If you are self-employed, a company director or have property income or capital gains and have not already filed your 2013/2014 tax return then you will already be liable for a £100 late filing penalty, even if there is no tax due.

If tax returns are not filed within three months of the 31^st January 2015 deadline, so no later than 30^th April 2015, then there is a further penalty of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900. Howell & Co can offer advice and guidance on your personal tax liability, ensuring you are registered with HMRC and helping you get any late returns filed as promptly as possible.

Leicestershire ACCA are holding their annual charity quiz on Thursday 6th November and are looking for quiz teams to help us raise money for Rainbows children’s hospice in Loughborough.

This is being held at Zucchero World Buffet, Charles Street, Leicester and will involve an evening of fun, food and facts!

Your £54 team entry (including VAT) is for four people and includes a donation to this year’s charity and your meal at Zucchero World Buffet.

Click here for more information and to book your place

Introduced as a law in 2012 to encourage more people to consider a pension or saving for retirement, auto-enrolment is a phased scheme that affects every organisation with a PAYE plan. As of late 2016, all employers will have to auto-enrol eligible employees into a qualifying pension scheme. It is the employer’s responsibility to have a pension scheme in place and this can be administered through the Government-backed NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) scheme, or one of a number of other reputable programmes, some of which specifically cater for small and medium sized businesses.

Whilst 2016 seems a long way off, and your actual start date varies depending on a number of factors, it would be wise to start thinking now about how you will manage this new legal requirement. Will your in-house payroll team process the applications or will you outsource? What and how will you communicate to employees? Who will deal with the ongoing administration?

Howell & Co urges you to take the time now to prepare and ensure you avoid the substantial penalties for non-compliance.