News
March 2009
TAX Update
PAYE & Employers
Employers’ Annual Return – P35
It will be a requirement to file your Return online in 2010. HMRCs’ tax-free incentive payment for employers to file on-line is £75 if you file your 2008-09 return by 19 May 2009.
Medical Check- ups
HMRC have agreed that medical check-ups can be exempt from tax and national insurance contributions even if they are not available on similar terms to all employees.
State Benefits and Statutory Pay
Statutory Pay
The weekly rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for days of sickness absence on or after 6 April 2009 will be £79.15. The weekly rate of other statutory payments ie Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay, will be £123.06.
19 April 2009
- Total tax & NIC must be paid to the collector for the 2007/2008 tax year. Interest will be charged on late payment
19 May 2009
- Employers’ return due (P35) for the year ended 5 April 2009
Benefits in Kind - Beneficial Loans
HMRC has announced that the official rate of interest used to calculate the value of the benefit- in -kind on an employment related loan has changes to 4.75% with effect from 1 March 2009. Previously it was 6.25%.
Married Couples' Allowance
This allowance is available where at least one spouse or partner is born before 6 April 1935. For 2008/2009 the relief is given at the rate of 10% on £6, 625 if either aged 75 years or over and £6,535 in all other cases (a restriction applies if income exceeds £21, 600)
With effect from the 6 April 2009, the higher figure will be £6, 965, but the lower figure has disappeared because anyone born before 6 April 1935 would be at least 75 year in the tax year 2009/2010.
Personal Tax
Protecting your Pension Rights – Deadline 5 April 2009
If you wish to apply for Primary Protection and/or Enhanced Protection of your Pension rights you must apply to HMRC before 5 April 2009.
Primary Protection
This applies if your benefits at 5 April 2006 are valued at more than £1.5m. Primary protection will give you an individual Lifetime Allowance (LTA), which reflects the value of your benefits.
Example
Simon has benefits valued at £3m at 5 April 2006 primary protection gives him an individual LTA of 200% (£3m divided by £1.5m)
Enhanced Protection
This is a quite a complex area and the pros and cons vary considerably from person to person. Key things to bear in mind are as follows:-
- Enhanced Protection is not compatible with making any contributions at all to a money purchase pension on or after 6 April 2006;
- Enhanced Protection does not prevent you from carrying on in the PCSPS(NI). However, if you want to retain your Enhanced Protection on drawing (crystallizing) benefits you may need to give up some of your pension to prevent relevant benefit accrual at that time. You would have to decide in advance - whether or not this meant that staying in the scheme was good value for money.
- Alternatively, you would give up Enhanced Protection on retirement and pay LTA tax on your benefits insofar as they exceeded your remaining LTA at that point Enhanced Protection also gives protection against the Annual Allowance charge.
