Topic

Tax & Finance

Business taxation, accounting, and financial management

VAT

Join the VAT Flat Rate Scheme

Under the VAT Flat Rate Scheme, you pay HMRC a fixed percentage of your VAT-inclusive turnover, set by business type, instead of working out VAT on each transaction. You can join if you expect VAT-taxable turnover of £150,000 or less in the next 12 months, and must leave once turnover exceeds £230,000.

Use VAT Cash Accounting

Under the VAT Cash Accounting Scheme, you pay VAT to HMRC when customers pay you and reclaim it when you pay suppliers, rather than when invoices are issued. You can join if taxable turnover will not exceed £1.35 million in the next 12 months, and must leave above £1.6 million.

VAT invoice requirements

If you are VAT-registered, you must issue a VAT invoice for most sales to other VAT-registered businesses, within 30 days of the supply. Sales over £250 need a full invoice, and missing details can stop your customer reclaiming the VAT.

Use a VAT retail scheme

If you sell mainly to the public at more than one VAT rate and cannot issue a VAT invoice for every sale, a retail scheme lets you calculate VAT from your total takings. Sales to VAT-registered businesses still need a VAT invoice.

Charity tax and business rates reliefs

Before your charity can claim any tax relief, HMRC must recognise it as a charity for tax purposes. Charities pay no tax on most non-trading income used for their purposes, but they are not exempt from VAT, and in England and Wales they get 80% business rates relief on property used for charitable purposes.

Apply the VAT reverse charge on construction services

The customer, not the supplier, accounts for the VAT on most building and construction services between UK VAT-registered businesses when the payment is reported under the Construction Industry Scheme. The invoice shows no VAT charged, unless the customer has told you in writing that it is an end user.

Check which VAT you cannot reclaim

You cannot reclaim VAT on hospitality for customers and other business contacts, on most cars, on private purchases, on the costs of exempt supplies, or without a valid invoice from a VAT-registered supplier. Staff entertainment and reasonable hospitality for overseas customers are the main exceptions.

Cancel your VAT registration

How to deregister for VAT, including when you must notify HMRC, completing your final VAT return, and accounting for VAT on stock and assets you keep.

Check if you need to register for VAT

You must register for VAT when your taxable turnover passes the registration threshold in any rolling 12 months, or when you expect it to pass the threshold within the next 30 days alone. Under the first test, register within 30 days of the end of the month. Late registration brings penalties and backdated VAT.

Reclaim VAT on business purchases

If you are VAT-registered, you can reclaim VAT on goods and services bought for your taxable business, with a valid VAT invoice, within four years of the due date of the return on which you could first claim. VAT on business entertainment and most cars is blocked, and partly exempt businesses reclaim only part.

Choose the correct VAT rate

Charge 20% VAT unless a supply is specifically reduced-rated at 5%, zero-rated or exempt. Zero-rated sales still count as taxable and let you reclaim VAT on your costs, but exempt sales do not.

Complete your VAT return

A VAT return reports the VAT you charged, the VAT you can reclaim and the net value of your sales and purchases. You send it through Making Tax Digital software, usually every three months, and pay by one calendar month and 7 days after the period ends.

Work out the tax point for a VAT sale

A sale's tax point decides which VAT return and which rate apply. It is normally the day goods leave or work is finished, but an invoice sent or payment received earlier, or an invoice issued within 14 days afterwards, moves it. You account for the VAT before the customer pays.

Voluntary VAT registration - pros and cons

A business below the VAT registration threshold can still register voluntarily. It can then reclaim VAT on its purchases, but must charge VAT on most sales, keep VAT records and file returns through Making Tax Digital software. That suits businesses selling to VAT-registered customers better than those selling to consumers.

Choose a VAT scheme

Three VAT schemes can save small businesses time or help cash flow. Cash Accounting means you pay VAT only when customers pay you, the Flat Rate Scheme lets you pay a fixed percentage of turnover, and Annual Accounting cuts you to one return a year.

E-invoicing for VAT invoices

If you are VAT-registered and invoice other businesses or government, the government plans to require e-invoices from April 2029. The rules have not been made yet.

Charge VAT on chair and room rent

If your salon is VAT-registered, the rent you charge a hairdresser or barber for a chair or space is standard-rated, not an exempt letting of land. A separate room with no hairdressing services, or space let to a beauty therapist, may instead be an exempt licence to occupy.

VAT and tax on exports

Zero-rating exports, evidence requirements, rules of origin, and claiming tariff-free trade under UK agreements.

Put the right details on an invoice

Every invoice needs a unique number, your details and your customer's, a description, the supply and invoice dates and the amounts charged. Sole traders and partnerships using a business name must add their own names and an address for service, and VAT-registered businesses must issue VAT invoices to VAT-registered customers.

Work out the VAT on online sales to customers abroad

Goods you send out of the UK are zero-rated if you hold proof of export within 3 months. Services to business customers abroad fall outside UK VAT, and digital services to consumers abroad are taxed where the consumer lives, so you may owe VAT or its equivalent in the customer's country.

Charge the right VAT in a hospitality business

Eat-in meals, hot takeaway food and event catering carry VAT at the standard rate, while most cold takeaway food is zero-rated. Hotel and holiday accommodation is standard-rated, with reduced value for hotel guests after 28 days. Voluntary tips are outside the scope of VAT, but compulsory service charges are not.

VAT on training course fees

Most private training academies charge VAT on course fees once they are registered. Exemption depends on who you are and who funds the course.

VAT on physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic treatment

Treatment within a registered practitioner's profession is VAT-exempt if its main purpose is health. Product sales and third-party reports are not exempt.

Corporation Tax

File your final Self Assessment return

If you stop trading as a sole trader or leave a partnership, you must tell HMRC and send a Self Assessment return for the tax year you stopped in, online by the following 31 January. It is where you claim terminal loss relief and balancing allowances and settle the tax.

Understanding HMRC enquiries

HMRC can usually open an enquiry into a return filed on time within 12 months of receiving it. After that, HMRC can still raise a discovery assessment, normally within 4 years, 6 years if you were careless, 12 years for offshore matters and 20 years if deliberate.

Understand how Corporation Tax works

Limited companies pay Corporation Tax on their profits for each accounting period. Register with HMRC when the company starts doing business, pay 9 months and 1 day after the period ends, and file the Company Tax Return within 12 months, even if the company has no tax to pay.

Corporation tax loss relief

A company with a trading loss can set it against other profits of the same period, carry it back 12 months for a repayment, carry it forward against future profits while the trade continues, or surrender it to group companies. On cessation, terminal loss relief allows a 36-month carry-back.

File your Company Tax Return (CT600)

Every company must file a Company Tax Return (CT600) online for each accounting period, even if it is dormant. You must pay Corporation Tax 9 months and 1 day after the period ends, before the return is due at 12 months, and tag your accounts in iXBRL. Large companies pay in quarterly instalments.

Manage a director's loan account

A director's loan is money you take from your company that is not salary, a dividend or an expense repayment. Loans over £10,000 need shareholder approval and create a taxable benefit, and a loan not repaid within nine months and a day of the accounting period end triggers section 455 tax.

Reduce Corporation Tax on patented profits with Patent Box

Patent Box lets a company pay an effective 10% Corporation Tax rate on profits from patented inventions. You must own the patent or hold an exclusive licence, and have developed the invention or significantly developed it further. The nexus fraction ties relief to your own R&D spending.

Charity trading rules and when you need a trading subsidiary

A charity pays no tax on profits from trading that fulfils or helps its stated purpose. Other trading is exempt only while turnover stays within a limit linked to the charity's income; above it, all the profit is taxable, so larger trades need a subsidiary that passes profits back through Gift Aid.

Plan your Corporation Tax payments

How to pay Corporation Tax on time, including quarterly instalments for large companies and Time to Pay arrangements.

Claim the audio-visual or video games expenditure credit

If your company makes a British-certified film, TV programme or video game, you can claim an expenditure credit on its Company Tax Return. The credit is a percentage of qualifying costs that first pays off your Corporation Tax and other tax debts, and any balance is paid to you in cash.

Claim capital allowances for your company

How to claim AIA, full expensing, and writing down allowances on your Corporation Tax return.

Claim theatre, orchestra or museums and galleries tax relief

If your company produces a play, opera, ballet, orchestral concert or museum exhibition, you can claim an extra Corporation Tax deduction on its production costs. If the production makes a loss, you can surrender it for a cash payment, at a higher rate for touring productions and concerts.

Close company tax rules for owner-managed businesses

What close company status means for your tax obligations, including Section 455 tax on director's loans.

Register your company for Corporation Tax

Step-by-step Corporation Tax registration for new companies.

Transfer pricing rules for UK businesses

Transfer pricing rules require transactions between connected businesses, whether cross-border or within the UK, to be priced as if the parties were independent. Most small and medium-sized businesses are exempt, but larger groups should keep contemporaneous documentation to show HMRC their pricing is at arm's length.

Claim R&D tax relief for your company

How to claim R&D tax relief under the merged scheme and ERIS for innovative UK companies.

Associated companies and Corporation Tax

How associated companies rules affect your Corporation Tax rate thresholds and quarterly instalment obligations.

Digital Services Tax compliance

Digital Services Tax charges 2% on UK revenues from search engines, social media services and online marketplaces. It applies only to groups whose worldwide digital services revenues exceed £500 million and whose UK revenues exceed £25 million. Register within 90 days of the end of your first in-scope accounting period.

Work out which Corporation Tax rate applies to your profits

Corporation Tax is charged at the small profits rate on profits up to £50,000 and at the main rate above £250,000, with marginal relief in between. Both limits are cut for short accounting periods and for each associated company, and close investment-holding companies always pay the main rate.

Income Tax

Tax and trading status for selling on Vinted, eBay or Etsy

Selling your own used things is usually tax-free, and a platform report to HMRC is not a tax bill. If you buy or make things to sell, you are likely to be trading and must register for Self Assessment when your total gross trading income from all trades and platforms exceeds £1,000 in a tax year.

Claim business expenses as a sole trader

As a sole trader you can deduct allowable business expenses from your profits to cut your Income Tax and National Insurance. Costs must be wholly and exclusively for the business, mixed-use costs must be split, and flat rates can replace actual costs for vehicles, home working and living at business premises.

File your Self Assessment tax return

Tell HMRC by 5 October that you need to file, send your return online by 31 January and pay the tax by the same date, with a second payment on account due on 31 July. Missing the filing deadline costs at least £100, even if you owe no tax.

Register as self-employed with HMRC

How to register for Self Assessment as a sole trader, get your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), and understand your National Insurance obligations.

Go full-time with your business

Before you give notice, save enough to cover your essential costs for several months, check your contract for restrictive covenants and line up paying customers. Once you start working for yourself, register with HMRC by 5 October after the tax year you began, and set money aside for tax and National Insurance.

Use the trading allowance

The trading allowance lets individuals earn up to £1,000 a tax year in 2026/27 from self-employment or casual work without paying tax on it. You must choose either the allowance or your actual expenses, never both. Claim expenses instead if they are higher, or if you made a loss you want relief for.

Report property income on your Self Assessment

If you receive rent from UK land or property, report it on the SA105 property pages of your Self Assessment return, unless the £1,000 property allowance or rent-a-room relief covers it. Deduct allowable expenses, claim mortgage interest as a tax reduction, and carry any loss forward.

Get your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)

You cannot apply for a Unique Taxpayer Reference directly: HMRC issues one when you register for Self Assessment, or when a nominated partner registers a partnership. The 10-digit number arrives by post, typically within 10 working days in the UK. HMRC never sends a UTR by email or phone.

Pay your Self Assessment tax bill

How to pay your Self Assessment tax bill, including payment methods, payments on account, Budget Payment Plan, and Time to Pay arrangements.

Pay National Insurance when self-employed

Self-employed people pay Class 4 National Insurance on profits above a lower limit, worked out in the Self Assessment return and paid with the tax bill. Class 2 is treated as paid once profits reach the Small Profits Threshold, and is voluntary below it, where it protects your State Pension record.

Correct your Self Assessment return

How to amend your Self Assessment return within the 12-month window, claim overpayments after the window closes, and understand when HMRC can reassess your return through discovery assessments.

Understand PAYE tax codes

A PAYE tax code tells you how much of an employee's pay is tax-free before you deduct Income Tax. Work out a new starter's code from their P45 or starter declaration, then use the code HMRC sends: you cannot change a code yourself.

Report capital gains on your Self Assessment

You report capital gains on the SA108 pages of your Self Assessment return, due by 31 January after the tax year ends. Gains on UK residential property must also be reported, and the tax paid, within 60 days of completion. Disposals with proceeds over £50,000 must be reported even with no gain.

Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026, with lower thresholds from 2027 and 2028. You keep digital records, send quarterly updates through compatible software and submit your tax return by 31 January.

Keep business records as a sole trader

Sole traders must keep records of all sales, income and business expenses, with the proof behind them, for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline. Keeping inadequate records can cost up to £3,000 a tax year, and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax requires digital records.

Register for Self Assessment

You must tell HMRC by 5 October after the end of the tax year if you need to send a Self Assessment tax return and have not sent one before. Registering, online or by post, gives you the Unique Taxpayer Reference you need to file. Sole traders earning over £1,000 and business partners must register.

Claim Rent a Room relief on income from a lodger

Income from letting furnished accommodation in your only or main home is tax-free up to the Rent a Room limit, and you need do nothing if you stay under it. Over the limit, you file a tax return and choose whether to pay tax on your profit or on your receipts above the limit.

Set up as a sole trader

To set up as a sole trader, register with HMRC for Self Assessment by 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you started trading, keep records of your income and expenses, and file a tax return each year. You are personally responsible for your business debts.

Understand Self Assessment supplementary pages

The SA100 Self Assessment return is the main form, but most people also need supplementary pages for particular income: SA102 for each employment, SA103 for self-employment, SA104 for partnerships and SA105 for property. Complete only the pages that apply, choosing the short or full version where both exist.

FHL tax regime abolition - what's changed

Summary of the furnished holiday lettings tax regime abolition from April 2025, including the tax advantages removed, transitional arrangements, and what to do now.

PAYE & Payroll

Tax rules for staff parties, gifts and Christmas bonuses

An annual function open to all employees can be exempt if its total cost is no more than £150 per head. This is a threshold, not an allowance. A benefit costing £50 or less can be exempt if it is non-cash, non-contractual and not a reward for work or performance. Cash bonuses go through payroll.

Close your PAYE scheme

How to permanently close your PAYE scheme with HMRC, including final FPS submission, issuing P45s to all employees, paying outstanding tax and National Insurance, and understanding scheme reopening rules.

Report expenses and benefits (P11D)

Report taxable benefits such as company cars, private medical insurance and loans on a P11D for each employee, and a P11D(b) for the business, by 6 July after the tax year ends. Pay Class 1A National Insurance by 22 July, or payroll the benefits instead.

What a payslip must show

Yes. In Great Britain, employees and workers must generally get an itemised payslip at or before each payment, showing gross pay, deductions, net pay and, for time-based pay, hours worked.

Maternity leave and pay

Every pregnant employee can take up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave, whatever their length of service, and Statutory Maternity Pay lasts up to 39 weeks. After Ordinary Maternity Leave they have the right to return to the same job on the same terms.

Pay PAYE to HMRC

Pay your PAYE bill (tax, National Insurance and student loan deductions, less statutory pay you can recover) to HMRC by the 22nd of the tax month after you pay your staff, or the 19th for cheques. Employers with small bills can pay quarterly.

Statutory Sick Pay for employers

You must pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to employees who are off sick for 4 or more days in a row. From 6 April 2026 it is payable from the first qualifying day, with no lower earnings limit, for up to 28 weeks through your normal payroll.

Run payroll and submit RTI

Each time you pay employees, record their pay, work out deductions and send HMRC a Full Payment Submission on or before payday. Pay HMRC by the 22nd of the next tax month, and send an Employer Payment Summary if you claim reductions or paid no one that month.

Register as an employer (PAYE)

How to register with HMRC as an employer before your first payday.

Deduct student loan and postgraduate loan repayments

Start deducting student loan and postgraduate loan repayments from the next payday after you learn an employee has a loan, report them on every FPS and pay them with your PAYE bill. Stop only when HMRC sends an SL2 or PGL2 notice, never because the employee asks.

Prepare for an HMRC PAYE compliance check

What to expect and how to prepare when HMRC reviews your PAYE records.

PAYE year-end tasks

What employers must do at the end of the tax year for PAYE compliance.

Correct PAYE errors

How to fix mistakes in your payroll submissions and HMRC records.

Handle a new starter without a P45

What to do when a new employee does not provide a P45 from their previous employer.

Recover statutory payments from HMRC

How to claim back statutory payments (SMP, SPP, SAP, ShPP) from HMRC.

Pay employees who work abroad

When you send an employee to work abroad, you usually keep running PAYE on their pay. Whether you also keep paying UK National Insurance depends on the country and how long they stay, so get a certificate of coverage where an agreement allows the employee to stay in the UK scheme.

Business Finance

Take a customer to the small claims court for an unpaid invoice

Usually yes, if you can prove the debt and the customer can pay. A judgment is a court order to pay. It does not pay you, and you must enforce it yourself.

Claim interest and costs when a customer pays late

When another business pays you late, you can claim statutory interest on the overdue amount and a fixed sum for each debt, set by its size, plus reasonable recovery costs. Interest runs from the day after payment was due. The rights apply without a contract term, and consumer debts are not covered.

Insurance Act 2015 compliance for businesses

Understanding your disclosure duties and rights when purchasing commercial insurance under the Insurance Act 2015.

Consumer credit rates and thresholds reference

Section 75 covers single items costing more than £100 and up to £30,000. High-cost short-term credit is capped at 0.8% interest a day, a £15 default fee and total charges of 100% of the amount borrowed.

Claim Gift Aid on donations

How charities and CASCs can claim Gift Aid to boost donations by 25%, plus use GASDS to claim on small cash and contactless donations without declarations.

Renting business premises

When you rent business premises, the lease sets most of your rights and costs, including repairs and how you can leave. In England and Wales, a business tenancy longer than six months usually carries a right to renew unless you agreed to give it up before signing.

Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief for farms

How Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) work for farms and agricultural estates. Understand the allowances, qualifying criteria, calculate your potential liability, and plan your succession effectively.

Vaping Products Duty

From 1 October 2026, excise duty is charged on all vaping liquid made in or imported into the UK, whether or not it contains nicotine. You need HMRC approval before you produce vaping products or hold them in duty suspension, and every product must carry a duty stamp by 1 April 2027.

Get FCA authorisation to carry on a regulated activity

If your firm carries on a regulated activity in the UK by way of business, it must have FCA permission before it starts, unless an exemption applies; doing so without permission is a criminal offence. Identify each regulated activity you need, then show you meet the threshold conditions.

Understand the taxes your limited company pays

A limited company deals with four taxes. These are Corporation Tax on its profits, VAT once taxable turnover passes £90,000, PAYE on any salary it pays, and Self Assessment for a director's own untaxed income. Companies House and HMRC set separate deadlines and penalties.

Hire purchase and conditional sale agreements

Under hire purchase and conditional sale, the finance company owns the goods until the customer has paid everything. Once a customer has paid one-third of the total, the goods are protected and you cannot repossess them without a court order.

Prepare a cash flow forecast

A cash flow forecast shows, month by month, what you expect to hold in the bank after money comes in and goes out. Enter each item in the month the cash actually moves, including tax and VAT. Any negative month is a funding gap to close before you start.

Meet pre-contract disclosure requirements for credit

Before a consumer signs a regulated credit agreement, give them the SECCI form, explain the credit adequately and assess whether they can afford it. Failing to give the required information in the prescribed form can make the agreement unenforceable.

Understand Landscape Recovery funding for large-scale environmental projects

Landscape Recovery funds large, long-term projects in England that change how land is used, typically over at least 500 hectares and for 20 years or more. It is closed to new entrants and unsuited to most individual farms, which are better served by the other Environmental Land Management schemes.

Comply with credit broking rules

If you introduce customers to a lender or offer finance at the point of sale, you are probably a credit broker and need FCA permission; broking without it is a criminal offence. Tell customers which lenders you work with and disclose any fee before you act.

Prepare for the end of BPS delinked payments

Delinked payments, which replaced the Basic Payment Scheme in England, need no application but are cut by 98% on the first £30,000 and 100% above it for 2026 and 2027. The last payments are for 2027, so plan farm income without them from 2028.

Access farming grants and capital funding

Capital grants help farmers in England buy equipment and technology and improve infrastructure, separately from Environmental Land Management payments. The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund is the most accessible, and the Farming Recovery Fund opens only after severe weather; never buy or start work before your grant agreement is signed.

Register a money service business or crypto-asset business for AML supervision

Before you trade, register for anti-money laundering supervision: with HMRC if you run a money service business such as money transfer or currency exchange, or with the FCA if you are a cryptoasset exchange or custodian wallet provider. Trading unregistered is a criminal offence.

Apply for FCA authorisation under Part 4A FSMA

Before you carry on a regulated activity in the UK, you must have FCA permission under Part 4A of FSMA; trading without it can mean up to two years in prison and an unlimited fine. Scope your permissions, prepare a business plan and apply through FCA Connect.

Business funding and grants

Find funding options for your business.

Get authorised to operate as a bank

To accept deposits in the UK you need authorisation from the Prudential Regulation Authority, with the Financial Conduct Authority's consent, and accepting deposits without it is a criminal offence. Choose full authorisation or authorisation with restrictions, then build your regulatory business plan, board and capital plans.

Comply with credit advertising rules

Every consumer credit advert must meet FCA rules. If it mentions an interest rate, including 0%, a payment amount, the number of payments or the cost of credit, you must also show the representative APR and other set information. Buy Now Pay Later is covered from 15 July 2026.

Raise equity investment

To raise equity you sell new shares to investors, who become part-owners. Prepare your pitch and records, check the tax-relief schemes and the rules on approaching investors, agree terms with a specialist solicitor, then issue the shares and file the allotment with Companies House within one month.

Choose a funder for your creative project

Public funding for creative work comes from different bodies for different projects. Arts Council England funds projects in England, the BFI funds feature films, Innovate UK funds innovation by UK businesses, and the screen agencies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland fund film and television made there. Check each funder's rules first.

Choose between appointed representative status and FCA authorisation

To carry on regulated activities lawfully, you can get your own FCA authorisation, become an appointed representative of an authorised principal that takes regulatory responsibility for you, or join a network. The choice decides who carries liability, how fast you can launch and what you can offer.

Get authorised as a payment institution or e-money institution

If you provide payment services or issue electronic money in the UK by way of business, you must be authorised or registered by the FCA before you start; doing so without status is a criminal offence. Your status sets your capital and safeguarding duties.

Comply with debt collection rules

When collecting consumer debts, as the original lender or a third-party collector, you must treat customers in financial difficulty with forbearance and due consideration. Follow CONC 7 at every stage, from arrears contact to default notices and court action.

Meet FCA threshold conditions for authorisation

A firm seeking FCA authorisation must meet five threshold conditions, and keep meeting them: a UK head office, being capable of effective supervision, appropriate resources, being fit and proper, and a suitable business model. If you fall short, the FCA can vary or cancel your permission.

Understand how the Consumer Duty applies to credit products

The Consumer Duty requires consumer credit lenders, brokers and debt collectors to deliver good outcomes for customers, going beyond the CONC rules. You must show your products offer fair value, and your board must review an annual report on customer outcomes.

Check if your business needs FCA authorisation

You need FCA authorisation if you carry on a regulated activity, such as consumer credit, insurance distribution or mortgage broking, by way of business in the UK. Doing so without it is a criminal offence, and applications often take six to twelve months.

Handle consumer credit complaints and the Financial Ombudsman

Consumer credit firms must have written complaints procedures and send a final response within 8 weeks. The response must tell the customer they can refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months.

Handle early settlement and withdrawal requests

Consumers can repay a regulated credit agreement early at any time, and you must send a settlement statement within 7 working days of a request. Separately, they can withdraw from most agreements within 14 days without giving a reason.

Food business support and grants in Wales

Welsh Government food business support and grants — Business Wales, Food Innovation Wales, Cywain, Farming Connect, Development Bank of Wales, and protected food names.

Opening a business bank account

Limited companies must keep company money in a separate business account, and sole traders and partnerships are strongly advised to. Gather ID, proof of address and your business details, compare fees and features, then apply online; most applications get a decision within a few working days.

Offer Buy Now Pay Later at your checkout

You do not need FCA permission to offer Buy Now Pay Later at your checkout through a lender. Since 15 July 2026 the lender must be authorised and carries the FCA duties, but other credit you offer at checkout can still need a credit broking permission.

Buy a franchise

Buying a franchise gives you an established brand and system in return for fees to the franchisor. No specific franchising law protects you, so the agreement matters most: check the franchisor's accounts, talk to current franchisees and have a franchise solicitor review it before you pay or sign.

Conduct and document affordability assessments for consumer credit

Before lending to a consumer, assess both their creditworthiness and whether they can afford the repayments without financial difficulty. A good credit score alone is not enough: verify income and spending in proportion to the size and length of the loan.

Finding government grants

Government grants do not have to be repaid, but they are competitive and tightly targeted. Search GOV.UK Find a Grant, your nation's portal and your council, check the location, size and match-funding rules before you apply, and declare any other subsidies you have received in the last 3 years.

Business support and grants in Northern Ireland

Start with Invest NI, Northern Ireland's economic development agency and the first point of contact for most business support. If you are starting a business, the free Go For It programme gives you an adviser and helps you write a business plan.

Comply with high-cost short-term credit rules

If you offer high-cost short-term credit, the FCA caps what you can charge: 0.8% a day in interest, a £15 default fee and total costs no higher than the amount borrowed. You must also run stricter affordability checks, carry the risk warning in every promotion and allow no more than 2 rollovers.

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)

The Enterprise Investment Scheme lets your company raise money from investors who get 30% income tax relief on new shares. Check your company and trade qualify, get advance assurance from HMRC, then submit form EIS1 so you can issue EIS3 certificates and keep the conditions for 3 years.

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

SEIS lets a young company raise up to £250,000 from investors who get 50% income tax relief on new shares. Check your company and trade qualify, get advance assurance from HMRC, submit form SEIS1 and issue SEIS3 certificates, then keep the conditions for 3 years.

Protect your business deposits if your bank fails

If your bank, building society or credit union fails, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme pays back your business's deposits up to a set limit per firm, automatically and usually within seven working days. Brands that share a banking licence count as one firm, so check where your money is protected.

Consequences of carrying on regulated financial business without FCA authorisation

Carrying on a regulated financial activity without FCA authorisation or an exemption is a criminal offence, and your customer agreements become unenforceable against them. The FCA can also fine you and make you return customer money, and your directors can be disqualified.

Pay stamp duty on shares

How to pay stamp duty or SDRT when buying UK company shares, including rates, exemptions, and the stamping process.

Get your money back after a payment scam

If a fraudster tricks your business into sending a bank transfer, and you are a microenterprise or charity, your bank must normally refund you within five business days of your claim, up to £85,000. Report it within 13 months. Larger businesses rely on the bank's complaints process and the Financial Ombudsman.

Apply for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier pays for complex environmental land management under agreements of 5 to 20 years. You apply by expression of interest for woodland, agroforestry, species-rich grassland or scheduled monuments, or when Natural England invites you, after pre-application advice agrees your actions.

Self-funding and bootstrapping

Self-funding lets you keep full ownership of your business, but you carry the risk. Decide how much of your own money you can afford to lose, put it in as a director's loan or share capital, and plan when you will need outside funding.

Section 75 claims and connected lender liability

If a customer pays by credit card or other linked credit for a single item costing more than £100 and up to £30,000, the lender is jointly liable with the supplier for any misrepresentation or breach of contract. Section 75 does not cover debit cards, charge cards or buy now pay later.

Apply for a Start Up Loan

A Start Up Loan is a government-backed, unsecured personal loan of £500 to £25,000 for starting or growing a business, with free help on your business plan and up to 12 months of free mentoring. You must be 18 or over, live in the UK and have a business trading for less than 5 years.

Find out which farm environmental funding is open to you

The Sustainable Farming Incentive's 2026 offer is closed to new applications, and existing agreements run on their own terms. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier takes expressions of interest and invitations. Capital Grants 2026 is closed, and Defra said in October 2026 it is exploring alternatives to first come, first served for 2027.

Compare ELM schemes to choose the right environmental funding

England's Environmental Land Management schemes pay for different work. The Sustainable Farming Incentive funds three-year farm actions, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier funds longer agreements on important sites and woodland, and Landscape Recovery backs group projects of at least 500 connected hectares. You can hold more than one if payments never double up.

Other Taxes

Set up an Employee Ownership Trust

An Employee Ownership Trust lets you sell your company to a trust holding a controlling interest for all employees, who pay nothing directly. The company funds the price from future profits, often over several years. A qualifying sale gets Capital Gains Tax relief, which can be clawed back within four tax years.

Understand property transaction taxes

Which tax you pay on business premises depends on where they are. England and Northern Ireland charge Stamp Duty Land Tax, Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax. Commercial and mixed-use purchases use non-residential rates, and returns are due within 14 or 30 days.

SDLT reliefs for corporate property transactions

Corporate groups, developers and charities can claim Stamp Duty Land Tax reliefs on property transactions in England and Northern Ireland. Group relief exempts transfers between 75% group companies, and reconstruction, acquisition and charities reliefs cover other cases. All four can be clawed back within 3 years, and Multiple Dwellings Relief has been abolished.

Pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

When and how to pay SDLT on property purchases in England and Northern Ireland, including rates, reliefs, and deadlines.

Plastic Packaging Tax

Tax obligations for businesses importing or manufacturing plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content.

Land Transaction Tax in Wales

How Land Transaction Tax (LTT) works in Wales, including current rates for residential, non-residential, and additional property purchases. LTT replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales from April 2018 and is administered by the Welsh Revenue Authority.

Business Asset Disposal Relief

How Business Asset Disposal Relief can reduce the Capital Gains Tax you pay when you sell or give away all or part of your business, or shares in your own trading company, who it still saves tax for, who qualifies, how it is worked out against the lifetime limit, and how and when to claim it.

HMRC Compliance

Correct VAT return errors

Correct an error on a past VAT return as soon as you find it. A net error of £10,000 or less, or up to £50,000 and below 1% of your Box 6 figure, can go on your next return. Anything larger must be reported to HMRC separately, online or in writing, and prompt voluntary correction keeps penalties lower.

Comply with Making Tax Digital for VAT

Every VAT-registered business must keep its VAT records in compatible software and file VAT returns through that software, not the HMRC online account. If you use more than one program, data must pass between them by digital links, not copy-and-paste. Only businesses HMRC exempts can file another way.

Avoid Self Assessment penalties

Late filing, late payment and failure to notify each carry their own Self Assessment penalty, and several can apply at once. Missing the 31 January online deadline brings an automatic fixed penalty even if you owe nothing, with more to follow. A reasonable excuse can cancel a penalty on appeal.

Handle an HMRC Self Assessment enquiry

An HMRC enquiry into your Self Assessment return is not an accusation, but you must respond by the deadline or face penalties. Give HMRC exactly the records it asks for, disclose any errors yourself to reduce penalties, and appeal within 30 days if you disagree with the closure notice.

Guides

Holiday let tax obligations and business rates

Since the furnished holiday lettings regime was abolished in April 2025, holiday lets are taxed like other residential lettings, with restricted mortgage interest relief and no Business Asset Disposal Relief on sale. In England, a let pays business rates only if available for 140 days and actually let for 70 days a year.

Wales Visitor Levy for accommodation providers

How the Wales Visitor Levy works, including who it applies to, rates, exemptions, and how to collect and remit it. Councils can choose to adopt the levy from April 2027.

Prepare for Scotland's visitor levy

What accommodation providers in Scotland need to know about the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, including Edinburgh's scheme starting July 2026.