Sandison Lang news
NO SIGN OF SILVER LINING FOR McCLOUD INFORMATION
Many clients are still waiting to receive their remediable pension service statements from NHS Pensions while others have received them, but they contain significant errors.
Doctors impacted by the McCloud remedy were due to receive their statements by 6 October this year. These statements show the recalculations of pension growth and therefore annual allowance positions across the seven years of the McCloud remedy known as the ‘remedy period’.
To recap, the McCloud remedy aims to recompense NHS scheme members deemed to have suffered age discrimination when the 2015 pension scheme was introduced.
While some individuals did receive their statements shortly after the October deadline (originally due to be April this year) many did not. Those that do have their information may have found mistakes in the figures. Upon complaining to NHS Pensions, some were told there is no timeline for providing corrected calculations.
At the time of writing, we have been informed that corrected statements should be received by the end of December – but those who have not yet received their statement will probably have to wait until at least the end of February 2025 before they arrive.
The delay in receiving these figures will not impact the 2023/24 tax returns due by the end of January as the McCloud disclosure for the previous tax years is completely separate.
The deadline for submitting revised McCloud figures to HMRC is three months after receiving the pension statement. However, there is no record of when the information has been received and a substantial discrepancy on when people receive their statements.
Tax calculations
When received, the statements will show whether you paid too much or too little tax on your pension growth for the remedy years. Repayments might be necessary in either direction – with interest added if you are entitled
to a rebate. There are different tax treatments for repayments, depending on the year in question.
Next steps
We are pleased to offer a specialist McCloud service to help you to take the necessary steps upon receiving your revised figures.
Please do contact your accountant as soon as possible should you prefer for us to take the strain out of completing your calculations and / or reporting the new figures to HMRC.
NHS Cost Claim Back Scheme
A reminder that there is also the opportunity to apply to recover some of your costs of using professional advisers to deal with McCloud.
You may be able to claim up to £1,000 including VAT for accountancy services. Further details of the scheme and the application process can be found here https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ public-service-pensions-remedymccloud/nhs-cost-claim-back-scheme
Season’s greetings from the full team at Sandison Lang
Q: With the change in National Insurance for employers, would our practice directors be better to take a salary rather than dividends?
Pensions update
Dr Mark Martin writes: One of the biggest changes announced by the chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Autumn Budget could have a significant impact on the way doctors plan for
Michelle Trivett writes: One of the upsides of the Budget for small business owners was the employment allowance increasing from £5,000 to £10,500 from April 2025. The allowance was originally introduced in 2014 to help businesses by reducing their employer National Insurance (NI) contributions.
The rate change means that companies running a payroll scheme (with more than one employee to be eligible) will not have to pay the first £10,500 of employer National insurance costs incurred.
At the same time, the government will lower the threshold when employers’ National Insurance starts to be paid from £9,100 to £5,000 but employers’ National Insurance will
their retirement funding in the future.
From April 2027, unused private pensions will be subject to inheritance tax (IHT) which means they must now be considered by individuals as part of their wider estate planning. Previously, wealthy pensioners with other income sources may have chosen to leave their private pensions to the next generation and instead, spend other forms of assets in retirement. Now that unused pension funds will be taxed if passed down, it might be more beneficial to use them in your lifetime.
Fortunately, the key exception for married couples and civil partners will still exist. Spouses can still inherit assets such as private pensions free from IHT.
HMRC has confirmed that in the last tax year,
increase from 13.8% to 15%.
As an example of how this would work in practice, from April, paying salaries of £40,000 to two directors would incur an employer NI bill of £10,500 (the first £5,000 of each salary does not incur NI so £70,000 x 15%). However, no employer NI is payable because it is covered by the new employment allowance threshold.
For some businesses, this could be more attractive than paying dividends. Please do speak with your accountant to discuss how this change could benefit your business. There are some stipulations regarding businesses that work in the public sector so it is an important area to get right.
inheritance tax investigations brought in an additional £285m revenue for the taxman, a 14 per cent increase on the previous 12 months. This proves that estate planning is an important area to get right for those who have worked hard to build considerable assets, and also, that the government is not going to reduce its focus on such a substantial earner.
IHT is currently charged at 40 per cent on estates valued above £325,000 but this threshold is due to be frozen until 2030 – nearly 20 years after it was first set. More people than ever before will be caught by IHT which is why careful planning is crucial. If you require any assistance in this area, please speak to your accountant in the first instance who will be happy to recommend a suitable adviser if required.
Getting ahead of the impending stamp duty changes
At the end of March 2025, stamp duty rates will revert to previous levels meaning those looking to arrange house purchases will prefer
to complete as soon as possible.
In September 2022, the government announced temporary changes to the stamp duty thresholds to generate movement in the housing market. These thresholds will now go back to their former levels. Any house purchase which completes after this date, will be subject to the higher rates of stamp duty.
From 1 April 2025, the nil rate threshold currently at £250,000 will be halved to the previous level of £125,000.
There is also a nil rate threshold for first time buyers which is now £425,000 but after the rates change, will return to the previous level of
£300,000. In addition, first-time buyers’ relief which can be claimed on initial house purchases up to £625,000 will be limited to £500,000 in April.
If you or your loved ones have plans for property purchases, you may wish to seek advice from a specialist mortgage adviser. We have worked with the team at Charterhouse Mortgages & Protection and as valued clients of Sandison Lang, they are pleased to offer you and your family members a 50 per cent discount on their standard mortgage advice fees.
To ensure the discount is applied, please mention the offer when getting in touch. Beulah Antonin at Charterhouse can be contacted on beulah@chmap.co.uk or 020 3838 1101.
Viewpoint: William Myatt, partner
Our cover story mentions the increase to Capital Gains Tax rates and it is possible that HMRC collectors might start focussing on those enjoying the latest rises of bitcoin.
The price of the cryptocurrency reached an alltime high in December after the President-elect Donald Trump confirmed his pre-election plans
to create a bitcoin federal reserve. Bitcoin immediately rose to a record price of around $106,000.
Mr Trump has previously announced he plans to the make the US the ‘bitcoin superpower’ of the world.
Closer to home, Britons are also feeling the crypto love as ownership has increased from 3 to 12% of the population over the last five years. Many more are expected to own bitcoin via proxy, for example, by owning shares in companies that invest in it.
The direct investors may be sitting on huge profits and HMRC has let it be known that it is looking at this potential target. It has confirmed that it already has data sharing agreements in place with crypto exchange companies and those supplying banking apps set up to allow people to profit from crypto gains.
For now, the taxman is sending letters to
Managing increased Capitals Gains Tax rates
Back in October, the new chancellor Rachel Reeves announced immediate increases to the rates of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at the Budget. The lower rate, paid by basic-rate taxpayers, increased from 10% to 18% and the higher rate increased from 20% to 24%.
This instant change allowed no room for planning for doctors considering selling assets. However, the Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR), formerly known as Entrepreneur’s Relief, is set to continue with a £1m limit for founders who sell their businesses.
BADR reduces the amount of CGT on disposal of qualifying business assets as long as certain criteria have been met. From April, the rate will increase from 10 to 14% and from April 2026,
HMRC scam warning
Fraudsters are targeting taxpayers with hoax offers of tax refunds or demands for tax payments forcing HMRC to issue a warning as the self-assessment deadline approaches.
Around half of scam reports made to HMRC in the last year have involved fake tax rebate claims. HMRC received over 144,000 scam reports in 12 months, a near 17% increase on the previous year.
will increase again to 18 per cent.
This has encouraged a higher number of private medical practices to bring forward the sale of their business.
HMRC has confirmed that the cost of BADR rose to £1.2m in 2023-24 with a further large increase forecast for this tax year as business owners bring forward eligible disposals before the rate increases. For 2024-25, the relief is due to cost HMRC around £3.4bn.
Much of this year’s increase in asset disposal receipts came from business owners speculating what changes the new government might make to CGT or BADR between the election and the Budget.
individuals suggesting their records show a disposal of crypto assets and inviting them to come clean. It also launched an amnesty web page where investors could declare profits.
From 2026, HMRC will launch the ‘Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework’ – described as a dedicated global tax transparency framework which exchanges tax information on transactions in cryptoassets.
According to research, only 34% of crypto owners said they had a good understanding of CGT – the rest did not understand or had not heard of it.
For those of us more attuned to safer investments and a ‘get rich slowly’ philosophy, we are not bothered by HMRC’s latest spy software but have a more humble wishlist at this time of year. We just need them to answer the phone so we can sort our clients’ legitimate tax queries!
Wishing you a peaceful end to the year and a prosperous 2025.
Here are a few considerations to minimise CGT:
Use your annual exempt amount – and where possible, spread potential gains across tax years.
Transfer assets – to spouses or civil partners to make the best use of both individual allowances.
Assess the best time to sell – if your income tax band is likely to change, consider selling the asset when you are a lower rate taxpayer.
Offset losses – if an asset is sold at a loss, the loss can be used to offset future gains.
Should you have any queries regarding disposing of private or business assets, please do discuss with your accountant.
Many of the bogus incidents included voicemails from the fake taxman threatening legal action, emails promising tax refunds, or text messages asking for financial information.
HMRC has advised taxpayers to be wary of any requests for information and to take time to fully read all information presented to ascertain whether it might be genuine.
A spokesperson said: “HMRC will not contact you by email, text, or phone to announce a refund or ask you to request one. Anyone who is due a refund from HMRC can claim it via their online HMRC account or the free and secure HMRC app."
If in doubt, visit the 'HMRC scams advice' on www.gov.uk
Walking for MS
Anyone for tennis?
In September, our colleague Sarah Cox took part in the MS Walk London to raise much needed funds to help stop MS (Multiple sclerosis).
The annual walk for MS Society has been taking place for over ten years and encourages participants to ‘walk, roll and stroll’ for 20km around the capital’s iconic landmarks.
Sarah first joined the event in 2023 and over the two years, has now raised nearly £5,000. This year Sarah walked with her children Ethan, 11,
and Zoe, 8, who had been cycling and swimming to get ready for the big event.
As many of our clients will know, MS is an unpredictable and incurable condition that affects people's nervous systems. It can attack suddenly or progress steadily, bringing a range of debilitating symptoms.
Sarah was diagnosed with MS last year. Our whole team would like to say well done for your incredible efforts.
Sandison Lang is delighted to be the official sponsor of the United Hospitals Lawn Tennis Club which is the combined tennis club of five London medical schools. It was established in 1887 and is now run by president Professor Peter Mortimer (pictured left).
As well as playing annual matches against the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, additional
Thanking you for thinking of us
Congratulations to Annabel Shaw who wins £1,000 in our latest refer-a-friend prize draw.
Do you have a friend or colleague who could benefit from our specialist services? Simply email their contact details to us to be entered into our
bi-annual draw. (Please do mention that we might be in touch.)
You will also receive an entry into the draw if a friend or colleague mentions your name when they first enquire to Sandison Lang. You may refer
New address for London appointments
Please note that from Monday 6th January, our London office (for pre-booked appointments only) will change to:
Christmas opening hours
opponents have included the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, the British Army, the London School of Economics, University College London and the Queen's Club.
The individual medical schools also compete against one another in an annual tournament. Good luck to all the players for the year ahead.
as many people as you wish – for every person that you suggest, you will receive another entry into the competition which will be drawn in April 2025.
Many thanks for supporting our business.
33 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0PW Our main office will continue to be in St Mary’s Road, Tonbridge.
Our offices will be closed from 1pm on Tuesday 24th December 2024 and will reopen at 9am on Thursday 2nd January 2025.