Update 21/11/22
Please note this post has not aged well……..
The Health and Care Levy is still scrapped and the AIA £1 million limit is still permanent.
However the other measures are scrapped! See our next post on the Autumn Statement.
Tax Changes For Businesses In Scotland
Welcome to our Mini Budget update for Scottish Businesses. Here is our short summary of the main tax changes for businesses in Scotland. Bear in mind not all of the tax changes announced on Friday apply to businesses in Scotland and are England only. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like any more information on any of these topics.
See here for a link to the government announcement and further links to detailed information on each measure.
Health and Care Levy Scrapped
It was on 7 September 2021 that we first heard about a new 1.25% Health and Social Care Levy, imposed on employers, employees and the self-employed, coming in from 2023/24. Further, this was to be effectively accelerated into 2022/23 by a 1.25 percentage point rise in National Insurance contributions (NICs). As expected, and despite changes to thresholds earlier this year, the increased NIC rates have resulted in a reduction in take home pay for many individuals.
The Health and Social Care Levy has now been abolished and will not come in next April. Further, the Government is removing the associated 1.25 percentage point increase in NICs from 6 November 2022.
Employers will need to make sure that they update their payroll software in time for this third change in NIC rates and bandings in 2022/23!
In the case of NIC rates which apply annually, transitional rates will apply to deal with the mid tax-year change. In particular,
- Class 1 employee NIC rates that apply annually (including for company directors) will be set at a main rate of 12.73% and an additional rate of 2.73% for 2022/23.
- Class 1A NICs on taxable and expenses (if not paid monthly through the payroll) will be set at 14.53% for 2022/23. The same applies to Class 1B NICs for PAYE Settlement Agreements.
- Class 4 NICs paid by self-employed individuals will be set at a main rate of 9.73% and an additional rate of 2.73% for 2022/23.
Dividend Rates Reduced From 2023/24
Many director/shareholders of family companies pay themselves a small salary and take the rest of their “pay” in dividends. With dividends being free of NIC, this would have allowed them to avoid the extra 1.25% NIC charge when it was originally introduced.
Consequently, the Government added 1.25% to the dividend income tax rates for 2022/23.
Although the NIC increase is being abolished from 6 November 2022, the additional 1.25% will continue to be applied to dividends paid throughout 2022/23.
From 2023/24 the dividend income tax rate will however revert to 7.5% where dividends fall within an individual’s basic rate band and 32.5% for higher rate taxpayers. Note that the first £2,000 of dividends continue to be taxed at 0%.
See our guide to Company Dividends here
Corporation Tax Rate Increase Scrapped
In the March 2021 Budget, Rishi Sunak announced that the rate of corporation tax would increase to 25% from 1 April 2023 where a company’s profits exceeded £250,000 a year, with the current 19% rate continuing to apply where profits were no more than £50,000 a year. There was also scheduled to be an effective 26.5% rate on profits between £50,000 and £250,000 a year.
The UK would still have had a very competitive rate compared to other major trading countries as many of those are also increasing corporate tax rates.
Nevertheless, the planned increase will not now go ahead in line with the promises made by Liz Truss in her campaign to be Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister.
All companies currently paying corporation tax at 19% will continue to do so.
IR35 U Turn
The much criticised “off-payroll” working rules were introduced for the public sector from 6 April 2017 and then extended to large and medium-sized private-sector organisations from 6 April 2021.
The rules replaced the ‘IR35’ rules where workers supplied their services to these organisations via a personal service company (PSC) or other intermediary. The effect was to transfer the, not insignificant, tax compliance burden from the PSC to the service-acquiring organisation.
The off-payrolling rules will now be removed from 6 April 2023 and the IR35 compliance burden will revert to resting with the PSC itself. This means the PSC must calculate and pay PAYE and NICs if the worker (often the Director) would be classed as an employee if they were working directly for the service-acquiring organisation. This aligns with the requirements in cases where a PSC supplies services to a small private-sector organisation.
£1 Million Annual Investment Allowance Now Permanent
Businesses investing in plant and machinery will welcome the decision to make the £1 million Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) permanent. This has been extended several times and was scheduled to revert to just £200,000 from April 2023. Unlike the super-deduction, the AIA is available to unincorporated businesses as well as limited companies and the equipment does not have to be new.
