Payments on Account: Why HMRC Wants Tax Before You Have Earned It
Payments on account generate more confused phone calls to accountants than any other part of Self Assessment, and July is when the phones ring. The second instalment for 2025/26 is due by midnight on 31 July 2026, six months after the January payment most people remember and budget for. The July one feels different: it […]
Limited Company Pension Contributions: The Director’s Guide for 2026
Limited company pension contributions are the most generous tax break left for owner-managed businesses, and the one directors use least well. Paid directly by your company, a pension contribution gets corporation tax relief at up to 26.5%, attracts no employer National Insurance, no employee National Insurance and no income tax on the way in, and […]
Corporation Tax Rates 2026: Marginal Relief and What Your Company Actually Pays
UK corporation tax rates look simple on paper: 19% for small companies, 25% for big ones. The reality is messier and more expensive. Between £50,000 and £250,000 of profit sits the marginal relief band, where each additional pound of profit is effectively taxed at 26.5%, higher than the headline main rate. Most owner-managed companies live […]
Employer National Insurance 2026: New Rates and What UK Businesses Actually Pay
The employer national insurance bill is one of the biggest hidden costs of running a UK business in 2026. Since the rate rose to 15% and the threshold dropped to £5,000 in April 2025, employer national insurance has stopped being a background number and started being a genuine planning constraint. Small businesses are paying materially […]
Closing a Limited Company UK 2026: Strike Off, MVL or Liquidation?
Most company directors think closing a limited company UK is the easy bit at the end of running a business. File a form, pay £33, wait two months, done. In reality, the way you wind up the company decides how much tax you pay on the cash left inside it, and getting it wrong in […]
Directors Loan Account UK 2026: How to Avoid the s455 Tax Trap
If you take money out of your limited company that is not salary, dividend or reimbursed expense, you have created a directors loan account UK entry. It is one of the most common things owner-managed companies do. It is also one of the most expensive things to get wrong in 2026. The rules just got […]
VAT Registration Threshold UK 2025/26: Everything Businesses Need to Know
The VAT registration threshold is the point at which your business must register for VAT with HMRC. For 2025/26 that figure is £90,000 in taxable turnover over any rolling 12-month period. Cross it and you have 30 days to register. Miss that deadline and you face backdated VAT liability, penalties, and interest. At Sepera Accounting, […]
Free Landlord MTD Readiness Checklist
FREE PDF CHECKLIST Free Landlord MTD Readiness Checklist A short self-assessment to see if you’re ready for Making Tax Digital — and what to do if you’re not. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD ITSA) is changing how landlords keep records and report income to HMRC. This free checklist helps you find out if […]
Self Assessment Tax Return: The Complete UK Guide for 2025/26
Every year, millions of UK residents need to complete a self assessment tax return. Whether you are self-employed, a landlord, a company director, or someone with untaxed income, your self assessment tax return must be filed accurately and on time. Miss a deadline or make a mistake and HMRC will fine you, even if you […]
Buying a Car Through a Limited Company UK 2026: Is It Still Worth It?
Buying a car through a limited company is one of the most-asked questions UK directors put to their accountant. It can be a brilliant way to save tax. It can also be an expensive mistake. And the answer in 2026 is not quite what it was last year, because the rules have just changed. The […]
