Agent Update August 2020

HMRC has released the latest bi-monthly issue of the ‘Agent Update’ publication which includes summaries of recent changes and agent update that have been announced. The document, that is aimed at taxation and accountancy practitioners, includes links to more detailed information on each of the topics covered.

The topics covered in the latest edition include the following:

• COVID-19. A reminder that the GOV.UK portal includes details of all the various financial support and other measures available to employers, businesses and employees.
• VAT payment deferrals period. The option to defer your VAT payments ended on 30 June 2020. The Coronavirus VAT payment holiday gave businesses the chance to defer the payment of any VAT liabilities between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020. VAT payments now need to be made as normal.
• Confirmation of Payee process. Some UK banks have introduced Confirmation of Payee (COP) as a new way of giving individuals or businesses greater assurance that they are sending payments to the intended recipient. When you request a repayment from HMRC you must ensure that the details you provide match the details of the recipients account.
• Top Slicing Relief (TSR) on life insurance policy gains. New legislation has been introduced that changes how reduced personal allowances interact with the calculation for top slicing relief. It will provide additional relief for taxpayers whose entitlement to the personal allowance has reduced because a gain is included as part of their income. The new legislation to TSR cases will apply from tax year 2018-2019.
• Disguised Remuneration Loan Charge. Taxpayers that have outstanding disguised remuneration loans that are subject to the loan charge need to file their 2018-19 Self-Assessment tax return by 30 September 2020, including a report of any loan balances subject to the loan charge, and put in place any arrangements they need to pay the charge due on that date. Taxpayers can now elect to spread the loan balance over 3 tax years.
• Links to new Revenue & Customs Briefs.