After nearly 40 years in our current offices, Lewis & Co is on the move! However, we couldn’t leave our spiritual home of Southborough, so – from Wednesday 1 April – we are relocating just a few doors down to 116 London Road (the former home of Hardman & Hemming Tailors).

Locals might have noticed the recent building work going on in our new office and we are excited to move our team into a space that will perfectly suit our needs, as we plan our next 40 years!

All our existing contact details remain the same, including our phone number: 01892 513515.

We’d love to welcome you into our new home, so do knock on the door if you’re passing.

Making Tax Digital (MTD), effective from 1 April 2026, is a significant change as to how Self Employed and Property Landlord taxpayers report their income and expenditure to HMRC.

Below are some of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) we have been asked on the subject so far:-

What is MTD?

MTD has been introduced primarily to give HMRC more visibility as to the income and expenditure of Self Employed and Property Landlord taxpayers whilst also trying to promote more timely record-keeping.

In very simple terms MTD means making quarterly digital submissions to HMRC, using an accounting software package, in addition to making the usual year end submission.

Who does MTD apply to?

MTD applies to Self Employed and Property Landlord taxpayers with gross income (before the deduction of expenses) over and above the relevant thresholds. See the next section for these thresholds.

When does MTD start and what are the relevant income thresholds?

MTD comes into effect from 1 April 2026 – but not necessarily for all Self Employed and Property Landlord taxpayers. That depends on your level of gross income.

If your gross income exceeds £50,000 per year then you will need to comply with MTD from 1 April 2026.

If your gross income exceeds £30,000 per year then you will need to comply with MTD from 1 April 2027.

If your gross income exceeds £20,000 per year then you will need to comply with MTD from 1 April 2028.

What are the relevant quarter end dates and reporting deadlines?

Quarterly reporting will operate cumulatively and covers the following periods with the following deadlines, irrespective of the actual accounting year end date of the business.

Q1 – 1 April to 30 June – Deadline 7 August.
Q2 – 1 April to 30 September – Deadline 7 November.
Q3 – 1 April to 31 December – Deadline 7 February.
Q4 – 1 April to 31 March – Deadline 7 May.

What needs to be reported?

HMRC have confirmed that a simplified 3 line report can be submitted each quarter, showing income, expenditure and profitability. No detailed categorisation over and above that is required.

Does MTD affect Limited Companies and/or Partnerships?

HMRC have confirmed that MTD will not be expanded to include Limited Companies.

There is however an intention to roll out MTD at some point in the future to include Partnerships and Limited Liability Partnerships. As yet no timescales have been announced.

Do I need to pay Income Tax quarterly?

At the moment, no. It is purely quarterly reporting that has been introduced thus far.

Do I need an accounting software package?

An accounting software package is almost certainly needed in order to make the digital submissions to HMRC.

If you have a software package already in place you should speak to your accountant about the most efficient way of making the submissions through that.

If you do not have a software package then speak to your accountant to see if they can assist you in making the submissions on your behalf using their own software.

What if I become Self Employed or a Property Landlord midway through the year?

If you were to become Self Employed or a Property Landlord midway through the year then your gross income will need to be projected to estimate what your annual income will be. It is your estimated annual income that will then determine at what point MTD applies.

What if I jointly own a Property?

MTD only applies to your share of the gross rental income received. Not the overall total gross rental income received by all of the owners of the property.

Does this affect me if I am already within MTD for VAT?

Unfortunately so – MTD for Income Tax and MTD for VAT are two separate things.

What if my income falls beneath the qualifying thresholds?

Once you are within MTD you will only become exempt if your gross income falls beneath the relevant threshold for 3 consecutive years.

What if I make a mistake in one quarter?

MTD reporting is cumulative so if an error has been discovered it can simply be corrected in the submission for the following quarter.

Do I still need to do a Self Assessment Tax Return?

After the fourth and final submission you will need to file your usual Self Assessment Tax Return, pre-populated with the income and expenditure from the already-submitted quarterly reports you have made. There will undoubtedly be some adjustments needed for accounting and taxation purposes which you should liaise with your accountant about. The usual submission deadline of 31 January still applies.

Are there penalties under MTD?

Penalties for late submissions will be calculated on a points-based system, similar to those currently in place for VAT. No financial penalty arises for the first late submission but may well do for continual offenders.

Penalties for failing to keep adequate records however can be as much as £3,000 depending on the offence involved.

Before the end of another tax year (5 April 2026), it is sensible to look at how you can make the most of any unused allowances and exemptions. There are a range of options from maximising personal allowances, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax exemptions, through to transferring allowances between spouses and making tax-efficient pension contributions.

Personal Allowances
It is important to consider using your tax-free personal allowance, which is £12,570 for the 2025-26 tax year. If you have your own limited company and have not already drawn anything, then you could consider a salary of up to £12,570 – but be warned that this could trigger an Employers National Insurance liability, although you would receive a credit towards your personal state pension.

If you are earning more than £100,000, then your personal allowance will be reduced by £1 for every £2 of income over this figure and to nil if your income exceeds £125,140.

If you and your spouse are basic rate taxpayers, it is possible to transfer up to 10% of unused personal allowances to a spouse or civil partner (£1,257 for the 2025-26 tax year).

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Transfers between a spouse or civil partner can be made at no gain/no loss. This means that a transfer ahead of a disposal can mean that both annual allowances could be used.

Inheritance Tax
You can gift up to £3,000 a year without any Inheritance Tax (IHT) implications and this allowance can be carried forward to the next year (but only for one year). There’s no IHT to pay on gifts between spouses or civil partners.

Pensions
Pensions have traditionally been an area where tax savings can be made, with tax relief for pension premiums continuing to be tax efficient. If you’re a UK taxpayer, in the tax year 2025-26, the standard rule is that you’ll get tax relief on pension contributions of up to 100% of your earnings or a £40,000 annual allowance, whichever is lower.

Any contributions you make over the limit won’t attract tax relief and will be added to your other income and be subject to Income Tax at the rate which applies to you.

Always remember to speak to your financial adviser first.

This time of year is also the ideal time to have a catch up and review your affairs, whether business or personal. Do call our team on: 01892 513515.

This month (March 2026) marks ten years since Gary Cornwell took over the reins at Lewis & Co from Barney Lewis, who established the firm 40 years ago. Over that time, Lewis & Co has grown from Gary and David Southall, to also include Adam Bailey and Lorraine Kendall.

Gary first walked through our door in Southborough as a student on work experience! At that point, he had been thinking about becoming a chef and accountancy wasn’t on his radar at all – but Barney changed his mind!

“Looking back, I was really lucky with how Barney supported me during those two weeks,” says Gary. “I realise that work experience for many students means making the tea and filing but Barney took the time to introduce me to the world of accountancy.”

Gary obviously impressed Barney, as he was offered the opportunity to work at Lewis & Co during his school holidays. From then on, his growing interest in accountancy led Gary to studying it at the University of Northampton, alongside sports studies. Then, in 2003, he joined Lewis & Co full-time as an accounts assistant.

“It was a case of being in the right place at the right time,” says Gary. “More than 20 years later, I am in the unusual position of having never had a job interview or, indeed, needed to write a CV.”

Gary went on to study for his AAT exams, before moving onto his ACCA qualifications.

In March 2016, Barney retired from the business and passed the mantle of Managing Director to Gary.

“I was fortunate to take over a well-established and well-regarded business and we continue to be that friendly practice Barney created,” says Gary. “I am proud that we have recorded year on year growth over the past decade and have increased our client base. However, we are also pleased to still be acting for many clients welcomed to the firm by Barney, who have stayed with us over the years.”

Today, Lewis & Co’s four-strong team continues to focus on providing accountancy support to both individuals and businesses.

“My goal for the next ten years at the helm is ‘more of the same’,” says Gary. “However, we acknowledge that 2026 looks challenging for Sole Traders, with the roll-out of MTD (Making Tax Digital) and we will continue to support our clients, as they navigate this new world.”

Our home county of Kent is an area of the UK where children still have the option of taking the 11 Plus examination to get into a grammar school. Figures for 2023 suggest that around 100,000 sit the 11 Plus exams annually, representing roughly 14% of the Year 7 cohort in England. In Kent, 17,037 children took these exams.

Parents keen to give their child the best chance of passing this set of exams will often consider engaging a private tutor to mentor them.

Recently, we’ve also seen an increase in tutors supporting families who have chosen to home school their children. In fact, according to government figures, 175,000 children were in elective home education (EHE or being home-schooled) at any point during the 2024/2025 academic year (an increase from 153,000 children in 2023/2024).

On top of that, sometimes families might go down the one-to-one tuition route for students requiring support in one or more subjects. They might be catching up on missed work (for myriad reasons), filling knowledge gaps or, perhaps, getting help for a niche subject or less common exam board where group courses are hard to find.

Typically, these private tutors are self-employed, while others might set themselves up with a limited company. In either case, at Lewis & Co, we are there to assist these clients to complete their accounts in the most tax-efficient manner.

While private tutors will have many of the same business issues as other clients, there are aspects that are different. For a start, their business could be seasonal – with a surge in demand prior to exam season and, potentially, less work during school holidays. To help, we can look at ways of supporting them to write a business plan to take this into account.

In addition, it’s likely they will be travelling between private homes to provide tutoring and we can advise on the tax implications of this travel; while they might need to purchase textbooks and exam papers.

If you’ve got any questions at all, then please do contact us on 01892 513515 or info@lewisandco.biz

Here in the UK, Christmas – which seems like a distant memory now – is always the busiest shopping time of the year. According to the Office for National Statistics, Christmas sales figures for 2025 showed a mixed performance for retailers. While some segments, such as clothing, showed strong growth others, including food, only grew slightly. The overall sentiment among retailers was cautious but, despite this, the UK consumer still spent freely during the festive period, particularly on retail goods.

While many people will go online to do their shopping, the movement to ‘shop local’ is a compelling one, with an understanding that you are not only supporting a small business, but you are contributing in some way to your local community.

Locally, we have seen our nearest shopping centre, Royal Victoria Place in Tunbridge Wells, secure Primark, which opened just before Christmas, and a number of other smaller outlets opening up including Zerdo Gourmet Shop, Jamaica Blue and Kochi. Arguably, any new outlets that bring consumers into our local towns is good news for local businesses as well.

Here at Lewis & Co, we count a number of retailers among our clients, including the Southborough Computer Centre and Chests & Drawers, on our doorstep. Then, across the South East, we also support retailers including a bridal shop and a couple of hardware stores. And we’re on hand with advice about everything from business planning to tax.

Some of our retail clients – including the hardware stores – can clock up many transactions a day, a number still in cash. For them, the bookkeeping they are expected to do is more complex than for many other businesses.

Cash flow, reconciliation and stock control are also issues which affect retailers more than other businesses. At Lewis & Co, we are there to support them and make sure that what happens on the shop floor is translated into figures we can use effectively when it comes to submitting their accounts.

Today, many of our retail clients do also sell online and we can support them with the ecommerce side of their business. In addition, we offer retailers payroll services, as well as VAT planning and advice.

If you’ve got any questions at all, then please do contact us on 01892 513515 or info@lewisandco.biz

Over the past few years and certainly since the pandemic, employers have begun to understand the importance of supporting their team in ways that make their work/life balance better. Not so long ago, workers might feel appreciated when given a company car or health insurance, now more are looking for elements including paid leave, flexible work arrangements and, increasingly, wellness programmes.

Mental health is certainly high up on the agenda and something every employer needs to take seriously. According to data from health benefits provider, Simplyhealth, one in nine UK workers took time off due to mental health reasons in the past year and over a quarter (27%) of those affected were off for more than two weeks. The figures show that 11% of working adults reported taking sick leave for mental health-related issues – the third most common cause of sickness absence, after minor illnesses (23%) and muscle or joint pain (12%).

First aid provision in the workplace has been mandatory for 45 years, with the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 requiring employers to provide ‘adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel’ to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work.

Now, many businesses are also supporting team members to become mental health first aiders, so they are ready to identify, understand and support someone who may be experiencing a mental health problem’.

At Lewis & Co, we’ve noticed a number of new businesses setting up locally, such as wellbeing coaches – some offering mental health first aid courses – and others providing mindfulness coaching or perhaps yoga or menopause support in the workplace. All of these are fairly new business types and we are here, as ever, to support entrepreneurs like this with their tax and accounts, as they provide their vital services in the workplace.

When it comes to employers, there is an opportunity to benefit from tax relief on employee benefits in kind (BIKs) by deducting the cost of these benefits from their taxable profits, thus helping to lower the employer’s Corporation Tax liability. HMRC does then state that these benefits must be ‘wholly and exclusively’ for the employer’s trade or profession to qualify for tax relief. Understandably, this does leave many business owners confused as to what BIKs they can claim tax relief on and we are here to help with any of those queries.

If you’ve got any questions at all, then please do contact us on 01892 513515 or info@lewisandco.biz

HMRC has announced that the tax relief currently available to employees who are required to work from home will be withdrawn from 6 April 2026. At present, employees can claim a flat-rate deduction of £6 per week (or the actual additional costs if they can provide evidence). From 2026, this relief will no longer be available, unless the employer reimburses the expenses directly.

Currently, employees who are required to work from home and incur extra costs, such as increased utility bills, can currently claim tax relief.

During the pandemic, the Government temporarily relaxed the rules for 2020/21 and 2021/22, allowing anyone working from home because of Covid-19 restrictions to claim the relief. Since then, hybrid and remote working has become more common.

Recent Government checks discovered that over half of claims were made by employees who weren’t eligible. This was because PAYE tax code adjustments were incorrectly carried forward from the pandemic years; or hybrid workers assuming that choosing to work from home qualified them for relief, when the rules only apply where homeworking is a contractual requirement.

From 6 April next year, employees will no longer be able to claim tax relief on homeworking expenses, unless their employer reimburses the costs.

Employers will still be able to reimburse genuine homeworking costs tax-free, so it may be worth reviewing your company’s homeworking policies ahead of the change.

Do get in touch with our team at Lewis & Co, if you’ve got any question: 01892 513515.

While Making Tax Digital (MTD) is getting closer, HMRC is still currently accepting paper tax returns. In fact, figures released in February show 304,000 paper tax returns were filed (2.64% of returns) in 2025.

People who still prefer to submit a paper tax return are required to abide by an earlier deadline than those who file online – and that date, Friday 31 October, is fast approaching.

However, this process potentially still requires a certain amount of digital interaction; not so long ago, HMRC would routinely send out a hard copy tax return to those wanting to submit it this way. A few years ago, this system changed and taxpayers now need to download a blank version of the tax return online. However, if they don’t have access to the Internet, they can call HMRC to request one.

If you are struggling with this 31 October deadline, then give Lewis & Co a call on tel: 01892 513515. Our team can help you to get everything in order to either be prepared for the October date or, alternatively, help to move you over to a digital tax return.

In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed that the low rate of Benefit In Kind (BIK) tax on company cars would remain low to further encourage companies to adopt electric cars within their businesses.

Currently, BIK tax for zero-emission vehicles is 3% (this increased from 2% in April 2025) and it is set to rise to 5% in 2028-2029 and to 9% in 2029-2030. However, this is still substantially lower than for petrol or diesel cars, which could typically be 20% and above. In fact, for vehicles with emissions of 51g/km CO2 and over, rates will increase to 38% in 2028-29 and 39% in 2029-30.

In a further attempt to incentivise the use of electric cars, company car tax rates for hybrid and ICE cars are also set to rise, with the rate for cars with emissions of 1 – 50g/km of CO2, including hybrid vehicles, rising to 18% in 2028-29 and 19% in 2029-30.

In the UK, a BIK refers to a non-cash benefit provided by an employer to an employee. These are perks or benefits given in addition to salary and they often have a monetary value. HMRC considers many of these benefits as taxable, which should be reported. In addition to company cars, BIK examples include private medical insurance, season ticket loans and gym memberships paid by an employer.

Company car tax is not just dependent on fuel type and CO2 emissions but also the car’s value (if you have a more expensive car, you will pay more tax) and your income tax band.

You may decide to buy a car personally or continue using your current car. Clients then ask us if they can save up all their fuel receipts and add them to their expenses? However, you can’t do this, as included in those will likely be plenty of times you used your car for personal use.

As the owner – and an employee of your limited company – you can currently claim 45p per mile for each trip taken for business, in the same way sole traders account for their business miles. This essentially covers your fuel and any wear and tear on your vehicle. You can claim 45p for the first 10,000 miles and then, after that, the allowance drops to 25p per mile.

If you do opt to buy your car through your limited company, then it is treated as it would be as any asset you buy and you can claim the cost of the car against your business through Capital Allowances.

You may, alternatively, decide to lease a car through your limited company. In which case, you can put down your lease payments through your business as an expense. However, CO2 emissions still play their part. If the car you lease is over 50g/km in CO2 emissions, you can only claim 85% of the lease payments.

It’s worth remembering that the above only applies to company cars; vans, lorries and trucks are treated in the same way as plant and machinery. The rationale for this is that there are many jobs which can’t be done efficiently without a van, so you can claim the full value of the van through your limited company accounts.

Also, if you are a sole trader, you can’t purchase a car through your business, as there is no legal difference between you and your business.

If you are unsure how to account for your vehicle within your business, then do call our team at Lewis & Co on 01892 513515.