated?

They will be based on the property’s ‘rateable value’, the estimated value on the open market.

The rateable value for your property is not what you pay in business rates or rent. Your council uses the rateable value to calculate your business rates bill.

What is the Small Business Rates Relief?

This applies if the property has a rateable value of less than £15,000, and generally if the business only uses one property:

• Full relief is available on properties with a rateable value of £12,000 or less
• For those between £12,001 and £15,000, relief goes down gradually from 100 per cent to zero per cent

If you’re a small business but you don’t qualify for small business rate relief, your bill will still be worked out using the lower small business multiplier (for properties with a rateable value below £15,000).

Changes to the amount of Corporation Tax (CT) businesses pay came into effect on 1 April.

From that date, the main rate of CT rose from 19 per cent to 25 per cent for the most profitable companies.

Companies whose year-end is 31 March will pay 19 per cent CT for the whole of the 2022/23 period, and then 25 per cent for the whole of the 2023/24 period.

Hybrid rate

However, for companies whose accounting period straddles 1 April, it will be necessary to apportion profits between those that arose up to 31 March and those that arose after 1 April.

Generally, the effective amount of Corporation Tax due will, however, rely on the taxable profits your company makes as follows:

• Small companies with profits of up to £50,000 will pay CT at 19 per cent
• Companies with profits of £250,000 and over will pay CT at 25 per cent
• Companies with profits over £50,000 but under £250,000 will pay on a sliding scale of between 19 per cent and 25 per cent.

Where companies have taxable profits between these two thresholds it is more complex as the rate of tax they pay will depend on their level of profit.

This is due to Marginal Rate Relief (MRR). This is a tapered relief, which increases in line with a company’s profits.

The basic method used by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to calculate this relief is quite complex, so seek advice from your professional adviser.

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