The deadline for submitting a Self Assessment Tax Return on paper for the year to 5 April 2014 was 31 October 2014. If you met this deadline but have now realised you made a mistake within the return – don’t worry you can correct this.

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A capital gain arises when certain capital (or ‘chargeable’) assets are sold at a profit. The gain is the sale proceeds (net of selling costs) less the purchase price (including acquisition costs). Capital gains tax (CGT) is charged at the rate of 10% on gains (including any held over gains coming into charge) where net total taxable gains and income is below the income tax basic rate band threshold.

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Many businesses are now completely reliant on the data stored on their Network Servers, PCs, laptops, mobile devices and cloud service providers or internet service providers. Some of this data is likely to contain either personal information and/or confidential company information. Here we look at some of the issues to consider when reviewing the security of your computer systems with respect to access controls.

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Working from home may be an attractive option for some employees. Here we consider the tax implications of homeworking arrangements. The tax rules differ considerably depending on whether you are self-employed, as a sole trader or partner, or whether you are an employee, even if that is as an employee of your own company. One way or the other though, if you want to maximise the tax position, it is essential to keep good records.

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Small companies, which qualify as ‘micro-entities’, have a choice of accounting standards: to use the same accounting standard – FRS 102 – as larger UK companies but using a reduced disclosure regime (section 1A) within the standard, or to apply an alternative standard – FRS 105. FRS 102 introduced some significant accounting challenges including more widespread use of ‘fair value’ accounting so there may be a temptation to use FRS 105 as fair value accounting must not be applied.

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In recent years, the stock market has had its ups and downs. Add to this the serious loss of public confidence in pension funds as a means of saving for the future and it is not surprising that investors have looked elsewhere. The UK property market, whilst cyclical, has proved over the long-term to be a very successful investment. This has resulted in a massive expansion in the buy to let sector.

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Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) are important regulations to understand as they enforce minimum legal requirements on employers. Each operates in a different way. This factsheet sets out the main principles of the regulations and what an employer needs to consider.

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For start-ups and small businesses, cash flow can be a real issue. Whilst larger corporations may be able to cope with delayed payments and long invoice periods, this can affect business functions in smaller organisations. With some small businesses being forced to close due to consistent late payments and cash flow issues, the government has proposed new measures to help ensure that small businesses get paid on time.

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HMRC have introduced a number of VAT schemes over the years designed to reduce the administrative burden on small businesses. One such scheme is the annual accounting scheme. The annual accounting scheme helps small businesses by allowing them to submit only one VAT return annually rather than the normal four. During the year they pay instalments based on an estimated liability for the year with a balancing payment due with the return. The scheme is intended to help with budgeting and cash flow and reduce paperwork.

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The current regime for taxing employer provided cars (commonly referred to as company cars) is intended: to encourage manufacturers to produce cars which are more environmentally friendly and to give employee drivers and their employers a tax incentive to choose more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles.

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