HMRC is urging millions of employees such as nurses, hairdressers and construction workers to go online and directly check if they can claim extra cash back for work-related expenses, amid concerns they could be missing out on their full tax relief entitlement by using agencies instead

HMRC’s latest list of major tax defaulters is topped by a telecommunications company owing £2.7m on £4.3m unpaid tax, followed closely by an online trader owing £2.6m, with a raft of restaurants and takeaways, as well as an accountancy service and financial instruments provider, also featuring

Starbucks has come under further fire over its tax policies after analysis showed the US chain’s European business paid just $5.9m (£4.47m) of tax in the UK on profits of $213m (£161m) last year

With soaring property prices, helping your children on to the property ladder might seem like a good idea but can be fraught with tax and other financial consequences. Liz Cuthbertson, partner at Mercer & Hole, examines the options

With Making Tax Digital on the horizon, rural businesses risk being left behind and labelled as ‘non-compliant’ unless they act quickly, warns Mark Pryce

In Prudential Assurance Company Ltd v R & C Commrs [2018] BTC 31, the taxpayer sought (among other claims) restitution of an amount calculated as compound, and not simple, interest but the Supreme Court, in its judgment delivered in July 2018, rejected this claim. Mark Cawthron LLB CTA examines the judgment

Nick Lodge, director general of HMRC’s strategy group, has taken up a new position with the Bank of England, after a 28-year career with the tax authority

Over 40% of businesses about to be affected by Making Tax Digital for VAT are not yet aware of it, despite the April 2019 deadline for its introduction, and 20% have made no preparations, according to research by ICAEW

When a taxpayer owns more than one property it can make sense to apply for principal private residence (PPR) with HMRC if the ownership falls within the two-year time limit. Angela Robson, tax consultant at Croner Taxwise considers the timing issues

Rising house prices and increases in other assets have seen HMRC launch more investigations to ensure individuals are paying the correct amount of inheritance tax (IHT), with the number of tax probes up by 5% this year, according to analysis from UHY Hacker Young

HMRC has published updated guidance for property management companies and others clarifying the VAT exemption for domestic service charges and what to do if it has been wrongly applied

Despite recent statistics showing revenue raised by inheritance tax on the increase, Nigel May CTA, senior tax partner at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, argues that the tax is too complicated from the residence nil rate band and taper relief to complexity around the seven-year gifting rules

Entrepreneurs’ relief (ER) can easily be lost due to the dilutive effect of a subsequent share issue – but help is at hand, explains Peter Rayney FCA, CTA (Fellow), TEP

The First Tier Tribunal (FTT) has upheld an appeal against HMRC, ruling that it should have treated a group of professional football referees as contractors and not as employees, reports James Bunney

The House of Lords has issued a two-week call for evidence into the extension of HMRC powers as part of government plans for Making Tax Digital set out in the draft Finance Bill 2018