Have you tried the FreeAgent Mobile App?

If you’ve tried it before and not got on with it or never installed it then now is a great time to pick it up for your smartphone and see the powerful list of features that you can control from a simple touchscreen.

With banking, tax notifications, time tracking and a slick new interface all added over the last two years since it’s launch the mobile app really does cram a lot of functionality into the App.

HMRC harpoons new ‘loyalty points’ umbrella scheme as a disguised renumeration tax avoidance scheme

HM Revenue and Customs has warned taxpayers that it is aware of a new ‘tax avoidance’ umbrella scheme in which contractors are paid, in part, with loyalty points that can be redeemed for ‘tax free’ income.

The tax authority has said that they consider the umbrella scheme to be against the rules of disguised remuneration and that users of the scheme will have their tax affairs investigated. 

Editor | 3 April 2017
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There will be a number of things changing this April, some of which will affect them negatively.

We assess the changes and suggest some tax-efficient ways for contractors to respond.

Government rushes through stripped down tax bill before election

In a bid to rush their latest Finance Bill through the House of Commons before the snap general election this June, the government stripped out some key parts of its tax agenda, including the Making Tax Digital scheme.

The revised Finance Bill, which was passed through the Commons on Wednesday, was 80% shorter than the original document, but one thing that wasn’t cut from the revised bill was the controversial IR35 reforms for public sector contractors. 

Important changes in the new tax year

The new tax year is here and it has brought with it the usual soup of tax and regulatory changes. This year there are a number of important changes that will affect contractors, including new IR35 rules, changes to the flat rate VAT scheme and new income tax rates.

Some of the changes will be received positively – others, less so. Here we summarise the most important April changes for contractors.