Receiving Statements Online

Businesses are encouraging their customers more and more to opt for receiving statements and, just as important, invoices online rather than in the post. 

The problem with this is that you need to realise that you might not have access to uploading them to form part of your accounting records for very long. Some businesses are only allowing you access for just six months and generally it is believed that many organisations make them available for about fourteen months.

Apart from that, customers who close their account may lose their online access straight away.

If you are running a business you might not start gathering up your papers for several months after the ‘year end’ by which time some invoices and statements may no longer be accessible online.

Where information will be needed for the accounts and tax return please upload it and store it REGULARLY.

New National Minimum Wage Rates

The National Minimum Wage rates will rise in October 2010 as follows:

from £5.80 to £5.93 per hour for workers aged 21 and over

from £4.83 to £ 4.92 per hour for workers aged 18 to 20

from £3.57 to £3.64 per hour for workers aged 16 to 17.

The government has extended the adult minimum wage rate to 21 year olds from this October. Previously the qualifying age was 22.

There will be a brand new Apprentice Minimum Wage of £2.50 per hour which applies to:

• Apprentices under 19
• Apprentices aged 19 and over, but in their first year as an apprentice.

Change to the Benefit in Kind - Fuel

If your employer pays for the fuel used to run either a company car or your personal car then your tax liability increases as the amount of extra income you are treated as having earned for the year is increased from 6 April 2010 to £18,000 from £16,900.

It is believed that employees would have to travel more than 17,000 private miles each year before the benefit outweighs the cost.