Green Homes Grant: make energy improvements to your home

Green Homes Grant: make energy improvements to your home

Homeowners

What is the Green Homes Grant?

The government will provide a voucher up to £5,000 that covers up to two-thirds of the cost of energy efficiency and low carbon heat improvements to your home. See which improvements are included in the scheme below.

You may be able to receive a bigger grant if you are a homeowner and you or a member of your household receives one of the qualifying benefits. The government will cover 100% of the cost of the improvements up to £10,000.

How do I apply?

  1. Check if you’re eligible for a voucher
  2. Check what improvements may be suitable for your home
  3. Choose which improvements you would like and see an estimate of how much they may cost
  4. Find registered installers to get quotes to carry out the work
  5. Apply for your voucher

The Green Homes Grant scheme will never include official representatives coming to your property uninvited or cold calling on the phone to encourage you to join the scheme.

Tradespeople

Tradespeople and businesses that are appropriately certified to install energy efficiency and/or low carbon heating improvements in homes need to register with TrustMark to carry out work under the scheme. This confirms to homeowners that you will install measures to high standards.

You will be added to a directory of TrustMark registered  installers and homeowners can then contact you to obtain a quote.

Tradespeople and businesses that install low carbon heating improvements in homes will also need to be MCS certified.

Once you are registered with TrustMark, you need to apply to become a Green Homes Grant installer so you can deliver work in the 600,000 homes that will receive vouchers.

Working during national restrictions

Tradespeople, including Green Homes Grant installers, can continue to work in people’s homes under the national restrictions from 5 November.

You must follow the COVID-19 Secure guidelines.

Installers do not need to physically attend a customer’s home to provide a quote and can do this remotely using a video call or detailed photos.

Need more information?

If you need more information on the green homes grant, do not hesitate to contact us – we offer a wide range of services which are unique to your business. Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

Our fantastic team at A&C Chartered Accountants are here to help.

Changes to Capital Gains Tax

Changes to capital gains tax:

If you sold your property after 6 April 2020 you must report and pay Capital Gains Tax within 30 days of selling property in the UK. You may have to pay interest and a penalty if you do not report gains on property within the time limit.

You can report Capital Gains Tax you need to pay:

  • using the Capital Gains Tax on UK property service within 30 days of selling UK property
  • straight away using the ‘real time’ Capital Gains Tax service
  • annually in a Self Assessment tax return

If you have to send a Self Assessment return for another reason, you must include capital gains on your return, even if you’ve already reported and paid them.

Before you report

You’ll need:

  • calculations for each capital gain or loss you report
  • information from your records about the costs and what you received (the ‘proceeds’) for each asset
  • any other relevant details, such as any reliefs you’re entitled to

Report gains and pay straight away

If you’re a UK resident you can use the ‘real time’ Capital Gains Tax service to report any gains that are not from selling UK residential property.

You’ll need a Government Gateway user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you report and pay.

When you use the service you’ll need to upload PDF or JPG files showing how your capital gains and Capital Gains Tax were calculated.

When to report

You can use the ‘real-time’ service as soon as you’ve calculated your gains and the tax you owe. You do not need to wait until the end of the tax year.

You must report by 31 December after the tax year when you had the gains.

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year.

After you’ve reported your gains, HMRC will send you a letter or email giving you a payment reference number and telling you ways to pay.

Do not pay your Capital Gains Tax bill until you’ve received your payment reference number.

You’ll need a Government Gateway user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you report and pay.

If you sold the property before 6 April 2020, report the gain using the ‘real time’ Capital Gains Tax service or in your next Self Assessment tax return.

If you’re not resident in the UK

If you’re a non-resident and you’ve sold property or land in the UK, tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within 30 days, even if you have no tax to pay.

Need more information?

Do you need more guidance on the changes to capital gains tax? We offer a wide range of services and are here to help you. Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

Our fantastic team at A&C Chartered Accountants are here to help.

Bring your tax affairs up to date

Bring your tax affairs up to date:

2018/19 tax returns can be amended by the taxpayer up until 31 January 2021. Where the omitted property income or gain relates to earlier tax years the taxpayer should consider disclosing using HMRC’s let property campaign. If this affects you we can assist you in putting together the details that HMRC require.

Need more information?

Do you need guidance with your tax affairs? We offer a wide range of services which are unique to your business. Our team of chartered accountants have a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. Our team work hard to ensure they create smart and effective tax-efficient solutions for start-ups to optimise growth and help them succeed. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant do hesitate to contact us. For more information please do hesitate to contact us on 0161 962 1855. Alternatively you can email us using the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

Our fantastic team at A&C Chartered Accountants are here to help.

CGT business asset disposal relief lifetime limit just £1 million

In the March 2021 Budget, it was announced that CGT Entrepreneurs’ relief (ER) was replaced by CGT Business Asset Disposal relief (BADR) for disposals on or after 11 March 2020.

It was also announced that the 10% CGT rate would only apply to the first £1 million of qualifying gains in the taxpayer’s lifetime and many business owners have misinterpreted how this limit applies.  Unfortunately claims under the predecessor ER need to be taken into consideration so if £750,000 ER has already been claimed only the first £250,000 of qualifying gains after 11 March 2020 would qualify for BADR.

Any gains in excess of that amount would be taxed at normal CGT rates, currently 20% for higher rate taxpayers.

 

Need more information?

Do you need guidance on the replaced Business Asset Disposal relief (BADR)? Feel free to contact our team today for further CGT advice. We are here to help you and your business succeed.

We offer a wide range of accounting services that can be tailored to your business.

Our team has a wealth of experience in a broad range of sectors, from construction and property to the charity sector. We work hard to deliver smart and effective tax-efficient solutions. If you want to learn more about how the team can help or simply want some start-up advice from a trusted accountant don’t hesitate to contact us.

For more information please call, email or use the form below.