Category Archives: Tax

National Living Wage will rise to £9.50 an hour

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Paul Evans

The 59p increase for workers over 23 – up 6.6% from £8.91 reflects the inflationary pressure outlined here a few weeks ago. The new rates will rise from 1 April 2022 as follows: National Living Wage for over-23s: From £8.91 … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Inflation, Low pay, Minimum wage rates, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Pay & inflation, Tax, Trades Unions, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Self employed workers using their own home as a workplace

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Paul Evans

This is an issue where I’d normally point members to Tax for Freelancers (the Bectu tax guide) but I do find that TaxAid often explains things very well – here’s their account of this issue.

Posted in Freelance working, Tax | Tagged | Leave a comment

VAT gradually returning to normal rates

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Paul Evans

Since July 2020, there has been a reduced rate of VAT (5%, and not the normal 20%) charged on transactions in the leisure and hospitality sectors (which includes theatres and live events – a list of who it applies to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, EU & Brexit, Inflation, Theatre and Live Events data, VAT | Tagged , | Leave a comment

IPSE on the Dividend Tax and NIC increases

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Paul Evans

Some light weekend reading for you: IPSE have a post up outlining how the NIC increases to pay for social care will impact freelancers, along with a view that the changes to Dividend Tax means that “Government is making it … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, Freelancer rights, IR35, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Personal Service Companies, Tax | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Helping members who have been fined by HMRC for late filing (etc)

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Paul Evans

The Low Income Tax Reform Group has a very useful page on their site that outlines how to deal with this. Some members working in a disrupted workplace may have missed self-assessment-related correspondence due to Covid disruptions. It’s a very … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

More analysis of Social Care Levy announcement

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Paul Evans

There’s a useful Twitter thread here from The Resolution Foundation with some overnight analysis of yesterday’s announcements, along with a report. There’s also a panel discussion here if you’re really interested… NEW OVERNIGHT ANALYSIS: yesterday the PM pushed Conservatives away … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour Party, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Politics, Tax, The Conservative Party | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The proposed new Health and Social Care Levy

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Paul Evans

I won’t go into the question of whether or not it’s right to fund this in this way here – this post is mainly an outline of what the proposed levy means for workers in general and freelance workers in … Continue reading →

Posted in National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Tax | Tagged , | 2 Comments

At what earnings-level are you better off trading as a Limited Company?

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Paul Evans

I sent a link to the long-read post on The Contingent Production Army to Kenne Sykes of Blue Skies Partnership (always a helpful source of advice for myself and my predecessor Tony Lennon). The article included this observation: “Examples the … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, Personal Service Companies, Tax | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Theatre Tax Relief paid out £74 million to 3,660 productions last year

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Paul Evans

According to The Stage [£]… “This represents a £3 million increase on the figure paid out in 2019/20, which was £71 million, and comes amid calls for the tax credit to be increased to help the sector recover after the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation & VFX, Culture policy, EU & Brexit, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, Skills & capacity, SVoD, Tax, Tax incentives, Theatre and Live Events data | Tagged | Leave a comment

Labour shortages increase potential industrial muscle for workers

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Paul Evans

Today’s FT is full of news about how labour shortages are hitting the economy in numerous ways as a result of multiple market failures [£] which includes the pandemic, the pingdemic, market failure but obviously, we can’t add brexit to … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus, Economics, Employment, EU & Brexit, Gig economy workers, Inflation, IR35, Migration & working abroad, Pay & inflation, Productivity | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Freelance Deal: 1. Employment Rights, Tax and Pensions

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Paul Evans

This is the first draft of the policy document that has been agreed by the Tax, Employment Rights and Pensions Working Group of London Production Division (LPD) on the 7th May 2020. It is a contribution to Bectu’s proposed ‘New … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Long hours, Management, Pensions, Personal Service Companies, Skills & capacity, Tax, Welfare and benefits, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Making Tax Digital – quarterly tax filings from April 2023?

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Paul Evans

Government plans for Making Tax Digital – a programme that will require about 4.3m self-employed people and small businesses to keep digital records and report their income to HM Revenue & Customs every quarter from April 2023 – are facing … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, Personal Service Companies, Tax | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Construction Industry Scheme (tax for the self-employed working in construction)

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Paul Evans

Plainly the Construction Industry Scheme doesn’t apply to too many Bectu members (I’d need to get advice on how it could apply to people in set construction by my early guess is that it wouldn’t), but we need to know … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, Freelancer rights, IR35, Tax | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Part and parcel’ of an employer’s business

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Paul Evans

Something to park here for anyone looking at IR35 posts: Bectu has been making the case that many of our members are self-employed because they work outside the “supervision direction and/or control” of their employers/engagers. However, members have replied pointing … Continue reading →

Posted in IR35 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Umbrella Companies and employment rights

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Paul Evans

There have been a number of posts on this site already about Umbrella Companies, but I’ve had an enquiry about employment rights for people engaged through such a company. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group has published a useful briefing … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Tax | Tagged | Leave a comment

Applying for a Lorimer Letter (LP10)

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Paul Evans

This is another one of those posts that are intended only as a general outline of the subjects covered. It shouldn’t be regarded as comprehensive nor sufficient for making decisions, and it should not be used in place of professional … Continue reading →

Posted in ESM4118, Freelance working, IR35 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Expenses and tax relating to travelling to work

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Paul Evans

Further to the detailed post about expenses for the self-employed, we often get asked about what the law on tax and earnings is for your travel to and from a place of work. If you are employed by a company, … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Tax | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How expenses work for the employed and self-employed

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Paul Evans

There’s a good rule of thumb that applies both to Employees and the Self Employed: You are expected to pay for a meal out of your own pocket if you are working from home, or if you are at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Equipment and kit, Freelance working, Tax | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

National Insurance Contributions to rise?

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Paul Evans

This story is a few weeks old now, but today I’ve been reminded of just how much the balance between NIC and taxes changes the dynamics in those big decisions that people make when deciding to be a freelancer or … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Personal Service Companies, Tax | Leave a comment

Additions to ESM4118

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Paul Evans

Industry lawyers Wiggin have been in touch to say that there have been a number of recent additions to HMRC’s “Appendix 1”, i.e. HMRC’s approved list of behind-the-camera roles which can normally be treated as self-employed – otherwise known as ESM4118. … Continue reading →

Posted in ESM4118, IR35, Tax | Tagged | Leave a comment

Supervision Direction and Control (another IR35 post)

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Paul Evans

There are a few posts on this site about the CEST test, for determining who is included within IR35 (i.e. who is an employee and who isn’t), and it would be wrong to do anything but to acknowledge that HMRC … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, IR35 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lord John Hendy QC – The Status of Workers Bill.

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Paul Evans

Lord Hendy’s bill The Status of Workers Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on the 26th May 2021. It is… “A Bill to make provision for the creation of a single status for workers by amending the meaning … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment intermediaries, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Personal Service Companies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Calculating Tax and National Insurance

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Paul Evans

When you are self-employed, it is good to know how much tax (and other contributions) you are paying, how to make sure that your tax is fair when you are going to be expected to pay it (so that you … Continue reading →

Posted in National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Tax | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How tax forms are completed

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Paul Evans

I’ve had a query from a member about how Self Employed Sole Traders file their tax returns and I thought the answer should be somewhere that everyone can find it. Broadly…. unless you are always PAYE you will need to … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, Personal Service Companies, Tax | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can someone trading through a PSC claim employment rights from an engager?

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Paul Evans

A very interesting post on AccountingWeb. Among other cases referred to in the article, in 1994, a disgruntled individual, who was providing their services through a limited company or PSC, brought a claim for unfair dismissal. In Catamaran Cruises Ltd … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, IR35, Personal Service Companies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Schedule D?

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Paul Evans

Employers accountants routinely refer to people who, for tax purposes, are “Self Employed Sole Traders” as “Schedule D”. This refers to the old “Schedule D” of the schedular system of taxation that was largely re-written by the Tax Law Rewrite … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, Tax | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

‘Work from home’ tax relief

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Paul Evans

Employees who have worked from home during the pandemic but are now returning to offices can still claim tax relief on household expenses for this tax year. HMRC is actually pushing information out about this, specifically targeting people who worked … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus, Tax, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Statutory Sick Pay and freelance working

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Paul Evans

For the purposes of this post, I’m taking the term ‘freelance’ in its broadest form. Many people who are on either short fixed-term contracts, or non-permanent PAYE contracts tend to regard themselves as ‘freelancers’. People who are ‘self-employed’ have few … Continue reading →

Posted in Disability equality, Employment Law and Rights, Equality, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Illness and disability, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Welfare and benefits | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Understanding National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for the self-employed

Posted on June 29, 2021 by Paul Evans

Employees generally pay higher NICs than the self-employed unless they are very low paid. This is because Class 2 NICs are currently charged at a flat rate of £3.05 per week (2021-2 figures) If you are self-employed, you pay two … Continue reading →

Posted in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) | Tagged , | Leave a comment

ESM4130 – Particular Occupations: Entertainment Industry: TV and Radio Presenters (IR35)

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Paul Evans

HMRC have published new tax guidance for TV and Radio presenters – ESM4130. This concept will be familiar to many Bectu members who are covered (or not, as the case may be) by ESM4118 covering ‘behind the camera’ crew.

Posted in BBC, ESM4118, IR35 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

IR35 – update

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Paul Evans

As a general update about where we are with IR35, it’s playing out as expected. Some employers, as predicted, are proving to be risk-averse and particularly those who do ‘blanket determinations’ – where employers are making flat judgments based on … Continue reading →

Posted in ESM4118, Freelancer rights, IR35 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Employment Status Checker (CEST)

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Paul Evans

If you have concerns about whether your work falls ‘within IR35’ and that your engager is likely to insist that you are paid through the payroll, you will find this status checker tool useful. It’s broadly very useful and helpful … Continue reading →

Posted in IR35, Tax | Tagged , | 1 Comment