How the tax system may recover your winter fuel payments from now on What is changing The Winter Fuel Payment will continue to be paid in full each winter and recipients will still receive the payment directly into their bank accounts. In fact, many readers will already have received their 2025 payments. There is no […]
16
Dec
Dec
What the 2027 IHT change means From 6 April 2027, the rules for passing on pensions after death will change in a way that affects many families. Under the government’s reforms, most unused pension pots and pension scheme death benefits will be brought into the scope of Inheritance Tax, IHT. This represents a major restructuring […]
14
Dec
Dec
The proposed council tax surcharge on high value homes, due from April 2028, has triggered a lively and sometimes sharp response across the press. While the headlines have focused on the “mansion tax” label, the underlying commentary has been more nuanced, splitting broadly into three camps: those who see it as a modest step towards […]
11
Dec
Dec
Mullen Stoker’s Managing Director, Neil Mullen recently met with Emma Lewell, MP for South Shields, to discuss the increasing administrative challenges that taxpayers and advisers are facing when dealing with HMRC. As a firm that supports clients across both accountancy and IT solutions, we are seeing a growing number of issues related to delays, communication […]
11
Dec
Dec
From 1 December 2025 the UK deposit protection rules will shift in a way that will matter for many savers, especially those holding larger balances or receiving significant one-off payments. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is increasing the maximum protection for eligible deposits held with UK banks, building societies and credit unions. The long-standing limit […]
10
Dec
Dec
Reviewing salary and dividend planning for 2026 to 2027 Many director shareholders use a combination of salary and dividends to take income from their companies. This model still works well for a large number of small private companies. However, the Budget announcements for 2025 have narrowed the gap between the tax cost of dividends and […]
04
Dec
Dec
Artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, have become extremely popular. They can create emails, write marketing content, and debug code quickly. Many people think these tools could replace traditional editing tools. A spell checker, once a key part of word processors, might seem unnecessary now that AI can rewrite a […]
03
Dec
Dec
The chancellor Rachel Reeves announced as part of the Autumn Budget measures that the Income Tax thresholds will be maintained at their current levels for a further three years until April 2031. This will see the personal tax allowance frozen at £12,570 through to April 2031 across the UK. In addition, the higher rate threshold […]
03
Dec
Dec
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves announced increases to the Minimum Wage rates on the eve of the Budget. The Chancellor confirmed that the government has accepted in full the proposals of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) for increasing minimum wage rates from 1 April 2026. The National Living Wage (NLW) rate will increase […]