James Mason from accountants Fifth Element talks straight about business

Figs & Dates
It’s March, and yes it’s Budget month but let’s not dwell on it.

Allegedly, temptation is the ruin of all men, and so in a month that sees the Chancellor’s Budget, I am going to resist the incredible urge to speculate on what may come. Instead, I am using this week as an opportunity to focus the minds and business diaries of the Brighton and Hove business community with the following key tax dates. Don’t panic though, because I will be reviewing the Budget later in the month which should appease anyone disappointed by not reading a speculative report ahead of this month’s main event.

In the meantime, please feast yourselves on the following.

Key Tax Dates
1 March 2012
Most individual tax payers who have not paid their 2010-11 personal tax and class 4 national insurance liabilities by this date will face a 5% penalty.

5 April 2012
The end of the 2011-12 tax year and the last day for deciding whether to take action before or after 5 April (e.g. utilising personal allowances, the CGT and IHT annual exemptions etc).

19 May 2012
Employers have until 19 May 2012 to submit 2011-12 end of year PAYE returns (forms P35 and P38A, including nil returns where appropriate, and P14) to HMRC by this date.

31 May 2012
Employers have until 31 May 2012 to provide a 2011-12 form P60 to each employee who worked for them at 05 April 2012.

5 July 2012
PAYE Settlement Agreements (PSA’s) for 2011-12 must be agreed with HMRC by this date.

6 July 2012
Deadline for employers to submit returns of benefits and expenses (forms P11D and forms P9D) to HMRC and to supply employees with forms P11D(b) and P11D and P9D information. Returns for Class 1A must also reach HMRC by this date and where applicable, Form 42 filings dealing with employment related securities and options and reportable events need to be filed.

19 July 2012
Payment date for Class 1A NI for the year ended 5 April 2012.

31 July 2012
Second payments-on-account for the 2011-12 tax year must reach HMRC by this date to avoid late payment interest charges.

1 August 2012
Last day to pay 2010-11 any personal tax outstanding from 31 Jan 2012 to avoid second late payment penalty of 5%.

One more thing
Admittedly, figs and dates aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but I will be starting a regular feature called ‘Waits and Measures’ later in the year in which there will be something a bit more appetising for everyone. For now though, as temptation gets the better of me, I shall conclude on this. Will the government cut direct business taxes to boost growth? Will they cut non-business taxes to boost consumer confidence? Will they shake up and de-regulate the employment market? To be honest I couldn’t call it, but what I do know is that by the end of the month we’ll know one way or the other and that in itself usually brings confidence. Add to that my expectation of underlying economic growth returning in the third quarter of this year and it’s possible, just possible, that 2012 is sizing up to be a promising turning point albeit in a slow recovery – but for just right now, that’s actually quite okay.

Fifth Element is a local Brighton-based accountancy practice offering expertise in all aspects of Accounts Preparation, VAT, Taxation, CIS, PAYE, Tax Planning, HMRC Issues and Business Development.