Key Stories

Q2 2025 Quarterly Economic Survey

We're delighted to continue our partnership with the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce as lead sponsors of the second Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) of the year.

The Q2 survey is now open until 9 June, offering businesses the opportunity to provide feedback on a wide range of issues, including sales and orders, investment, cash flow, confidence and recruitment challenges.

Are you part of the Thames Valley business community? We encourage you to have your say. Please click below to take part in the survey.

Take Survey

Making Tax Digital

Time to act now! From April 2026 all self-employed individuals and landlords with total annual business and/or property income above £50,000 will be required to keep their accounting records digitally and file quarterly returns to HMRC with details of their income and expenditure together with any other information that HMRC specifies. After the end of the tax year a final declaration will be required to finalise the tax position for the year.

Although April 2026 may seem a long way away, self-employed individuals and landlords will need to decide on which software to choose – ideally before the new rules commence. Please click on the link below to find out more.

Download here

Webinar: Family-owned companies - planning for Business Property Relief Changes

In our latest webinar, Alex Nicholson, one of our Business Tax specialists, provides a comprehensive update on the recent changes to Business Property Relief and the implications for family-owned trading companies.

To watch our webinar, please click below.

Watch here

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage challenges and changes

Every employer is responsible for paying the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) to eligible workers, for time worked, and the rates increased significantly from April 2025 – in fact, the largest recorded increases.

Impact analysis – what does this mean?

The headline NMW increases are great news for the workforce in terms of pay. With uplifts mitigating the freeze in the personal income tax allowance threshold for the lowest paid too. The increases this year, together with the Government commitment of establishing a single adult NMW rate, personal income tax allowances and thresholds not set to increase until April 2028, NMW will continue to grab the headlines in the coming years.

HMRC close the VAT avoidance scheme for residential care homes

HMRC has recently closed a VAT avoidance scheme that was promoted by some accountancy firms. This scheme involved residential care homes, which are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and fall within the VAT welfare exemption. Normally, care providers cannot recover VAT on their costs because they make onward exempt sales.

However, the avoidance scheme attempted to remove the exemption for care provision made to Local Authorities and charge standard rate VAT by forming a VAT group with an unregulated and a regulated entity in a supply chain.

When you hear "R&D”, you might picture a lab-coated team in a dedicated research facility or a university spin-out pushing the boundaries of science or technology. But according to new research commissioned by HMRC, that picture only tells part of the story.

A Broader Base of Innovation Than You Might Think

HMRC’s independent study, linked at the end of this article, explored the types and locations of companies claiming R&D tax relief or using the Patent Box. Unsurprisingly, there’s a geographic concentration of claimants in London and the South East. But the more revealing insight is that only 10% of surveyed businesses within the small or medium enterprise bracket described themselves as “pure” R&D companies.

In employment law an employer can be liable for the actions of an employee, even if they didn’t know about them

‘Vicarious liability’ is commonly claimed in discrimination cases, but is less commonly understood by employers. It can be expensive, and can lead to very bad publicity, but it’s actually relatively straight forward to defend against.

All employers should have a vicarious liability defence strategy in place – it needn’t cost a great deal and will fortify attempts to maintain a discrimination free workplace.

The government is introducing legislation to regulate cryptoassets and improve consumer protection for the asset class. The new rules will apply to firms offering services for cryptoassets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The government says that around 12% of UK adults now own or have owned crypto, up from just 4% in 2021. But it says owners have too often been left exposed to risky firms and scams.

Effects of UK-India Free Trade & Social Security Agreement on globally mobile employees

On 6th May, UK & India announced a Free Trade & Social Security Agreement.

This has implications on trade between the 2 countries but it also has a huge impact on temporary Indian workers in the UK who previously needed to pay UK social security, due to no cross-border protection, and vice versa temporary UK employees in India. This move now means that temporary cross-border workers between these 2 countries will remain eligible to contribute to their home country social security scheme, for a period of up to 3 years (exact details to be confirmed), under a certificate of coverage.

Contact Us

James Cowper Kreston is a leading firm of accountants and business advisers with offices across the South of England. We deliver focused, innovative advice to a diverse range of businesses and individuals helping our clients to maximise their potential.

If you have any questions about the topics covered in this newsletter or want to explore how we can help you please contact us here:

Email: info@jamescowperkreston.co.uk

Call: 01635 35255

James Cowper Kreston

The information in this newsletter must not be relied on as giving sufficient advice in any specific case.