If your business provides vans to any employees, it is no longer considered a benefit in kind if the employees are allowed to take the van home overnight and use it for commuting to and from work.

However if the employee is allowed to use it for private purposes too, such as for shopping trips or running the children to school, the provision of a company van then becomes a benefit in kind.

Since 6th April 2007, the van benefit value has been a flat rate of £3,000 regardless of vehicle age. If the employer also pays for fuel, a van fuel benefit is also chargeable at the flat rate of £500. The employee will therefore pay tax on the total benefit value and the employer will be subject to Class 1A National Insurance of 12.8% on the same value.

If you currently provide or are thinking about providing vans to your workforce, and whether it would be (or still is) tax effective to provides vans, please contact janice@a4gsolutions.co.uk or alternatively speak to your client manager.

In the new Companies Act 2006, a change has been announced in the deadline for filing accounts for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2008.

The period for filing accounts for a private company will be reduced by 1 month to become 9 months after the end of the period (6 months for a public company).

Another change is that if the end of your accounting period falls at the end of the month, the filing deadline will also be the end of the month 9 months later. The old rules did not state this, and many companies with February year-ends (in particular) fell foul of the rule by not filing their accounts by 28th December. In the future, their filing date will be 30th November.

If you are concerned about the changes or are worried about any late filing penalties you have received, please contact wes@a4gsolutions.co.uk or alternatively speak to your client manager.

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”

THOMAS JEFFERSON