‘I’m a struggling single mum and HMRC is chasing me for £5k I don’t owe’
Has a company treated you unfairly? Our Consumer Champion is available to help. For how to contact her click here. Dear Katie, I’m a single mother of two…
Attacks on Rishi Sunak’s wife are based on ignorance – she is fully entitled to non-dom tax breaks
When you enter political life you become a target for criticism. In particular, no one becomes chancellor expecting to be popular. Rishi Sunak has acknowledged that. After…
How to avoid inheritance tax and save your family £140k
Bereaved families face paying up to £140,000 in avoidable inheritance tax due to bewilderment over the death duty’s “most confusing” rule. Since 2018 homeowners have benefited from…
Rishi Sunak is raising taxes without you realising – but he will come unstuck
There is something insidious about taxing by stealth. Gordon Brown was frequently accused of raising taxes by freezing personal allowances, in preference to increasing the headline tax…
Double tax charges if you buy goods from Europe
Online shoppers are being overcharged, often paying double tax on goods they buy from Europe, as a growing number of people have been caught out by complex…
Taxman has no plan to recover £39bn of Covid debt, say MPs
HMRC has been accused of lacking a “clear plan” to claw back £39bn in unpaid taxes after the debt mountain grew considerably during the pandemic. MPs on…
HMRC ‘unfairly’ raises interest rates for two million taxpayers
Sarah Coles of the stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown said the move was unfair and meant HMRC would make more money from those struggling to pay their bills while…
Five ways Rishi Sunak could save Britain from high tax hell
It seems extraordinary that just one year ago the Budget forecast inflation of 1.8pc for 2022. Fast forward to today, with Britain in the midst of a…
Five ways to cut your tax bill before April 6
However, it is here whether we like it or not and we need to plan accordingly. If you are due a bonus and have scope to be…
10 hidden taxes you’re paying without realising, from energy bills to chocolate bars
In a post-Covid world, air passenger duty will raise almost £4bn a year in tax. This is equivalent to about £150 a year to our “average” household….
HMRC demands money from taxpayers who don’t owe anything
Workers have been forced to wait for months for tax rebates normally completed within weeks because of severe delays at HM Revenue & Customs. Despite taxpayers facing…
Taxman spends hundreds of thousands replacing lost laptops
Tax office staff have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayer-funded technology, with hundreds of laptops, phones and computer tablets going missing due to working from…
New taxes rake in £50bn for HMRC ahead of National Insurance rise
The bank levy is the biggest contributor among the previously introduced taxes, according to Thomson Reuters, snaffling almost £25bn from lenders since it was introduced in 2011…
Freelancers hit by ‘unfair’ taxman interest charges
The tax man has been accused of “stacking the deck in its favour” after it raised interest charges on owed taxes but not on refunds. Incomes for…
Monaco-based Matalan founder loses fight with taxman over ‘£135m’ tax bill
Matalan founder John Hargreaves has lost a long-running dispute with HMRC over his bid to avoid a tax bill of up to £135m. The retail entrepreneur has…
Adrian Chiles spared £500,000 tax bill after winning HMRC court battle
TV presenter Adrian Chiles has been spared hundreds of thousands of pounds in disputed taxes, after winning a seven-year battle with HM Revenue and Customs. HMRC claimed…
Three quick ways to get the most from your Isa
Since Isas were introduced in 1999 they have proved a great success, with around 20 million adults currently holding an account. Their combined holdings are worth about…
National Insurance rises are only the start – even more tax meddling is on the horizon
3) Be aware of penalties There are separate penalties for late submission of a VAT return and for late payment. Both operate on a points based system….
Freelancers charged higher tax rates after taking Covid grants
Freelancers who claimed Covid-support grants have been dragged into paying 40pc higher-rate tax because of a quirk in how they file accounts. Self-employed workers face paying double…
Seven common tax return mistakes and how to avoid them
5) Remember parental benefit is not child’s play I sometimes wonder who dreamt up the child benefit rules and in particular the “High Income Child Benefit…
HMRC systems quirk forces self-employed workers to overpay £4,000 in tax
Millions of freelancers who received support grants during the pandemic face paying thousands of pounds more in income tax this year because HM Revenue & Customs’ automatic…
Parents face child benefit crackdown in ‘stealth tax’ on the middle class
More than a million parents face being caught in a child benefit crackdown with the tax authority expected to step up its punishment of higher earners. Families…
Young savers throw away £34m in Isa bonuses
Young savers have returned £34m in Isa bonuses which were supposed to help fund the cost of buying their first home. Would-be first-time buyers handed back record…
Food importers face more pain from Brexit charges
Importers are set to face hundreds of pounds of extra charges when the next wave of post-Brexit checks affecting food products are introduced this summer, port bosses…
HMRC extends tax return deadline by 30 days as half of workers yet to file
HM Revenue & Customs will waive fines for late tax returns this year, with almost half of self-assessment taxpayers yet to hand in their paperwork ahead of…