Cook & Partners

As the Director of a company the way you draw money out is often a carefully planned, balancing act.

A few months ago we wrote about the forthcoming requirement to post full profit and loss accounts with Companies House. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

HMRC issued new guidance in January – which they are describing as ‘simplification’. The guidance is advance warning that, as of April 2026 all benefits in kind (BIKs) will be required to appear on monthly payroll.

When you set up a business you don’t plan to fall out with your business partners. You don’t plan for one of you to be hit by a major health issues. You don’t plan for anyone deciding to take their foot off the gas and work fewer hours.

People seem to fall into two groups – those who see AI as a threat and those who are excited by its potential.

It’s never too early to start thinking about your pension. There are various parts to your pension income – your state pension and possibly auto-enrolment into a pension scheme offered by your employer and/or a private pension.

When it’s carried out by the Post Office on subpostmasters!

Do you have a nice little sideline selling on eBay, Vinted, Etsy or a similar platform? If you do, technically you are liable for tax on profits, where you are trading with the intent to profit. However, under the trading and property allowances, you’re not liable for tax until you make more than £1,000 of profit a year. This allowance applies to anyone selling goods, services or renting out property.

Crypto currency has always been a bit of a grey area when it comes to tax. Back in April 2021 we wrote a blog about how crypto gains are taxed. However, not everyone was aware of the tax implications of crypto gains.

The Autumn statement had a lot of fluff and didn’t please everyone (does it ever), but one positive for business people is the reduction in National Insurance deductions.

Did you know that, if you have employees or contractors from whom you make a CIS deduction, you should be paying a small levy to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB)?

At present, the only people who know what you earn are your accountant, maybe whoever does your salaries internally and, of course, anyone you share this information with. But when the Companies House reforms kick in, your company profit and loss accounts will be there for everyone to see.