The items this month cover a number of areas.

• Rates and thresholds for employers 2015–2016 has been updated
• HMRC has updated the list (List 3) of professional bodies and learned societies, approved by HMRC for the purpose of Section 344 ITEPA 2003 (allowable deductions from earnings for fees and subscriptions paid to professional bodies/learned societies). The list includes all bodies approved as at 15 September 2015. Applications for list 3 approval should be made using updated form P356
• Updated detailed guidance describing the tax and national insurance contributions treatment of business travel by employees has been published
• VAT Notes 2015 Issue 3 and 4 is available. VAT notes issue 2 has been updated
• See the updated HMRC VAT Partial Exemption Toolkit
• Webinars relevant to VAT, tax agents, employers and the self-employed are available
• Stats which outline total tax relief amounts by category of relief have recently been published. The stats are restricted to those reliefs for which accurate figures can be given
• The NAO has published a suite of short guides, one for each government department, to assist House of Commons Select Committees. A Short Guide to HM Revenue & Customs is available
• The updated HMRC small profits rate and marginal relief toolkit has been published
• HMRC have updated the following guidance: Promoters of tax avoidance schemes and Disclosure of tax avoidance schemes
• Updated form 575(T) has been published. This form is used to request a transfer of any unused married couple’s allowance or blind person’s allowance to a spouse/civil partner
• Detailed updated guidance to intrastat is available: Notice 60: Intrastat general guide, Intrastat: an overview, Intrastat: support and services, Intrastat: step-by-step guide and Completing your Intrastat Supplementary Declaration
• HMRC published its third-party tax software and application programme interface strategy recently. An outline of how HMRC will work with software developers to bring new products to the market is also available
• At the start of September, details of measures to ensure people receive fair pay were announced. The measures include a doubling of penalties for non-payment of the national minimum wage and the new national living wage in addition to an increase enforcement budget. HMRC are also establishing a new team to take forward criminal prosecutions in this area. Anyone found guilty will be considered for disqualification from being a company director for up to 15 years
• The outcome of research examining digital access, use and skills among the UK population has been published. The outcomes of the research will be used by government departments to refine and implement their digital services. In the UK, 15% of the population are ‘digitally excluded’ and 37% are classed as ‘assisted digital’
• Research looking at large businesses’ experiences of dealing with HMRC, their views on the administration of tax policy and wider influences on their attitude to tax has been published
• Tables showing the indexation allowance for assets disposed of in July and August 2015 are now available together with historical data
• Revised Statement of Practice D12: Partnerships has been published. The revisions made take into account the recommendations made by the Office of Tax Simplification.
• HMRC has announced that the accelerated payments legislation introduced last summer has brought in £1 billion in tax payments from users of tax avoidance schemes. Ten things about accelerated payment notices has also been published.
• A number of statistical reports on the UK research and development tax credits regime have been published: distribution of claims by scheme and industry sector, distribution of claims by scheme and region, expenditure used to claim tax credits on an accounting period basis by scheme and financial year, cost of support claimed by scheme and financial year on a receipts basis, cost of support claimed by scheme and financial year on an accounting period basis, number of claims by scheme and financial year, tax credits statistics: September 2015, and corporate tax: Research and Development tax credits
• The Agent Online Self-Serve page has been updated.
• Updated form IHT205 (2011) (Inheritance Tax: return of estate information) is available. Use form IHT205 as part of the probate process if the deceased’s estate is an ‘excepted estate’. An ‘excepted estate’ is usually an estate that doesn’t pay Inheritance Tax.
• The list of overseas corporate lenders who are recognised passport holders has been updated.
• The outcome of research into some interesting areas has recently been published: Motivators and incentives for voluntary disclosure and Understanding the impact of reporting cycles
• HMRC has issued a news story on the Scottish rate of income tax
• Draft guidance notes for the automatic exchange of financial account information have been published. HMRC are requesting comments on the draft as part of an informal consultation. The guidance is designed to bring together key issues for the application of various international agreements including the Common Reporting Standard, Directive on Administrative Cooperation, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and Crown Dependencies & Overseas Territories
• The National Insurance Contributions (Rate Ceilings) Bill introduces the ‘cap’ on NICs increases for the duration of this parliament, as announced at Summer Budget. This Bill has now had its Second Reading in parliament
• A technical note has been published which provides further details of the proposals announced in the Summer Budget for the new main residence inheritance tax nil-rate band
• HMRC have finally published the outcome of the consultation HMRC penalties: a discussion document. There was general agreement that the focus on persistent non-compliers, rather than those who might make the occasional error, was the correct focus. The comments received are intended to inform the development of options for change
• The latest HMRC Trusts and Estates newsletter is now available, together with previous editions
• More interesting research reports have been published as follows:- Profit distribution and investment patterns of unlisted companies, PAYE Real Time Information ‘on-or-before’ requirement: Research with micro and small employers, Qualitative research with people convicted of tax evasion and HM Revenue and Customs Customer Survey 2008 to 2015
• ‘Spotlights’ has been updated. Spotlights looks at tax avoidance schemes which HMRC believes are live and being widely offered to help those using them to avoid tax. Spotlight 26 looks at contractor loan schemes