This month in tax: September 2020

Our Current Tax 2020 online courses will bring CAs up to speed with the latest changes and help you tackle the challenges ahead

It may seem that the COVID-19 crisis is consuming all our thoughts and energies.

But we are still making plans for the future. The ICAS flagship course Current Tax 2020 is going online and will run in September, with a live session of two hours and a series of recorded sessions that attendees can access at their convenience - the equivalent of 6 hours of learning. The live session will be repeated on two different dates - choose the date most convenient for you - and we hope to see you there.

The live session is designed to be interactive and is an opportunity for you to share experiences and your tax questions with the presenters and fellow practitioners. It’s also an excellent day’s worth of in-depth updating of technical knowledge. The key tax changes taking place in 2020 will be highlighted.

Preparing for Brexit

There has been considerable uncertainty in recent years, for businesses and individuals, following the outcome of the EU referendum and the prolonged Brexit process.

The Conservatives’ December election victory has ended one phase of Brexit, with the UK formally leaving the EU at the end of January.

However, the absence of an agreement on the precise nature of the UK’s future relationship with the EU means no end yet to the uncertainty, although we hope for some further clarity over the coming months.

One of the key topics in Current Tax 2020 will be a session on how practitioners can prepare and offer advice to their clients for Brexit, including the relevant VAT rules and postponed accounting rules for VAT.

Attend Current Tax 2020

An excellent opportunity for accountants and staff involved in tax work to bring their technical knowledge up to date.

It covers the changes introduced both UK-wide and in Scotland. Charlotte Barbour CA, notes: “This course offers everything that is best about ICAS: an opportunity to learn from fellow CAs and a concentrated day focusing on current changes to tax law and practice that affect practitioners.”

When and where

The course will consist of a live session of two hours and a series of recorded sessions that attendees can access at their convenience - the equivalent of 6 hours of learning. The live session will be repeated on two different dates and you choose the date from the options below, that is most convenient for you.

Live session dates

Online Live, 15 September 2020, 10am-12pm

Online Live, 23 September 2020, 10am-12pm

Book your place

Justine Riccomini will be delivering a presentation on the ICAS “Future of Taxation in the UK” paper at this event.

You can register here.

This annual event has been moved from Cambridge to an online event.

You can register for this event here.

ICAS teams have been working across the board to bring you as much up to date information as possible in one convenient place. The hub is updated as and when anything develops – try taking a look for further information.

Catch up on all previous Ask ICAS webinars.

Please note that the feedback we have received from members during webinars, in Q&As and on a day to day basis is in turn being fed into Government insofar as it relates to policy and to HMRC insofar as it relates to operational and practical matters.

During the past few months, many employers have asked employees to work from home – sometimes providing mobile phones and internet to help them.

For more information on paying expenses and providing benefits in kind, join the following live webinar. You can ask questions using the on-screen text box.

Expenses and benefits for employers – phones, internet and homeworking

Using examples, we’ll show you how to deal with tax and National Insurance when an employer provides a mobile phone, internet connection or homeworking expenses.

Choose a date and time

If you have missed one, you can usually catch up later.

The Talking points webinars have started to appear again, beginning with this one:

Disguised remuneration loan charge update: This webinar will provide an update on the loan charge and give an overview of guidance that we have recently published.

Wednesday 9 September – 11.15am to 12.15pm

HMRC is running a series of webinars on the CJRS and SEISS.

Book a place on live 'how to' CJRS and SEISS webinars.

If you are not already registered to receive the HMRC Employer Bulletin, the latest edition (No.85) is now out and contains detail on all the various assistance programmes including SSP and SMP for employers and agents to be aware of.

The latest Agent Update issue 79 is now available to read.

HMRC has an online customer forum where you can post questions on a range of tax topics that are answered by HMRC experts. The forum now includes “PAYE and Payroll for Employers”.

ICAS Members are encouraged to join this.

The Knowledge Base is a new feature which contains answers to FAQs on a variety of topics and where you can find information on a number of subjects to help with tax matters. Content is regularly updated and new material added.

Anyone can view the forum at https://community.hmrc.gov.uk. To post a question, simply register and create a profile.

A registered forum member can:

• View posts
• Add or post topics / questions

The ICAS tax team responds to many consultations on tax issues and welcomes members’ views to assist in preparing responses. If you have any comments on open consultations let us know.

Details of current consultations on tax issues can be found here:

• HMRC open consultations
• HM Treasury
• Scottish Government