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Articles by Olly Jones
Preparing for due diligence: why waiting until heads of terms is too late
What a buyer’s advisers actually test, what can still be changed twelve and twenty-four months out, and what it costs to leave it until exclusivity. The first request list usually arrives as a spreadsheet with a couple of hundred lines on it. Monthly figures for three years. Revenue by customer. Margin by product. Every adjustment to profit, with the evidence behind it. A fortnight later, the questions start coming back on the answers.
Payrolling of benefits: the globally mobile employee exception is now open
Following HMRC’s earlier confirmation, as explained in our article of 26 October 2026, qualifying globally mobile employees (GMEs) can be excluded from the new mandatory payrolling regime. HMRC has now published its guidance and opened the online service which employers will need to use to start or end an exception from the payrolling of benefits. With mandatory payrolling beginning on 6 April 2027, employers with internationally mobile workforces need to decide how they wish to proceed.
HMRC reopens voluntary payrolling for benefits in kind
HMRC opens registration for voluntary payrolling of benefits that are outside of Phase 1 of mandatory payrolling. HMRC has reopened its online service for employers who wish to voluntarily payroll benefits in kind and expenses that do not fall within Phase 1 of mandatory payrolling. This gives employers the opportunity to now voluntarily register to payroll other (non-Phase 1) taxable benefits for the 2027/28 tax year, and for many this will be an important decision to make ahead of 6 April 2027.
What Q3 revealed about advertising’s new ‘Big Three’ and where holdcos go from here – Barry Dudley writes in The Drum
Publicis is powering ahead, WPP is steadying the ship and Omnicom is finding its feet after a mega-merger. The Big Three loom large – but the industry around them is in serious flux. Green Square’s Barry Dudley examines what Q3 reveals about adland’s changing balance of power. When I started out in professional services there were ‘The Big 10’ accountancy firms, which at the time felt quite a daunting gang. But I found my way into that gang with Arthur Andersen.
EMI2: An increasingly valuable option for growing companies
From 6 April 2027, the existing Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) will be rebranded as “EMI2”. The Autumn 2026 Budget changes introduce greater flexibility, making the scheme a more credible alternative for companies that cannot use Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI). CSOP is a tax-advantaged share option scheme that allows qualifying companies to grant employees options over shares, potentially without an income tax or National Insurance contributions (NIC) charge.
Goodbye claim notification: What budget 2026 means for R&D claimants
R&D tax relief did not make Mr. Healey’s speech at the dispatch box, however there were some minor tweaks to the administration of the schemes noted within the budget document itself. The Claim Notification Form (CNF) was introduced in 2023 as part of a wider package of measures designed to combat error and fraud within the UK’s R&D tax relief regime. The purpose of the CNF was to provide HMRC with advance notice of incoming claims.
Budget 2026: HMRC gets more tools to close the tax gap
If there is one clear compliance message from Budget 2026, it is that HMRC intends to become increasingly data-led, digital and proactive. Taken together, the measures give HMRC more people, better access to information and stronger tools to identify non-compliance and collect unpaid tax. For taxpayers and advisers, the direction of travel is clear: HMRC wants to identify problems earlier and intervene sooner.
HMRC confirms exclusion from mandatory payrolling for globally mobile employees
HMRC has announced a significant concession for employers with internationally mobile workforces, confirming that qualifying globally mobile employees (GMEs) may be excluded from the new mandatory payrolling of benefits regime. The announcement, published in HMRC’s 2026 communications regarding the implementation of mandatory payrolling, recognises the practical difficulties that arise when reporting benefits provided to expatriate employees in real time.
The IPO and beyond: Lessons for finance leaders
Laura Mott and Chris Cork, Partners and Co-Heads of Equity Capital Markets at HaysMac sit down with the London Stock Exchange to discuss the key lessons for finance leaders preparing for an IPO and life as a listed business. What the full interview below
RDM Wines vs HMRC: Tax relief on tap – is it time at the bar?
The First-tier Tribunal’s (FTT) decision in RDM Wines Limited (“RDM”) vs HMRC continues a theme from recent R&D tribunal cases: businesses should treat record keeping and claim governance as an integral part of the R&D process, rather than attempting to reconstruct the evidence when a claim is subsequently challenged. It also provides another reminder that the development of an innovative product does not necessarily represent R&D for tax purposes.
International Controlled Transactions Schedule (“ICTS”) requirements: what businesses need to know
ICTS is a new annual transfer pricing (TP) reporting requirement, intended to apply for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. It will require UK businesses to report specified cross-border related-party transactions to HMRC in a standardised format. This includes details of the TP methodology adopted, the profit level indicators used, the mark-ups or margins applied, and a range of qualitative disclosures. HMRC is taking a significant step towards more data-led TP compliance.
Film, TV and video games tax incentives continue to grow, but is the story changing?
HMRC’s latest creative industries statistics show that UK film, television and video games tax incentives remain a significant driver of investment and production activity, with total creative sector support rising to £2.45 billion in the year ended 31 March 2025 (2024/25). Crucially, these are the first statistics published since the introduction of the reformed Creative Industry Tax Reliefs, including AVEC, IFTC and VGEC.
Environmental Services Ltd v HMRC: Key Lessons for R&D Claimants
The recent First-tier Tribunal (FTT) decision in Environmental Services Limited (ESL) v HMRC concerned R&D tax relief claims made in relation to two engineering-focused projects undertaken by a specialist waste collection and transportation business. Facing increasingly complex waste-disposal regulations and the operational demands of a major contract linked to the M1 smart motorway upgrade, the company developed a range of modifications to its vehicles, storage tanks and waste-handling systems.
Mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind: Why employers must start preparing now!
HMRC has now provided further detail on its phased introduction of mandatory payrolling of Benefits in Kind, confirming that real-time reporting of benefits through payroll will become a reality for most employers over the next two years. HMRC’s decision to delay and phase implementation, the latest announcements make it clear that businesses should not view the additional time as a reason to postpone preparations.
Property Conversions and refurbishments: Are you paying more VAT than you need to?
For many property owners, VAT is simply accepted as part of the cost of a refurbishment or conversion project. However, what many people do not realise is that certain building works may qualify for a reduced VAT rate of 5%, potentially saving tens of thousands of pounds over the course of a project. Unfortunately, the VAT rules surrounding property conversions and refurbishments are some of the most complex areas of UK VAT legislation.
Is your agency really ready for a sale? Here’s what buyers want to see – Tony Walford writes in The Drum
M&A advisor Tony Walford explains why timing the market matters less than making sure your agency is genuinely ready to sell. As the UK tumbles towards the first autumn statement under new prime minister Andy Burnham’s watch, the fears of a hike in capital gains tax are weighing on the minds of many agency founders and stakeholders.
Experimenting with AI? What Founders Need to Know About R&D Tax Relief
As a team which primarily supports claimants within the technology sector, the number one question we receive from our clients is “we’re working with AI, do we qualify for R&D credits?”. As you might expect, the answer is… it depends. As we see it there are 3 types of company conducting R&D in the AI space (for the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the AI darling of the moment, Large Language Models, other flavours of AI are available!): 1.
Tanglewood Care Services v HMRC: where innovation ends and R&D begins
Tanglewood operates residential care homes and, during the Covid-19 pandemic, developed an extensive programme of infection-control measures designed to protect vulnerable residents. The company subsequently submitted an R&D claim for just over £380,000 of qualifying expenditure relating to a project entitled “Managing outbreak & effects of a Global Pandemic in a residential care home (Covid-19)”.
Your business has outgrown its finance function. What are your options?
You can usually tell from a board meeting. The pack lands the night before. Forty minutes go on reconciling two versions of the same number. Someone asks what cash looks like in March and the honest answer is “roughly”. The strategic item gets pushed to next month, for the third month running. Nobody in that room is underperforming, and the finance team is probably working harder than it ever has.
Mandatory Payrolling of Benefits: HMRC Releases Further Practical Guidance
HMRC has released further guidance on the mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind (BIKs), providing employers with additional clarity ahead of the new regime coming into effect from April 2027. The latest update focuses on three key areas: practical payroll operation; reporting requirements and data fields; and year-end corrections and adjustments.
The new AIM Rules explained
Responding to the demands of listed companies, investors, the Quoted Companies Alliance (“QCA”) and other stakeholders, the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”) published a revised version of the AIM rules on 5 August 2026. These new AIM rules have been designed so that the AIM market can better support founders, innovative growth companies and investors by making it easier for newer entrants to join and to reduce the burden on those already listed.
When gifting becomes a tax time bomb
Giving wealth away during your lifetime is often one of the simplest ways to reduce the value of your estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes. It’s also one of the most rewarding. Few people would choose to leave wealth behind if they could instead help their children buy a home, support grandchildren through education or see the next generation enjoy it while they’re still around. Yet gifting is also one of the easiest areas of estate planning to get wrong.
Tax Navigator: Staff Incentivisation
The Summer edition of Tax Navigator covers a topic that I know is always on the minds of people who run businesses: staff incentivisation. I am delighted to share articles from two experts in this area; Nick Bustin, Director and Head of Employment Tax, and Dave Bareham, Partner, who is widely recognised for his deep expertise in share schemes and employee incentives.
R&D Tax Credits for Fintech Businesses: A practical guide
FinTech is a cornerstone of the UK economy, driving innovation, improving access to financial services, attracting significant inward investment and helping to strengthen the UK’s position as a leading global financial center. Whether developing proprietary payment platforms, enhancing fraud detection capabilities, automating compliance processes or applying artificial intelligence to financial services, many fintech businesses undertake activities that may qualify for R&D Tax Credits.
HMRC Confirms Phased Introduction of Mandatory Payrolling for Benefits in Kind
HMRC has confirmed that the move to mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind (BiKs) will be introduced on a phased basis, following feedback from businesses, advisors and software developers. This represents a significant shift in the way employers report and process taxable benefits, with real-time reporting of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance contributions set to replace the traditional P11D process.
Transitioning from Sole Trader to Partnership: Key Tax Considerations for UK Businesses
As a business grows, operating as a sole trader can start to feel limiting. Bringing in a partner can unlock shared expertise, spread risk and create a stronger platform for growth. It also changes how your business is taxed, reported and managed. Moving to a partnership is a positive step, but it’s one that benefits from planning. Decisions around profit sharing, asset transfers, VAT and ongoing compliance all need to be handled carefully to avoid disruption or unexpected tax consequences.
Setting Up a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP): A Practical Guide
As your business grows, choosing the right legal structure becomes an important strategic decision. For many professional services firms, joint ventures, and growing teams, a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) offers a practical balance between flexibility, protection and tax transparency. An LLP can work extremely well, but only if it’s set up with the right foundations. Decisions around governance, profit sharing, tax treatment and reporting all shape how the LLP operates day to day.
Adding a Member to an Existing LLP: Tax and Legal Considerations for UK Businesses
Expanding your LLP by admitting a new member can support growth, succession, and specialist capability. It can also be a positive step for the wider partnership, strengthening resilience, sharing responsibility, and bringing fresh expertise into the business. However, bringing a new member into an existing LLP isn’t just an administrative change.
Capital Allowances on Office Refits: Maximising Tax Relief for Your Business
An office refit is more than a fresh coat of paint, it’s an opportunity to unlock tax relief and improve cash flow when you plan the project with capital allowances in mind. Our aim is simple: help you turn complex rules into straightforward, actionable steps so your refit pays off operationally and financially. Capital allowances let you deduct qualifying capital spend from taxable profits.
Mileage rates increase to 55p – what this means for employers and employees
The Government has announced a significant and long‑awaited uplift to the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) rates, increasing the headline rate for cars and vans from 45p to 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles, effective from 6 April 2026 (2026/27 tax year). This represents the first change in more than a decade and reflects the rising cost of vehicle ownership, including fuel, maintenance and insurance.
Things will get tougher, have a PSA health check!
Ahead of 6 July employers should be planning to complete and submit their P11Ds and PAYE settlement agreement (PSA) computations. HMRC, through the increased use of technology and by modifying how computations need to be submitted in a pre-determined format, are getting greater visibility into the types of benefits and taxable expenses employers are providing to the employees.
Tax Navigator Spring Edition
The international scene, and it’s impact on taxation. The Spring edition of Tax Navigator examines a topical issue: how international and geo-political uncertainty affects matters of taxation. To cover this topic in sufficient depth, we have deployed expertise from across our HaysMac tax team, including experts in corporate tax, private client tax, VAT and investor tax reporting.
Final Whistle: Tribunal Confirms Referees Are Self-Employed
In May 2026, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) brought long-running litigation in the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) v HMRC to a close, concluding that National Group football referees were self-employed rather than employees. The decision follows years of appeals and judicial scrutiny, including a pivotal ruling by the UK Supreme Court in 2024.
Inheritance tax: Why families can’t afford to put planning off
The government’s refusal to relax the inheritance tax (IHT) payment deadline has delivered a stark warning to families: the system is becoming tougher, more complex and more expensive to navigate and advance planning is no longer optional. From next April, pensions will increasingly fall within the scope of inheritance tax, dragging many more estates into the IHT net.
Making Income Tax Digital Exemptions
By way of an update from our recent publications regarding Making Income Tax Digital which can be read here, several exemptions have been announced which we detail below. MTD for Income Tax applies to unincorporated businesses and landlords with UK or overseas property income in excess of £50,000 gross, with effect from April 2026. Certain taxpayers will be automatically exempt or may need to apply for an exemption.
The New Finance Operating Model: Why FinTechs Are Re Thinking Their Internal Accounting Teams
Across the FinTech landscape, a growing number of firms are re‑evaluating how their finance function should be built. What started as a question of how to better support overstretched internal teams has become a more fundamental discussion: should all finance operations even sit in‑house? The triggers are familiar but increasingly unavoidable; more intrusive regulation, deeper audits, multi‑layered tech stacks and investors who look for control maturity much earlier than before.
Taxing times for trustees: why compliance has become a full-time job
For many families, appointing a trustee has traditionally been about trust in the truest sense of the word. A trusted individual, often a family member or long-standing advisor, tasked with safeguarding assets and acting in the best interests of beneficiaries. But in today’s environment, being a trustee is no longer a passive or occasional responsibility. It is an active role, increasingly shaped by complex tax rules, growing reporting obligations and heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Payroll Savings Schemes: When good intention becomes a National minimum wage risk
Payroll savings schemes are often introduced to support low-paid staff with financial wellbeing, but recent case law confirms that even voluntary schemes can result in unlawful National Minimum Wage (NMW) underpayments, particularly where deductions remain under employer control. Without careful structuring through independent arrangements and robust payroll safeguards, these schemes pose significant legal, financial, and reputational risks despite their well-intentioned aims.
Managing Risks Around Visa Conditions and Working Hours
In recent months we have seen the authorities increase their oversight of visa related employment and general working conditions. Where organisations have been found to have fallen short of the required regulations, fines can be significant and we have seen these being issued in excess of £20k per employee. Now is the time to review your internal procedures and ensure that you have robust systems in place to monitor these arrangements.
Visitor levies in England: what hospitality businesses need to know
Hospitality businesses are no strangers to operating under cost pressure. Margins are tight, regulation continues to evolve, and operators are expected to absorb change while still delivering exceptional guest experiences. Against this backdrop, the Government’s consultation on introducing an overnight visitor levy in England is one more development that hospitality leaders need to understand early.
HMRC Wins Supreme Court VAT Case Against Hotel La Tour — Key Lessons for Corporate Restructuring - HaysMac - Award-winning Chartered Accountancy Firm
In a decision released today, the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in its long-running dispute with Hotel La Tour Ltd, confirming that VAT incurred on costs directly attributable to share sales is not recoverable, even when those sales fund taxable business activities. Hotel La Tour Ltd sold its Birmingham hotel subsidiary in 2017, incurring over £76,000 in VAT on professional services including legal advice, financial modelling, and consultancy.
HMRC raining down scrutiny on umbrella companies
There has been an increase in HMRC issuing letters titled ‘Publishing information about you’ to agencies. It is vitally important that representations are made within the deadline set, usually 30 days of the date of the letter. Failure to do so will result in HMRC deciding, without evidence to the contrary, to publicly publish information about tax avoidance schemes and their suspected promoters and enablers. If you receive a HMRC communication, immediately seek experienced professional advice.
Autumn Budget 2025: Closing the tax gap
Measures introduced in the budget in the furtherance of closing the tax gap are expected to raise an additional £2.4 billion of tax revenue in 2029/30, bringing the total expected additional revenue raised by closing the tax gap during this Parliament to £10 billion in 2029-30 by tackling those who try to bend or break the rules, collecting more unpaid taxes and modernising the tax system.
Autumn Budget 2025 Full Summary
Our full summary document is now available. After months of endless speculation, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivered her second Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025. These delivered up to £26 billion of tax rises through a range of measures, though principally by extending the freeze on Income Tax thresholds for a further three years and future increased tax rates for property, dividend and saving income.
Autumn Budget: turned a page, but the same story.
The early release of OBR forecast gave the game away! After months of speculation, we now understand the Chancellor expects to raise £26 billion in tax take by 2029-30, thanks to the Budget released today. Many of today’s announcements are not scheduled to come into force until 2027 at the very earliest. In terms of reforms that will be introduced immediately, the list is thankfully short, meaning we have time to consider and plan the best way to respond.
Property tax is changing – is your business model still fit for purpose? - HaysMac - Award-winning Chartered Accountancy Firm
For finance leaders in highly acquisitive property businesses, the tax landscape is moving faster than many realise. HMRC has stepped up its focus on how property businesses classify activity – whether it is trading or investment – and this distinction can have major implications for how you structure Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), hold assets and plan developments. A model that worked perfectly five years ago may now expose you to unexpected tax liabilities or missed relief opportunities.
HMRC’s tougher stance on property tax reliefs: what finance leaders need to know
For finance leaders in highly acquisitive property businesses, the atmosphere around property tax reliefs has changed. Reliefs that once passed almost automatically are now attracting close inspection. HMRC is digging deeper, asking sharper questions, and in some cases, pushing disputes to the limit. The result? Higher risks of delays, unexpected costs, and the possibility of your business being used as a public example.
Practical Guidance
In April 2024, we wrote about HMRC’s aggressive approach to checking R&D claims at the time. HMRC’s approach to Research & Development (R&D) tax relief claims has evolved since 2024, with a notable reduction in new enquiries and the introduction of stricter compliance measures. While this has curbed abuse, genuine claimants still face challenges, particularly with legacy enquiries. This article outlines the key changes, practical steps for claimants, and what to expect in the coming year.
Pension salary sacrifice – Are changes coming? - HaysMac - Award-winning Chartered Accountancy Firm
Some thoughts ahead of the Autumn Statement on Wednesday 26 November 2025 It is widely reported the Chancellor will be making significant changes to pension salary sacrifice arrangements as part of her strategy to fill some of the Government’s financial ‘blackhole’. The UK government lost an estimated £4 billion in annual revenue during the 2023-24 tax year due to pension salary sacrifice schemes, -according to HMRC data.
Autumn Budget 2025 UK
Much like in 2024, this year’s Autumn Budget appears to be more reactive than forward thinking. With manifesto promises tying the Chancellor’s hands, major revenue sources like Income Tax and VAT are unlikely to change, and significant public sector cuts have been ruled out. Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves finds herself in a political bind, leaving us to interpret what the Budget announcements will truly mean for individuals, families, and businesses.
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