Here’s a few things we thought might be relevant to our client base.
Off-payroll working
The public sector off-payroll rules will be extended to the private sector from April 2020. This means that if you are engaging someone on a freelance basis you will be obliged to assess their employment status. If you deem them to be employed, then you will need to payroll what you pay them, even if they are working through a limited company. This regime has been in place in the public sector since April 2017.
Apprenticeship training costs
Whereas before an employer had to pay 10% of the apprentice training cost, this has now been reduced to 5%. This applies to small employers who do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy. This is a welcome change and significantly reduces the cost of taking on an apprentice.
Charity small trading exemption
Charities are allowed to carry out non-charitable trading without being subject to corporation tax, up to a certain level. From April 2019 the thresholds have been increased, so that all charities can have non-charitable trading of £8,000; charities with total income of up to £320,000 can have non-charitable trading income of up to 25% of their total income; and charities with total income of over £320,000 can have non-charitable trading income of £80,000.
Gift Aid Small Donation scheme
Charities claiming gift aid do not need to have gift aid claims in place in respect of small donations – this allows gift aid to be claimed when shaking a tin in the street for example. The maximum donation that can be subject to GASD has been increased from £20 to £30. This is welcome, as it is now the same as the limit for contactless payments. However there are various other restrictions on GASD and the take-up remains low.
Business rates for retail premises
Our co-operative retail clients will be pleased that there will be a 30% reduction in the business rates for premises with an annual value of less than £51k, from April 2019.