Beam Accountancy

After submitting your self-assessment return it is important to keep your records used to prepare the return. HMRC may ask to check your return, so it is important to keep the supporting documents and information used to complete your tax return.

There are no specific rules on how records must be stored. You can keep them on paper, digitally or as part of a software package, provided they remain accurate, complete and accessible if HMRC needs to review them.

If your tax return relates only to personal income, you should normally keep your records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year they relate to. For example, records for the tax year ended 5 April 2026 should generally be kept until at least 31 January 2028. If you file your return late, records should be kept for at least 15 months after the date you submitted the return.

The records you should retain will depend on your circumstances but may include:

• employment records, such as P60s, P45s and P11D forms
• details of work expenses, including tools, travel and specialist clothing
• savings, investments and pension statements
• details of rental income and allowable expenses
• records of foreign income
• information relating to Capital Gains Tax
• details of state benefits and other taxable income

This is not a complete list. You should keep any records that support figures included in your tax return, including calculations and evidence for any claims or reliefs.

Different retention rules apply if you are self-employed or keep records for business purposes. Self-employed individuals must generally keep business records for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline for the relevant tax year. Failure to keep adequate records can result in penalties from HMRC.

If you pay for replacing or repairing small tools you need for your job, you may be able to claim tax relief from HMRC. Eligible tools include items such as scissors, small hand tools and electric drills that are essential for carrying out your work and are not provided by your employer.

You may also be able to claim tax relief for the cost of cleaning, repairing or replacing a uniform or specialist work clothing, such as overalls or safety boots. However, you cannot claim for the initial cost of buying work clothing, everyday clothes worn for work, or the cost of laundering a uniform if your employer provides a free laundry service that you choose not to use.

If your role requires personal protective equipment (PPE), your employer is responsible for providing it free of charge or reimbursing you for the cost. You cannot claim tax relief on PPE yourself.

Claims can be based on the actual amount you have spent, provided you keep receipts or other evidence, or you may be able to claim a fixed flat rate expense if one has been agreed for your occupation. Flat rate claims do not require supporting evidence.

HMRC normally allows claims for the current tax year and up to four previous tax years, provided they are submitted within four years of the end of the tax year in which the expense was incurred.
Most employees can claim online using HMRC’s portal https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/claim-tax-relief-expenses/what-claiming-for. Taxpayers who complete a self-assessment tax return should claim the relief through their tax return.

The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey has confirmed, in a video message, that the next UK Budget will take place on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. Details of all the Budget announcements will be made on a special section of the GOV.UK website which will be updated following completion of the Chancellor’s first Budget speech in October.

HM Treasury is inviting written representations for the Autumn Budget 2025 from individuals, interest groups, MPs and organisations. Submissions should propose evidence-based policy ideas or comment on existing policies, with clear rationale, costs, benefits and deliverability. The deadline for submissions is 23:59 on Wednesday, 9 September 2026.

The Budget will be published alongside the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). This forecast will be in addition to that published for the Spring Statement and fulfil the obligation for the OBR to produce at least two forecasts in a financial year, as is required by legislation.

The OBR has executive responsibility for producing the official UK economic and fiscal forecasts, evaluating the government’s performance against its fiscal targets, assessing the sustainability of and risks to the public finances and scrutinising government tax and welfare spending.
 

UK taxpayers with income from overseas may not always be aware of the tax rules that apply.  Foreign income is defined as any income from outside England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are classed as foreign. Different rules may apply if you’re eligible for Foreign Income and Gains relief.

Foreign income can include wages from working abroad, overseas dividends and savings interest, rental income from foreign property, and pensions held outside the UK.

Whether UK tax is due depends mainly on your UK residence status. If you are not UK resident, you will not usually pay UK tax on your foreign income. However, UK residents will generally need to pay tax on worldwide income unless a specific exemption or relief applies.

Since 6 April 2025, changes to the rules affecting individuals who previously relied on their overseas domicile status mean that some people may need to review how their foreign income and gains are taxed. Eligible individuals may be able to claim Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) relief, depending on their circumstances.

Foreign income that is taxable in the UK is normally reported through a self-assessment tax return, although some types of income have different rules.

If the same income is taxed in both the UK and another country, you may be able to claim relief to prevent double taxation. In some cases, you may need a certificate of residence from HMRC to confirm your entitlement to relief.

Some self-employed individuals experience significant fluctuations in their profits from one year to the next. When this happens, HMRC’s averaging relief may help to regularise tax payments by levelling profits across more than one tax year.

However, the relief is only available to limited groups of taxpayers. Farmers and market gardeners can claim to average profits over either two or five consecutive tax years, while creators of literary or artistic works, such as authors, artists and composers, can average profits over two consecutive tax years.

Averaging relief is intended to reduce the impact of unusually high or low profits in a particular year. By spreading profits over the relevant period, it may reduce the amount of tax payable where income would otherwise push a taxpayer into a higher tax band or affect National Insurance liabilities.

The relief is most beneficial where your tax position differs between years. For example, it may reduce your tax bill if you pay tax at the basic rate in one year and the higher rate in another, or if your income falls below your personal allowances in one year but is taxable in another. However, it is unlikely to provide any benefit if you are already paying the highest rate of tax and Class 4 National Insurance contributions in every year being averaged.

The relief is not available to companies and generally cannot be claimed by businesses using the cash basis. Specific conditions must also be met before a claim can be made, including rules on the level of profit fluctuations between the relevant tax years.

Claims are made through self-assessment for the latest tax year. Rather than requiring earlier tax returns to be amended, HMRC adjusts the tax and National Insurance position for the claim year to reflect the averaging calculation.

If your profits vary considerably from year to year and work in a qualifying business, it is worth checking whether averaging relief is available. Claiming the relief where eligible could reduce your tax bill and provide a fairer reflection of your business profits over time.

Employees who use their own vehicle for business journeys may receive Mileage Allowance Payments (MAPs) from their employer. These payments can be made tax-free up to HMRC’s approved amount, calculated by multiplying business miles travelled by the relevant rate per mile.

Effective since 6 April 2026, the approved mileage rate for cars and vans increased to 55p per mile (from 45p) for the first 10,000 business miles, with 25p per mile (no change) applying above this threshold. Motorcycle mileage remains at 24p per mile and bicycle mileage at 20p per mile.

If an employer pays more than the approved amount, the excess must be reported to HMRC and taxed through payroll. If an employer pays less than the approved amount, the employee may be able to claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the unused balance.

Separate National Insurance rules apply to mileage payments. Employers may need to pay Class 1 National Insurance on amounts above the qualifying amount, although no National Insurance is due where payments are below the threshold.

There is an additional 5p per passenger per business mile for carrying fellow employees in a car or van on journeys which are also work journeys for them. Only payments specifically for carrying passengers count and there is no relief if you receive less than 5p or nothing at all.

Protecting hard-won local customer networks is a constant and necessary battle for commercial suppliers. However, a recent High Court judgement has exposed the risks inherent in employing standard ‘boilerplate’ contracts to restrict departing sales staff. The dispute in focus was triggered when a national building supplies merchant sought final injunctions against its former area sales manager. Under the terms of his contract, the defendant was defined as a peripatetic area sales manager responsible for high-value client accounts across the local regions. The contract was subject to a standard one-week notice period during a probationary window, yet also contained extensive post-termination restrictions, including a 6-month, geographically defined non-compete covenant, alongside a 12-month confidentiality clause.

During the course of his employment, the defendant had regular access to the merchant's digital management systems, which record customer transaction histories, pipeline projects, and a variable pricing hierarchy. Some months later, the defendant resigned from the merchant under the presumed obligation of three months' notice with a view to joining a direct competitor as an external sales manager to help launch their new regional branch.

The defendant’s previous company learned that regional clients on the departing manager’s sales ledger were being actively engaged. Specifically, the merchant referenced a professional networking exchange between the defendant and a buyer for a prominent local construction company, during which the defendant directed the buyer's representative to reroute quotes through his new employer. Fearing an immediate loss of its localised trade connections, the merchant issued a formal legal claim and successfully secured an interim injunction to enforce both the 6-month non-compete covenant and a temporary confidentiality restriction.

The High Court, however, dismissed the employer’s claims, declaring the non-compete covenant void and unenforceable, while further rejecting the application for a final confidentiality injunction. The Judge’s assessment focused on fatal drafting flaws in the agreement, specifically the dismantling of a contractual "carve-out" intended to allow the employee to work in non-competing areas. Moreover, the former employer attempted a belated "blue-pencil" deletion to alter this exception. However, the High Court ruled that an employer cannot retroactively rewrite a relaxation clause to limit a former employee's freedom.

The High Court also applied the "Quilter point," confirming that, as the manager could have been dismissed at a week's notice during his initial probation period, applying an immediate 6-month blanket ban from ‘day one’ was fundamentally disproportionate. Finally, the Court ruled that the pricing schedules listed on the company’s internal software were merely artificial screen prices. Given that genuine commodity prices fluctuate rapidly due to global market forces, regional builders routinely and openly share competitor quotes to drive down costs. Thus, the departing manager possessed no memorable or stable trade secrets which could have been unlawfully exploited.

If boilerplate trade protections are structurally inconsistent, geographically bloated, or syntactically flawed, they will be struck down entirely under employment law, leaving client databases open to exploitation. A non-competition restriction is only as strong as the internal consistency of your wider framework, and seeking to retroactively expand a post-termination boundary to include marginal outlier accounts will likely backfire.

If an organisation reserves the right to terminate an introductory employee at a week's notice, any attempt to lock that individual out of the job market for 6 months will likely be viewed as an unlawful restraint of trade, and so corporate counsel must structure agreements using variable, ascending tiers of restriction that directly correspond to the employee’s actual length of service and seniority.

Economic conditions remain uncertain and many business owners are understandably cautious about the months ahead. Although there are signs of improvement in some sectors, rising costs, changing customer demand and ongoing economic pressures mean that confidence remains fragile.

When uncertainty increases, it is tempting to postpone important decisions until conditions become clearer. However, delaying action can sometimes create bigger problems. Businesses that monitor their financial performance regularly are generally better equipped to respond to changing circumstances than those relying solely on annual accounts.

A good business plan is not simply a document prepared for a bank. It should be a practical management tool that helps owners understand where the business is heading, what risks may lie ahead and how future opportunities can be developed.

Regular cash flow forecasts, profit projections and key performance indicators provide valuable early warning signs if trading conditions begin to change. They also enable business owners to make informed decisions about pricing, recruitment, investment and financing before problems become urgent.

Periods of uncertainty can also create opportunities. Competitors may reduce investment, delay product launches or cut marketing activity. Businesses with a clear strategy and a good understanding of their financial position are often well placed to strengthen their market position while others hesitate.

Planning does not eliminate risk, but it does help reduce surprises. Even a short quarterly review of financial performance and future objectives can identify issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.

We can help you develop meaningful management information, prepare realistic forecasts and review your business strategy throughout the year. Regular planning discussions can provide greater confidence when making important decisions and help ensure your business remains resilient whatever economic conditions lie ahead.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated business headlines over the past year, with many suggesting it will transform the way companies operate. While there is no doubt that AI has enormous potential, recent research indicates that many small businesses have yet to experience significant commercial benefits.

For some business owners, the challenge is knowing where to start. Others have invested in AI tools only to discover that they do not automatically save time or reduce costs. Like any technology, AI is most effective when it is applied to specific business problems rather than simply because it is fashionable.

There are, however, areas where AI can make a genuine difference. It can help draft marketing content, answer routine customer enquiries, summarise lengthy documents, automate repetitive administration and assist with bookkeeping and data analysis. Used sensibly, these tools can free up valuable time for higher value work.

It is important to remember that AI is not a substitute for professional judgement. Financial decisions, legal matters and strategic planning still require human expertise and careful consideration. Businesses should also ensure that confidential information is protected before entering data into AI systems.

Before investing in new technology, business owners should identify the tasks that consume the most time and consider whether AI could improve efficiency. Starting with one or two simple applications often produces better results than attempting a complete overhaul.

The businesses that benefit most from AI are likely to be those that adopt it thoughtfully, train their staff properly and regularly review whether it is delivering measurable improvements.

If you are considering introducing AI into your business, we can help you assess where it may add value, evaluate the likely financial benefits and ensure that any investment supports your wider business objectives.

With childcare costs continuing to rise, many working families could be missing out on valuable support through the Tax-Free Childcare scheme. The scheme helps eligible parents pay for registered childcare by providing a government top-up on their contributions. For every £8 paid into a childcare account, the government adds £2.

Tax-Free Childcare can be used to pay for a range of approved childcare providers, including childminders, nurseries, nannies, after-school clubs and holiday clubs. The government contribution is capped at £500 every three months, providing up to £2,000 a year per child. For children with disabilities, the maximum increases to £1,000 every three months, or £4,000 a year.

The scheme is available to many working parents, including those who are self-employed. You will usually need to be working, or returning to work, and earning at least the equivalent of the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week. Both employed and self-employed workers can qualify, as well as those on certain types of leave, including maternity, paternity and adoption leave.

Children are generally eligible until 1 September after their 11th birthday, or until 1 September after their 16th birthday if they are disabled.

However, there are restrictions. You cannot usually claim Tax-Free Childcare if you or your partner’s expected adjusted net income is more than £100,000 a year, or if you receive Universal Credit or childcare vouchers. Parents must set up a childcare account and sign-in every 3 months to confirm they remain eligible.