From April 2016 there is a new personal savings allowance which means that basic rate taxpayers can receive of £1,000 of savings income free of any tax. This is reduced to £500 for higher rate taxpayers and nothing for additional rate taxpayers.

Some people wrongly believe that savings interest is now outside tax but this is incorrect. It needs to be included in total income as this could affect whether the taxpayer is liable to basic, higher or additional tax rates.

Banks will no longer have to deduct tax at source so some clients used to getting a refund of tax deducted at source may find that they now have tax to pay instead.

If you have any queries, please contact us.

The Chancellor announced in the budget that from April 2018 the right to shared parental leave is to be extended to grandparents. This may be too late for my wife and I to help with our new grandson, Evan who joined us on 1 April, but his parents do have the option of splitting parental leave between them.

There has been recent publicity about how few fathers are taking up their option to take more than their two weeks paternity leave but this is bound to increase. Employers need to be aware of employees rights and what to do if they receive a request for shared parental leave. It is important to have an agreed policy so that all employees are treated equally and fairly.

The number of buy to let landlords has increased in recent years and inevitably this has attracted the attention of HMRC. George Osborne has announced a number of changes that will increase the tax paid by landlords.

From April 2016 there will be a 3% surcharge on stamp duty land tax payable by anyone buying second or subsequent properties. This increase in costs may deter some prospective buy to let landlords.

There will also be a restriction on the ability to offset mortgage interest. By 2020 landlords will only be able to offset mortgage interest at the basic rate of income tax. This is being introduced gradually from April 2017 so landlords need to consider how this affects their tax position.

Higher rate tax payers will pay more tax as the relief for finance costs will be restricted to the 20% rate. Even basic rate taxpayers may be affected as the interest charge will be excluded when calculating the taxable income, so anyone near the basic rate tax limit may find that they will exceed the limit and have some of their income taxed at the higher rate.

There are also going to be changes to the reporting and payment dates of capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale of residential properties. CGT is currently reported on the annual tax return but as part of the change from personal to digital tax accounts from April 2019 the capital gain will have to be declared and paid within 30 days of the property sale.

Landlords should therefore take advice about their future plans.