Fears that the State Pension age (SPa) could rise to 70 have been allayed – for now – as the Government announced it plans to stick to the current timetable for increases. A further review into the age at which a state pension can be claimed will be carried out in the next Parliament, but…
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HMRC set to revise late payment interest rates as base rate increases
The Monetary Policy Committee decided last month to increase the Bank of England (BoE) base rate to 4.25% from 4% and HMRC has followed with an announcement to increase the interest charged on late payment and repayment. When will this happen? As HMRC interest rates are linked to the BoE base rate, these changes will…
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Spring Finance Bill published
The government published the Spring Finance Bill 2023 on 23 March 2023. The Bill is officially known as the Finance (No 2) Bill, because it is the second Finance Bill of the 2022–23 Parliamentary session. The Bill contains the legislation for many of the tax measures announced in the recent Spring Budget as well as…
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More time to top-up NICs
In some circumstances it can be beneficial to make voluntary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to increase your entitlement to benefits, including the State or New State Pension. Usually, HMRC allow you to pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 tax years. The deadline is 5 April each year. However, there is currently an opportunity for…
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