It is important that anyone responsible for the accounts and tax filing regime for private limited companies is aware of their obligations.

After the end of its financial year, a private limited company must prepare full annual accounts and a company tax return. The deadline for filing the first set of accounts with Companies House is 21 months after the date the company was registered with Companies House. Annual accounts must be submitted 9 months after the company’s financial year ends.

There is a fixed date for the payment of Corporation Tax which is 9 months and 1 day after the end of the relevant accounting period. Note that a company is usually required to pay the tax due in advance of the filing deadline for a company tax return.

In most cases a company’s tax return must be submitted within 12 months from the end of their accounting period. Online Corporation Tax filing is compulsory for company tax returns. Company tax returns have to be filed using the iXBRL data standard using either HMRC’s own software or third-party commercial software.

The accounting period for Corporation Tax is normally the same twelve months as the company financial year covered by the annual accounts. Note that there are penalties for late filing with Companies House and HMRC.

The weekly child benefit rates for the only or eldest child in a family is currently £25.60 and the rate for all other children is £16.95.

Taxpayers entitled to child benefit should be aware that HMRC usually stops paying child benefit on 31 August following a child’s 16th Birthday. Under qualifying circumstances, the child benefit payment can continue until a child reaches their 20th birthday if they stay in approved education or training. A qualifying young person is someone aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 in full-time, non-advanced education or on unpaid approved training courses.

HMRC has just sent more than 1.4 million reconfirmation letters to parents whose child may be affected. The letters include a QR code which, when scanned, directs them to GOV.UK to update their claim quickly and easily online. This can also be done on the HMRC app.

Parents have until 31 August 2024 to tell HMRC that their 16-year-old is continuing their education or training, and their intention to continue receiving Child Benefit. No child benefit is payable after a young person reaches the age of 20 years.

HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services recently said:

‘Child Benefit is an important financial support for many families, so make sure you don’t miss out on any payments if your teenager intends to continue approved education or training. You can quickly and easily extend your claim online or via the HMRC app, just search ‘Child Benefit when your child turns 16’ on GOV.UK.’

Child benefit is usually payable for children who come to the UK. However, there are some rules which must be met before making a claim. HMRC must be notified immediately if a child receiving child benefit moves permanently abroad.

Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) applies to the sale of a business, shares in a trading company or an individual’s interest in a trading partnership. When the relief is available, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) of 10% is payable in place of the standard rate. This can mean a substantial CGT saving for someone looking to exit their business.

There are a number of conditions that must be met in order to qualify for the relief. BADR used to be known as Entrepreneurs’ Relief before 6 April 2020 but the name change did not affect its operation.

You can currently claim a total of £1 million in BADR over your lifetime. The £1m lifetime limit means you can qualify for the relief more than once. The lifetime limit may be higher if you sold assets before 11 March 2020.

Claims for BADR are made either through your self-assessment tax return or by filling in Section A of the Business Asset Disposal Relief helpsheet.

The deadline for claiming relief is as follows:

Although there have been no specific announcements affecting this relief there are likely to be significant tax changes when the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, delivers her first Budget later this year. If you are thinking about selling your business we can help you consider your options.

According to the competition and Markets Authority, certain UK banks are not meeting their obligations to keep customers informed about their products and services.

HSBC, Lloyds, TSB and AIB all failed to make available correct data on their products or services and have breached the Order in the following ways:

• HSBC failed to keep information about its branches accurate and up to date – 167 closed branches were listed as still being open and two open branches were not listed.
• HSBC failed to keep some of its annual rates for business loans and overdrafts accurate and up to date on its website.
• HSBC told some customers the incorrect maximum amount they would be charged for going into unarranged overdraft on their Personal Current Accounts.
• TSB failed to disclose the maximum amount customers would be charged for going into unarranged overdraft on their Personal Current Accounts.
• AIB failed to make available the correct annual rates for some loans and some overdrafts through Open Banking and on its own website.
• Lloyds failed to make available addresses of 363 ATMs through Open Banking.

Compliance with the Order is closely monitored by the CMA and banks are obliged to report all incidences of non-compliance within 14 days.

Lloyds, TSB and AIB have confirmed they are making changes to their operations to prevent further breaches – ranging from enhancing their internal procedures, to improving oversight by senior managers, updating internal checklists and retraining staff.

In the case of HSBC – which the CMA considers has breached the Order more extensively in this instance – added measures are needed to prevent future breaches. To start the process, the CMA has issued HSBC with detailed directions which include an action plan to ensure full compliance in future.