Category: Personal Support Services

Paying Employer National Insurance Contributions for Apprentices Under 25

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Paying employer National Insurance contributions for apprentices under 25

From 6 April 2016, if you employ an apprentice you may not need to pay employer Class 1 NI contributions on their earnings below £827 a week (£43,000 a year).

They must be under 25 years old and following an approved UK government statutory apprenticeship framework (frameworks can differ depending on the UK country).

You can check that your apprentice is in a statutory apprenticeship using the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/removal-of-apprenticeship-framew…

Evidence needed

If your apprentice meets the conditions above, you’ll need to have evidence to be able to apply the relief. This can be either:

  • written agreement between you, the apprentice and a training provider
  • in England and Wales, evidence that the apprenticeship receives government funding

Written agreement must show:

  • the government apprentice framework or standard
  • a start and (expected) end date for their apprenticeship scheme

If the training provider hasn’t signed the written agreement, they’ll need to give you a document that shows:

  • they’re an approved (recognised) training provider
  • the training your apprentice is undertaking, and any training already done

Alternatively, in England and Wales, you can provide evidence of government funding of the apprenticeship. This could be the declaration to receive apprenticeship incentive payments, or the employer payment schedule to the provider.

You could be the employer and a trainer if you’ve been approved by the Skills Funding Agency in England, or hold a contract for the delivery of Apprenticeships in Wales.

NICs category letters to use.

Category letter: Apprentice conditions =H

Apprentice standard rate contributions – if your apprentice is under 25 and in an approved apprenticeship framework G or If your apprentice is a foreign-going mariner and is under 25

If your employee is under 21 and meets the same conditions as an apprentice under 25, use the H or G categories.

When the statutory apprenticeship stops or your apprentice turns 25 you’ll need to use a new catergory letter.

The apprentice rate only applies to payments which are liable for Class 1 secondary NICs.

What you can tell your employees

Employees will continue to pay the standard rate of Class 1 NICs through their salary. They won’t see any reduction in their payments. It’s employers who’ll benefit from this change.

The employee’s entitlement to contributory social security benefits, including the State Pension won’t be affected and neither will their entitlement to statutory payments. Existing employees may notice a change to the National Insurance category letter on their payslip.

If you have any queries about the above please get in touch on 01254583515 and we will be happy to help or fill in my quick contact form below and we will get back to you within the day.

Download This Cutting Edge App to Help You Manage Your Finances and Income On the Go

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Egan Roberts Accountants App

With this free cutting edge App you can now manage your finances and income on the go, all from the device you always carry with you and use every day – your mobile phone.

Click here to download : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.myfirmsapp.one.accountants and use access code ER2018

The App is packed with expertly designed features

Such as the ability to store virtual receipts and log your mileage in real-time, all whilst having access to quality approved information regarding rates, taxes and maximising profits.

The App is not here to replace your accountant, but this App gives you their financial management service in the palm of your hand, at any time, day or night.

Packed full of powerful features, ready to be used as soon as you download such as:

Income Manager – Log your income, ready to export and send directly to us

Receipt Manager – Take photos of your receipts on the go, quick and easy

Mileage / Logbook Tracker – Make sure your mileage claims are always accurate with background GPS tracking

Calculators – a suite of useful calculators to provide you financial and tax information in an instant

Tax & Finance – Get access to tax tables, important financial dates and business news, updated regularly

Say goodbye to paper receipts, our App allows you to photograph your originals, quickly categorise them and export them in a spreadsheet format, ready to send to your accountant whenever suits you. Never again will you have to worry about losing a receipt or taking up valuable office space with piles of paper.

No more lost income records!

You can now use the App to quickly and simply capture invoices and payments. With the click of a few buttons you can log, categorise, add notes, add an image and then save. Captured income can then be exported and emailed to your accountant ready to incorporate into your accounts.

Is capturing your business mileage a chore?

The App can take this pain away too. Mileage / Logbook Tracker will record your mileage at the press of a button. Simply ‘tap’ on the start button and the App starts tracking your journey, even when it is minimised. Once you have finished your journey hit stop, give it a name and you’re done. If you forget to track the journey at the time, don’t worry – you can manually add the journey later so all your journey details are in one place. You also have the ability to export mileage at any time with the click of a button. This will make capturing your business mileage a doddle.

We have also packed the App with super useful calculators to help you make informed decisions such as APR, loan payments, mortgage payments, savings and currency conversions.

We make sure that you also have access to essential tax and financial information. From key tax dates and tax tables to the latest financial news and budget information, you can access it all from within the App, with the reassurance that it is always up to date.

Whether you’re employed, self-employed or running a private company

This App will help you to manage your money effectively and save you time and administrative costs. Simply download to your mobile or tablet and take the first step to easier accounts.

Free HMRC App

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HMRC launches an app to assist with personal taxation

The newly issued HMRC app enables individuals to find information about their tax, National Insurance, tax credits and benefits on the move. Suitable for both Apple and Android devices, users will need their Government Gateway credentials to access the information.

For accountants like us who act as tax agents for individuals and for whom we will never have full access to the client’s personal tax account this provides easy way to enable clients to show us, ‘on the move’, otherwise unavailable information without having to access it via a computer/internet.

Full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-official-hmrc-app/the-free-hmrc-app

You can use the HMRC app to estimate your tax, manage your tax credits, access your Help to Save account, or work out your take-home pay.

Used by more than 550,000 people per month, the app puts you at the heart of your tax matters and financial life.

What the HMRC app enables you to do

You can use it to:

    • view your tax code and an estimate of the tax you need to pay
    • see your income and benefits
    • check your National Insurance number
    • view your tax credits payments schedule
  • renew your tax credits
  • access your Help to Save account
  • use our tax calculator to work out your take home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance deductions
  • track forms and letters you’ve sent to us
  • get 6-digit access codes to make your HMRC accounts more secure

 

Getting started

Download the free HMRC app now from:

 

How to sign in

The first time you sign in, you’ll need to enter your Government Gateway ID and password. If you haven’t got these, go to the Government Gateway website and register as an individual.

Whenever you use the app again, depending on what your handset supports, you can sign in using:

  • a 6-digit PIN
  • fingerprint authentication
  • facial recognition

 

Setting up a personal tax account

You can use the app to set up a personal tax account by giving us your name, National Insurance number and date of birth.

If we need to verify your identity, we’ll ask for details such as your passport number and information about your salary.

Sign in to your Help to Save account

The Help to Save service went into a trial phase known as ‘private beta’ in January 2018. It is being rolled out gradually so that it can be tested and developed.

If you’ve already opened a Help to Save account as part of the trial, you can use the app to:

  • check your Help to Save account balance and bonus
  • keep track of how much money you’ve paid in each month
  • see how much money you can still pay in before the end of each calendar month
  • set regular reminders to add to your savings
  • view all your payments and withdrawals

If you want to do other tasks, such as pay money in, it is easy to sign in to your Help to Save account using the app.

Safety and security

HMRC takes cyber security very seriously – see how we are keeping you safe online.

Help and support

If you have a problem with your account that you can’t solve using HMRC’s online resources, contact us for help.

What is marriage allowance and can we claim it?

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We all know that tying the knot can affect your day-to-day money management, but exactly what effect does marriage or a civil partnership have on your financial status? Here we’re looking at marriage allowance.

There was a time that making the leap from single life to married bliss came with a great range of tax incentives. Married couples used to be viewed by the Government as one single taxable entity and so you would be taxed less after getting married.

The picture is different today: even when joined to another in matrimony, we are now mostly taxed individually, meaning the tax benefits are few and far between.

How will your tax status be affected?

You should inform HM Revenue & Customs of your new marital status to make sure you are taxed correctly. You can do this by following the GOV.UK link here.

Marriage Allowance

Marriage allowance allows you to transfer £1,190 of your personal allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner if they earn more than you do saving tax of up to £238 in the year.

It is estimated that one in four couples who are eligible for marriage allowance fail to claim it.

The lower earner must have income of £11,850 or less to be able to make the claim.

Claims can be backdated for any tax year since 5th April 2015 providing you were eligible in those tax years.

Your application can be completed online and once an application is complete it is processed immediately. The new form is expected to take you only ten minutes to complete.

Life Insurance for Dads

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We’ve just celebrated Father’s Day and yet we’re concerned the majority of fathers in the UK are not protecting themselves financially, according to research by Scottish Widows. It has been reported 58% of fathers have no life insurance.

What does this mean?

Fathers are putting their dependents at risk in the event they lose their main source of income.

This is an increase of 5 percentage points since the same survey was conducted in 2017, meaning more households could face financial instability.

Even fewer men (18%) with dependent children had taken out a critical illness policy, but 20% said their household wouldn’t survive financially if they lost their main source of income.

When asked how they would manage in this scenario, 45% said they would have to eat into their savings.

For 17%, these savings would not last any longer than 3 months, while 12% don’t have any savings at all.

“Many fathers don’t consider having insurance as a necessity. The value of protection is to provide long-term peace of mind about having financial security in place for your dependents. Recent changes to bereavement benefits mean it’s more important than ever for fathers to review their financial protection needs and seek advice to make sure their household is covered.” Gary Burchett, protection director at Scottish Widows

The aim of life insurance

Cover is to provide money for people who financially depend on you.

If there is no one who will be financially distressed by your death, life insurance is probably not essential, though there are other reasons why it would be useful.

One simple question:

“if you were in a fatal traffic accident tomorrow, would anyone else be left in the financial mire?”

If the answer is “yes”, then we should discuss your insurance needs, in order to ensure that you and your dependents needs are properly catered for.

We are committed to providing a first class service tailored to the individual needs of each client.  To discuss this further, please contact us.