If you have paid in excess of the maximum NI contributions required for the tax year you can reclaim the excess amount. The PAYE system will normally ensure that you will not pay more than the annual maximum on your regular employment. However, if you have two or more concurrent employments in the tax year, or you are employed and self-employed at the same time, you may pay more NI in the year than the annual maximum.

Each taxpayer has their own annual maximum figure based on their individual earnings. The annual maximum NI for employees will be at least £4,279 and for taxpayers who are both employed and self employed the annual maximum is at least £3,180. However, you need to add to those figures the amount of NI payable at the additional rate (currently 1%), which cannot be reclaimed.

If you believe you have paid more NI than your personal annual maximum you can reclaim the excess by writing to the NI Office in Newcastle upon Tyne. You don’t have to calculate the amount of NI repayment due, as the NI Office will do this for you. But you must provide evidence of your earnings during the tax year, such as P60 forms or accounts. We can help you with all of this.

There is no time limit for reclaiming overpaid NI contributions, so you can submit claims for all past years where a repayment is due.

If you are likely to overpay NI for the current tax year you can apply to defer the NI charges on one of your jobs. Do this by completing form CA 72A for employees, or form CA 72B if you are also self-employed. It is not too late to submit either application.

VAT Rates and Refunds top

VAT can be very complicated at times! Most goods and services carry VAT at the standard rate, which is currently 17.5% and is due to increase to 20% on 4 January 2011. However, some transactions, such as financial services, are exempt from VAT, and some goods, such as children’s clothes, carry VAT at 0%.

To confuse matters even more, certain services can carry VAT at 5%, or 17.5% or 0%, depending on the circumstances. For example, renovating a house that has been empty for at least two years can carry VAT at 5%, but repairing a roof on another building will generally require VAT to be charged at 17.5%, unless the building has ‘listed’ status when the work may be zero rated if it is an approved alteration.

If you find you have charged VAT at too high a rate to your customer you should refund the excess VAT charged, if this is practical and possible. You also need to correct your VAT returns for the excess VAT paid over to the VAT office. You can only make a claim for overpaid VAT for VAT periods ending in the last four years, so don’t delay if you find an error that covers several periods.

The review, conducted by researchers at the Wolfson Research Institute based at Durham University, and published by the Cochrane Library, found mental health, blood pressure, and sleep patterns were better among people who could determine their own working hours.

By contrast, fixed-term contracts and other situations were working conditions were determined by the employer had no benefits for health. One study even showed fixed working hours had a negative effect on mental wellbeing.

For employers, flexi-time can actually boost profitability and generally improve the attitude of staff benefiting from a better work-life balance.

Jake Gordon, owner of Allyearbooks.co.uk, says his company has an extremely flexible attitude towards working hours. ‘If someone doesn’t feel very productive, they don’t have to come in.

Instead they can do a couple of hours in the evening. We don’t like having people just sitting there knowing they have to be at work until 5 o’clock. I think the benefits to staff is an improved work/life balance and reduced levels of stress, and for us a more productive working environment.

Anyone can ask their employer for flexi-time, but the law provides some employees with the statutory right to request a flexible working pattern, including parents with children under 16.

By law, an employer must seriously consider any application made, and only reject if there is a seriously good business reason for doing so. Employees have the right to ask for flexible working, not the right to have it.

Flexible working can include scheduling hours around school times, working from home, job sharing or averaging hours out over a year.

For more information about flexible working, visit: www.direct.gov.uk/betterfuture, or ask me on Twitter http://twitter.com/AccountsAssist.

Love it or loathe it, Twitter is becoming an irrepressible force that’s hard to ignore. While it started life as a place for celebrities to talk about themselves, increasingly, Twitter is becoming a useful marketing tool for businesses large and small, allowing for instant customer interaction and the potential for increased website traffic.

With current users at around the 5 million mark, Twitter presents an opportunity to reach a large audience, extremely quickly and with only 140 characters allowed, there’s no need for expensive copywriters or graphic designers to get your message out there. Effectively, everyone is on a level playing field, the trick is to generate interesting ‘tweets’ that attract followers – inviting your customer base to join is a great way to start.

Twitter is not a direct sales tool – droning on about how fantastic your products or services is not interesting to most people – but providing customer support and advice, maybe interspersed with humour and general interest is the right approach for Twitter.

Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos.com said, “We’ve found that Twitter has been a great way for us to connect on a more personal level with our employees and customers. We use it to help build our brand, not drive direct sales. In the long term, Twitter helps drive repeat customers and word of mouth, but we’re not looking to it as a way of driving immediate sales.”

For me, Twitter is a perfect platform to deliver accountancy support, providing answers to individuals, which may be useful to many, which in turn generates interest in my services and hopefully customers. Follow me @AccountsAssist and join me next Tuesday – questions can be emailed/tweeted in advance.

The apprenticeship scheme provides a real opportunity for employers to take on cost-effective labour who can be trained to meet the specific needs of their business. For apprentices, the scheme delivers paid, on-the-job experience at a time when University places are at a premium and tuition fees and the student loan means years of debt for graduates.

A recent survey on behalf of the Learning and Skills Council identified that the 76% of employers asked, stated that apprentices helped them to improve productivity and 77% felt that the scheme helped them to be more competitive. 59% said that training apprentices is more cost-effective than hiring skilled staff, leading to lower overall training and recruitment costs.

With the targeted age group of 16 – 24, also the age group that has most suffered in the recession, the apprenticeship scheme offers a real lifeline for young people looking to start their careers and allows employers to grow their business without taking large financial risks.

For apprentices between the ages of 16 –18, the National Apprenticeship Scheme (NAS) will fund 100 per cent of the cost of training and up to 50 per cent for those aged 19 and over. In addition, to further promote the scheme, the NAS is offering up to 5,000 grants, worth £2,500 each, to employers who take on apprentices between 16 and 17 before the end of March 2010.

Legally, all apprentices – except for those in the agricultural sector – must be paid at least £95 a week, though according to the NAS the weekly average is £170. Employers who take on apprentices must provide 16 hours of paid employment a week and on-the-job training.

Simon Waugh, chief executive of the NAS, said: “We are in danger of becoming a low-skills, low-paid nation. Many firms find their ability to grow is hampered by a lack of skilled labour, yet apprentices are a key, cost-efficient way to get a better trained workforce.”

Apprentices can be considered for almost any business sector, with over 190 different schemes, in industries ranging from tourism to construction. To date, more than 100,000 firms, including giants such as British Gas and Rolls Royce, have apprentices, but Waugh hopes this number will soar, he said: “There is a lack of awareness about apprenticeships in many firms and we (the NAS) want to change this.”

To celebrate National Apprenticeship week, events are taking place throughout the UK, to introduce employers to the scheme and present the business case for taking on an apprentice. For more information, visit, www.apprenticeships.org.uk.

Blamed on HMRC’s new computer system, the blunder could see individuals hundreds of pounds short, depending on the level of their earnings.

Andrew Hubbard, president of the CIoT, warned advisors and their business clients to check their new codes. “Most people on PAYE are used to assuming that what the taxman sends them is correct, (filing) away coding notices without bothering to check them.

This year, many of them are being given wrong information, and unless they spot it and tell HMRC, their employer will receive the wrong information too and the employee could get a nasty shock when they open their April pay packet and see it is as much as £100 lighter than they expected.”

Richard Mannion, director of national tax at Smith & Williamson, said that HMRC’s previous system had suffered problems in the past. “They’ve now installed a new system, which is more flexible, but they are having teething problems.”

The mistake is likely to significantly affect pensioners with part-time jobs or people who hold down more than one job, as the system is likely to generate a different tax code notice per job.

People with investment income may also be affected as the HMRC tries to collect tax due on individuals’ estimated investment income, such as bank interest, dividends and rental income, through their tax codes. In many cases this will be based on previous tax returns and may be excessive and out of date.

To avoid undue taxes, all employees must check their tax code and contact HMRC if it needs to be changed. For more information about understanding your tax code visit: www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/codes-basics.

A HMRC spokesperson insisted that “the new system is working as it should…as part of our transition to this new system, in the first year, we also expect some of the codes we issue to be incorrect. Anyone in this position should call HMRC to make sure the right tax code is applied.”

If you have been touched by this tragedy, UNICEF http://www.unicef.org.uk/ is calling for businesses to make a contribution, which can be generated in a number of ways:

A corporate donation is a straightforward transaction of funds, which UNICEF will then publicise to key stakeholders. If you want to get your whole business involved, employee fundraising provides an opportunity for everyone to show their support. Face to face appeals, targeting potential donators through your database or website, or adding a minimal charge to bills, which goes straight to charity, are all ways in which you can engage your customers in the cause.

For companies and sole traders who wish to give to charity, tax relief is available:

If you’re self-employed or a partner in a business, you can take advantage of the tax relief available for individuals on gifts of money, claiming them on your Self Assessment tax return.

If you give money to a charity or Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC), you can use Gift Aid http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/gift-aid.htm. This increases the value of your donation at no extra cost to you, by allowing the charity to reclaim basic rate tax on your gift. If you pay higher rate tax you can claim extra relief on your donations.

Gifts of money made to a charity by a company should be paid gross, before tax is deducted. These donations are deductible from the total profits of your business when calculating Corporation Tax.

Companies can claim for Corporation Tax Relief, as long as the donation is a payment of money that is not a distribution of profit, such as a dividend. Qualifying donations can come from the company or a ‘connected’ person, which includes relatives. For more information about qualifying criteria and the benefit value, visit: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/businesses/giving/companies.htm.

When your company makes a qualifying donation to a charity the amount paid is treated as a ‘non-trade charge’ – this means your company can make a claim in its Company Tax Return to set the amount of the donation against its taxable profits.

Your company should keep normal accounting records to support entries on your Company Tax Return along with any other relevant documentation; for example correspondence with the charity in relation to the donation such as a ‘thank you’ letter.

You must keep your tax records for at least six years after the end of the accounting period to which they relate. If HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) makes any enquiries about your Company Tax Return you will need to keep the records until the enquiries are completed.

Failure to get forms to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) by the fast-approaching deadline will incur an initial £100 late payment charge. If the form still hasn’t been returned by 31st July, there will be a further penalty of £100. If, despite those penalties, you still fail to return your tax forms the HMRC may apply a daily penalty of up to £60.

In certain cases HMRC will waive these penalties: If you have a “reasonable excuse” for missing the deadline, such as serious illness or a close family death for example.

To avoid unnecessary charges, businesses must act quickly to make sure their online tax returns are in on time.

For first-time self-assessment filer’s, or those new to using the online system, registration is required at HMRC’s self-assessment online service, at www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa. Registering is straightforward; simply click ‘Register for Self Assessment Online’. Once registered, an activation code will be issued in the post – this may take up to seven days, so businesses must register this week to ensure codes are received on time.

There are real benefits to filling your tax return online: Your tax is calculated automatically and is processed faster, so any money your owed is repaid more quickly. If you file online, you’ll get an immediate on-screen acknowledgement that the return’s been received – receipts are not provided for paper returns.

HMRC’s Sarah Walker said:

“The 31 January filing deadline is just around the corner, so if you haven’t yet sent in your 2008-09 tax return, you need to take action now. Don’t risk a penalty – make sure you file your return online and on time.”

And don’t forget, 31 January 2010 is also the deadline for paying any tax you owe for the 2008/09 tax-year.

Help is available from the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa.