Opus Insights
Insights
Tax, compliance and business commentary, updated as the rules change.
Showing 1–24 of 120 articles
Tax Diary December 2026/January 2027
December 2026…
Read more
Faster planning decisions for small businesses
Businesses planning improvements to their premises could benefit from changes to the planning system intended to reduce delays and make straightforward applications easier to process.…
Read more
New support for growing businesses
Ambitious businesses looking to expand may benefit from a new Government programme designed to help promising companies overcome some of the difficulties associated with rapid growth.…
Read more
Autumn Budget 2026 – Minimum Wage increases
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, announced increases to the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates, confirming that the Government has accepted in full the recom…
Read more
Autumn Budget 2026 – Personal Tax changes
The Autumn Budget 2026 saw no changes to the Income Tax thresholds. From next April, the personal allowance will remain at £12,570, while the basic rate limit remains £37,700 and the higher rate thres…
Read more
Autumn Budget 2026 – CGT reliefs and entrepreneurs
The Chancellor, John Healey announced changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) reliefs for business owners and investors as part of the Budget measures. From 6 April 2027, the lifetime limit for Business As…
Read more
Autumn Budget 2026 – Changes to Capital Allowances
The Autumn Budget 2026 announced changes to the tax relief available to businesses investing in plant and machinery. The Government will increase the main rate first-year allowance to 50% for qualifyi…
Read more
Autumn Budget 2026 - Support for drivers
The Autumn Budget 2026 announced several measures aimed at helping drivers with the cost of fuel, business travel and electric vehicle charging. These include extending the temporary fuel duty cut, ma…
Read more
Autumn Budget 2026 - Increase in Trading Allowance
It was announced as part of the Autumn Budget measures that the Trading Allowance will increase from £1,000 to £3,000 from 6 April 2027. The increase will help people earning small amounts from tradin…
Read more
HMRC targets company shareholders
HMRC is in the process of writing to some individuals defined as a ‘Person of significant control’ (PSC) to raise awareness of potential tax liabilities and to help ensure their self-assessment tax re…
Read more
Inheritance Tax changes for pensions
From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will be included in the value of a deceased person’s estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes. The changes, legislated for in t…
Read more
HMRC highlights CIS filing errors
The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) sets out how contractors deduct tax from payments to subcontractors working in construction. Contractors must submit monthly returns to HMRC detailing payments m…
Read more
Issues with workplace travel claims
HMRC is contacting individuals who have come to the UK on secondment to remind them of the rules for claiming tax relief on travel and accommodation expenses incurred when working at a temporary workp…
Read more
Tax-free counselling for employees
There is a welfare counselling exemption that covers the tax treatment of employer-provided welfare counselling.…
Read more
Penalties for online marketplace operators
HMRC has published new guidance explaining the penalties that digital platform operators may face for failing to meet their tax reporting obligations. The guidance, published on 16 October 2026, clari…
Read more
Budget 2026
What the announcements could mean for you and your business…
Read more
Easier access to public contracts
Smaller businesses may find it easier to compete for public sector contracts following new Government proposals intended to reduce unnecessary paperwork and simplify the process of dealing with public…
Read more
New opportunities to recruit young talent
Businesses experiencing difficulties recruiting suitably qualified employees may benefit from new Government plans to expand apprenticeships, work experience and vocational training across several imp…
Read more
New HMRC tax assessments for savings interest
HMRC is beginning to issue tax calculation letters (P800) and Simple Assessment notices (PA302) to collect any tax owed on bank and building society interest earned during the 2025-26 tax year.…
Read more
New registration rules for payrolling benefits in kind
From 6 April 2027, employers must payroll taxable benefits in kind and expenses in real time, including company cars, car fuel, vans, van fuel, and employer-provided medical benefits. Most other benef…
Read more
HMRC introduces faster National Insurance refunds
HMRC has introduced an automated payment process to speed up refunds for people who may have overpaid National Insurance contributions. The process has been in use since early summer, according to HMR…
Read more
Advance assurance on R&D claims
HMRC offers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) two voluntary advance assurance services to help provide greater certainty about Research and Development (R&D) tax relief claims before they are…
Read more
New rules for Plastic Packaging Tax from April 2027
New rules for Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) will take effect from 1 April 2027, changing how businesses account for chemically recycled plastic and removing pre-consumer plastic waste as an eligible sou…
Read more
UK–India National Insurance exemptions
The UK-India Double Contributions Convention (DCC), which came into force on 15 July 2026 alongside the countries’ trade agreement, aims to prevent employees and employers paying social security contr…
Read more