Finance Bill 2014 reached its final stage last month on 17 July and is now Finance Act 2014. The Act contains some major changes to UK tax legislation which are now in play including the temporary uplift in the annual investment allowance to £500,000 until 31 December 2015, the new social investment tax relief which is available from 6 April 2014 and the legislation on accelerated payment notices.

Readers are reminded that many new measures announced during the 2013 Autumn Statement and at previous budgets are also now enacted. HMRC and HM Treasury’s Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates is a useful summary of all measures effective as a result of this Finance Act, irrespective of their original source.

As always, the devil is often in the detail – whilst HMRC guidance may be helpful, the specific legislation clauses should always be first port of call for detail of the new measures.