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

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

ICAEW has called for the government to delay its proposed roll-out of IR35 to the private sector, citing the complexity of the present situation and wider issues with the way that workers are taxed

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

The government's reversal on the proposed abolition of Class 2 national insurance contributions for the self-employed has been greeted with general dismay but it should be a cause for celebration, says George Bull, senior tax partner at RSM

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

Republicans in the US House of Representatives have proposed more deficit-expanding tax cuts in a bid to garner votes before the mid-term elections on 6 November 2018

HMRC’s elite fraud team, the fraud investigation service (FIS), collected £5.47bn in extra tax last year, an increase of £300m (6%) from the previous year, according to analysis by Pinsent Masons which suggests tax authorities are taking advantage of wider powers to launch civil investigations

Tony Chamberlain, VAT adviser at Croner Taxwise explains the differences between recharges and disbursements when reclaiming expenses for consulting work via a VAT-registered business

The insurance premium tax (IPT) has delivered 19% more in tax revenues than was originally predicted, with revenues now close to £6bn, as businesses are taking out increasing amounts of insurance cover and the tax rate on policies has increased

The confusion surrounding the tax status of platform workers has led to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) proposing significant changes to bring them their status into line with PAYE, says Lee Hamilton, partner at Blick Rothenberg

The government has announced that it is not going to proceed as planned with the abolition of Class 2 national insurance contributions (NICs), which was originally scheduled for April 2018, then delayed to April 2019