September 2023

Advisory fuel rates for company cars

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 September 2023.

The guidance states: 'you can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply'. The rates only apply to employees using a company car.

The advisory fuel rates for journeys undertaken on or after 1 September 2023 are:

HMRC guidance states that the rates only apply when you either

reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars or

require employees to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel.

You must not use these rates in any other circumstances.

The Advisory Electricity Rate for fully electric cars is 10p per mile.

Electricity is not a fuel for car fuel benefit purposes.

If you would like to discuss your company car policy, please contact us.

HMRC's one-to-many letters

HMRC sends one-to-many letters to taxpayers. These are a part of HMRC campaigns to identify groups of taxpayers who may have not declared all of their income or gains to HMRC or may have prepared their tax return incorrectly and are also referred to as “nudge letters”.

A standard letter is sent to selected taxpayers to ask that they check their records and make any necessary corrections. Letters are sent to companies and individuals and the recent ones have targeted Research and Development Tax Relief due to the increase in incorrect claims being made and undeclared income from short-term property letting based on information received from sites such as Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com and Holiday Lettings. HMRC is receiving increasing amounts of information from various sources and therefore these letters are becoming more focused.

Even if we are registered as your agent, we will not receive a copy of a one-to-many letter sent to you so if you receive one, please contact us.

Another million savers to be hit with tax on interest

The frozen Savings Allowance combined with rising interest rates will push over one million taxpayers into paying tax on their savings this tax year, according to research by investment platform AJ Bell.

In the 2023/24 tax year it is estimated that over 2.7 million individuals will pay tax on interest.

This year's predicted total includes nearly 1.4 million basic rate taxpayers, a figure which has quadrupled in just four years.

Individuals pay tax on interest they earn on savings that exceeds the personal Savings Allowance, which currently stands at £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers. Additional rate taxpayers get no exemption and pay tax on all interest they receive.

Government launches Business Climate Hub

The government has launched the UK Business Climate Hub to offer firms advice and support on reducing their energy bills and cutting their carbon emissions.

The Hub includes a free carbon calculator and a suite of new tools to help businesses measure, track and report on their emissions.

It also offers detailed advice on topics, including sourcing products from green suppliers and reducing emissions from freight and logistics, as well as the most cost-effective ways of installing solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

The Hub is aimed at SMEs, which the government says are often keen to tackle climate change but find it difficult to know how to reduce their carbon footprint.