Climate chance: Evidence shows that our planet is warming up. The Paris Agreement is the UK’s legal target to achieve net zero by 2050 – businesses all over Hertfordshire and Essex and throughout the UK are collectively on this journey together – the first step: create a plan. Embedding that plan and utilising your business’ net zero efficiencies and educating your people will drive a positive change.
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The HB Accountants History part 4: The life of a post-war articled clerk
As we celebrate our 100th birthday, we thought it would be fun to look back at the history of HB Accountants. You can read part 1 – our birth – here or read about how the 2nd World War impacted us here or how we got our name here. In this blog, part 4, we revisit what life was like for an articled clerk, learning his trade as an accountant.
Continue readingCelebrating Colin Wilkinson’s 60th Birthday: Do you know your accountant?
This week, HB Accountants’ are celebrating Colin’s 60th Birthday! If ever Team HB needed an excuse to celebrate, this is it, thank you Colin!
Continue readingBoris Johnson outlines new 1.25% health and social care tax to pay for reforms – National Insurance increase NICs
A new health and social care tax will be introduced across the UK to pay for reforms to the care sector and NHS funding in England. It will raise £36bn for front line services over the next three years.
Continue reading12 things your Charity needs to know about Gift Aid
Registered charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) can claim an additional 25p for every £1 donated by an individual. This whopping 25% boost on donations is known as Gift Aid and it can soon add up. As accountants working with a number of charities, we are well aware of the difference this extra money can make to that fantastic work you are all doing.
Continue readingHMRC told our client to wait 6 months for tax refund to be processed – not on our watch!
James* is 22 years old and is self-employed. He has successfully claimed the SEISS, as his business was negatively financially impacted during the Covid19 pandemic – he wasn’t able to work during most of the Covid19 lockdowns.
Continue readingWhat does MTD Making Tax Digital mean for sole traders from 2023 – MTD for Income Tax
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment becomes law on 6 April 2023 and aims to make tax accounting easier for businesses and individuals such as sole traders by legislating the digitalisation of tax data and submission.
Continue reading7 Reasons why producing Management Accounts will help grow your business
Do you want to be in greater control of your business? Make decisions based on facts such as when you typically increase sales and, therefore, need to employ more sales people or to change tack and boost your marketing spend in a particular sector, for instance. The answer is a set of accounts that is not required by law and does not have to be filed with HMRC – known as management accounts, these are numbers that give you a true picture of your business and will put you in greater control of your business than ever before.
Continue readingHow going green is good for your business
Turning your business green to become more environmentally-friendly is more than just a positive environmental choice. Customers and employers are deliberately seeking out businesses with ‘greener’ working practices as sustainable living and working grows in importance. We’ve seen a huge increase in the number of social media posts about it, for example, and our recent article about the tax and environmental benefits from driving an electric car was one of the most popular blogs ever. It’s clear that as well as being good for our planet, there are economic benefits of going green.
Continue readingReduce your employers’ NIC liability and your employees taxable benefits by switching to fully electric vehicles
If an employee is provided with a car by their employer, tax is payable on the cash equivalent of the of car provided. The cash equivalent of the company car provided is calculated by taking the list price of the car, multiplied by a certain percentage, this percentage depends on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the car.
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