The budget is just one piece of the jigsaw and there are still a lot of other important things coming into force this new tax year. Here is a brief summary of them but please call one of the team if you need any further detail.

Pensions

· The tax free amount of Pension contributions have been substantially decreased from £255,000 to £50,000.

· Amounts invested above this will now incur a tax charge (depending on what tax bracket you fit into).

· The lifetime allowance is also being reduced from £1.8million to £1.5million.

VAT

· Following the implementation of online filing (except for those already registered pre 1 April 2010 with a turnover of less than £100,000) it looks like it will now become compulsory for all, with effect from 1 April 2012.

Payroll

· P14’s and P35’s (being yearend payroll summary reports) are all to be sent electronically this year (few exceptions).

· Smaller employers using HMRC’s CD ROM software will now need to use the online version as the CD ROM is being discontinued.

· Year end and in year forms (P32s) are all now to be submitted online.

· The first late payments penalties for PAYE come into force (see below). Now even nil P35 returns incur a £100 penalty irrespective of the amount of tax outstanding.

If you require any further help or advice on the above, please click here to contact us.

Please note that the above content is only provided as a guide to the current changes and budget announcement. Some of the above items have certain qualifying criteria and it is to that extent that the information should not be relied upon without further advice.