HMRC have published their Employer Bulletin for October 2023. We have summarised the key content for you, with links to our detailed guidance on the topics covered.
SME Tax News
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We have a diverse collection of cases and guides this week. Some of the cases warrant a close read.
In HMRC v Gerald and Sarah Lee [2023] UKUT 242, the Upper Tribunal (UT) found that Private Residence Relief applied to the entire gain on a main residence built on the site of a previously demolished property. The dwelling house existed for a quarter of the time that the land had been owned, but the period of ownership test related to the house only.
Following the 2015 changes to public sector pensions, from 1 October 2023, certain younger members of public service pension schemes can use the McCloud remedy to benefit from the same annual and lifetime allowance protections as older retiring scheme members.
HMRC have updated their Employment Income Manual to reflect a change in policy. This impacts employers who reimburse employees for the cost of electricity used to charge company cars and vans at home. A Benefit In Kind no longer arises on reimbursement.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published, 'Full expensing and the corporation tax base'. The report discusses the new temporary full-expensing policy and whether it should be made a permanent part of the corporate tax base, concluding that if ends up being temporary it will have little or no long-run effect on the UK’s capital stock.
HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool has moved to a new platform. It improves the user experience of the tool, giving more flexibility and a better understanding of the outcome.
HMRC have issued the latest round of One-to-Many letters. It is aimed at tax agents submitting multiple P11D and P14 claims for clients where there may be a subsequent discrepancy on their 2021-22 Self Assessment Tax Return in relation to the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC).
In Melvyn and Carol Langley v HMRC [2023] TC08899, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that an SDLT enquiry opening letter, sent by HMRC two days before the enquiry window closed, was deemed to be delivered to the taxpayers in time. The enquiry and subsequent closure notice were valid.
In Derrida Holdings Limited v HMRC [2023] TC08905, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that a company that was charged ATED late filing penalties did not in fact need to submit an ATED return. As a return was not required, the penalties charged were cancelled.