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Though the government’s ‘Plan B’ didn’t require business closures when it came into effect in December, the limits on socialising and other COVID-19 restrictions still led to dramatic losses for the hospitality and leisure sectors over the festive season. To help businesses recover from the effects of the Omicron variant, a new support package was announced on 21st December 2021.

Since 7th January 2022, the government has been distributing millions of pounds of funding to councils across England. Thousands of businesses can apply for grants of up to £6,000 per premises, plus other discretionary funding from their local authorities. Applications will close on 18th March, so read on to find out more about the COVID-19 grants available and how businesses can apply.

As anyone who files an annual tax return will know, the deadline for 2020-2021 self-assessment tax returns is approaching. However, not everyone is aware that they also have to declare COVID-19 grant payments on their tax return. This is the first year that these taxable grants must be included.

While over 6 million taxpayers have already submitted their tax returns, anyone who needs extra time to file and pay can do so without worrying about late fees. HMRC is helpfully waiving late payment penalties for a month – so you have a few extra weeks to organise your tax returns.

Student loans are a big concern for students and their families, but there are many misconceptions about this type of debt. When it comes to borrowing money, the normal approach is to self-fund where possible, and if you really must take out a loan, to pay it off in full as soon as you can.

However, when it comes to student loan repayments, the normal debt rules don’t apply. The loan is the better choice rather than self-funding tuition fees, and it’s not worth trying to pay off a student loan early. Let’s look into the way student loans operate and how you should manage them.

With estimations of more than two million holders of cryptoassets in the UK, many of these people might wrongly believe that their crypto transactions are tax-free. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case, as most crypto sales and exchanges are actually eligible for some level of Capital Gains Tax (CGT).
For this reason, HMRC has been sending out advisory letters to taxpayers who they believe hold cryptoassets. If you own any type of crypto token, or are interested in holding them in the future, then read on to learn more about the tax implications of buying and selling cryptoassets in the UK.

After proposed changes to Universal Credit (UC) in the Autumn Budget 2021, the improvements came into effect last month. From December 2021, workers claiming UC will be able to keep more of their earnings, and some higher rate taxpayers could be eligible for the benefit for the first time.

As part of the UK government’s agenda to increase investments in deprived communities, the first 11 designated tax sites from a list of eight planned freeports are up and running. This includes sites alongside the Thames, Tees, and Humber rivers and estuaries, plus several in East Suffolk.

Like enterprise zones, the purpose of freeports is to increase opportunities for employment and economic development in previously underdeveloped areas, which will also boost the overall UK economy. Let’s take a look at the advantages of freeport designated tax sites and where they’ll be.