Are You A Budget Winner or Loser?

Today’s Budget included some interesting announcements, but with all the details being discussed left right and center, it can be difficult to work out whether you’ll win or lose. Let’s take a look at the headlines and take a look at a calculator that will help you find out whether you’ll benefit or not.

Online Self-Assesment Deadline: Act Now

January 31st is the deadline day for getting your tax self-assessment details back to the HMRC, if you’re unlucky enough to have to file your tax returns. But despite this date being the deadline for electronic returns (paper returns had to be in by 31st October 2008), you should apply before Wednesday 21st January to get the necessary passwords and activation codes, which are then sent to you via 20th century snail mail.

Our Child Tax Credit Nightmare

Both my partner and myself received fantastic letters from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs this morning, to notify us that they were stopping paying us the zero tax credits that they’ve been paying us for the last couple of years. Yes, that’s right, two letters to let us know we weren’t going to receive anything, when we already hadn’t been receiving anything for the last few years.

Reclaim VAT On Recent Purchases

As most of us are probably aware, from tomorrow (1st December), Value Added Tax (VAT) will be cut from 17.5% to 15% as part of the Government’s recent measures to stimulate the economy.

Did you know that if you’ve got goods and services on order and have paid the 17.5% rate, you might be able to claim a refund.