October 31st, 2013

EMPLOYER’S £2,000 NIC ALLOWANCE

This valuable allowance is due to start for all businesses on 6 April 2014, and simply exempts the employer from the normal employer NICs of 13.8% of the earnings paid.

The mechanics are that the allowance will be obtained via standard payroll software and HMRC’s RTI system. A facility will be added to the RTI Employer Payment Summary referring to the allowance in the form of a “yes/no” indicator, with payroll software providers doing the same. The employer then offsets the allowance against each monthly Class 1 secondary NICs payment until fully claimed or the tax year ends. For the following tax year the allowance is available against NICs as the liability arises during the year.

For a small company rewarding working shareholders by way of dividends, the current thinking is that from 6 April 2014 it will usually be best to receive remuneration of £10,000 per annum instead of limiting it to the NIC secondary threshold of (currently) £7,696 as is normally done. This is because earnings of £10,000 will fully utilise the new level of personal allowance, whereas dividends effectively waste the allowance.

The changes also mean it might be worth considering trading as a limited company if you’re not already.

If you’d like any help with the sums then get in touch.

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Director

John manages a wide portfolio of owner managed businesses and oversees the smooth operation of the firm’s payroll department.

After obtaining his degree in mathematics from the University of Liverpool, John joined Jonathan Ford & Co in 2004 and qualified as a chartered accountant four years later. John likes to keep abreast of developments in tax and accounting and is responsible for the mentoring of junior staff.

Outside of work, John enjoys powerlifting and is a Liverpool FC season ticket holder.

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