Contract termination fees can be a bitter pill to swallow when you just want out of an expensive agreement. What's worse is that some suppliers will charge VAT on top of the cancellation fee while others will not.

In uncertain times people instinctively look for alternative ways to invest and some may choose cryptoassets such as Bitcoin and non-fungible tokens. If you decide to go digital with your investments, think about how the profit or loss you make on these assets will be taxed.

Do you remember those annoying 'claim back your PPI' adverts? Thousands of people received repayments, which included interest calculated at 8% on the PPI premiums refunded.

The Covid-19 support grants (CJRS, SEISS and Eat Out to Help Out) are taxable and should be declared on your business' tax return. For corporation tax (CT) you must report amounts received in the accounting period covered by the return, not grants claimed for the period and paid in a later period.

When an individual dies everything they own is valued to calculate the inheritance tax (IHT) due on their estate. These assets include the deceased's main home and any let properties they may own.

As we are now at the 'living with Covid-19' stage of the pandemic the Government has decided to close the Covid-19-related statutory sick pay (SSP) rebate scheme on 17 March 2022.

The hospitality and tourist sectors have been supported through the Covid-19 pandemic by being able to pay a reduced amount of VAT to HMRC in respect of most sales. The reduced VAT rate was 5% from 15 July 2020 to 30 September 2021 and 12.5% from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

For VAT periods starting on and after 1 April 2022 all VAT records must be recorded digitally and returns must be submitted under the Making Tax Digital (MTD) regime. If you are not already submitting your VAT returns using MTD-enabled software (or asking us to do so) you need to take action.

Personal tax rates have been held steady for a few years, so it made no difference whether you extracted funds from your company in one tax year or the next.

HMRC are now actively pursuing incorrect and fraudulent grant claims made under the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) for wages of furloughed employees.

The self-employed income support scheme (SEISS) grants were welcomed when they were distributed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Each recipient had to meet three conditions:

Your business probably pays several different taxes to HMRC: corporation tax or income tax; VAT; and PAYE all at different intervals. If the tax payment is not correctly accounted for by HMRC and set against the right tax account for your business an erroneous tax debt may arise.

The fuel crisis last September has encouraged many people to consider buying an electric car.

Currently if you pay your VAT bill late you may receive a penalty of up to 15% of the late paid amount, even for a one-day delay. The Government agrees that this is harsh, so it is reforming the late-payment penalties for VAT periods starting on or after 1 April 2022.

Making a charitable donation in place of physical Christmas gifts is a worthy tradition in some families. This means that fewer unwanted items need to be quietly disposed of and as an added benefit the giver and the charity can both claim tax relief in the form of Gift Aid.