Have you now registered with HM Revenue & Customs to submit online VAT returns if your annual sales are more than £100,000?

1 January 2010 was a key date for businesses with EU activities. An EC Sales List (ESL) must now be completed if you are VAT registered in the UK and sell services to an EU business customer without charging VAT. Another important change is that any claim for a refund of VAT paid in another EU country is dealt with by a modern electronic claims system.

Your marital status – whether or not you are married or in a civil partnership – can make a considerable difference to your tax position.

If you are thinking of retiring abroad to enjoy a better climate and escape the UK tax system, you might find it harder than you expect, especially after a recent well-publicised tax case in the Court of Appeal concerning a man who went to live in the Seychelles.

If you employ people, you must submit the end of year PAYE returns for the tax year to 5 April 2010 (and for subsequent years) by electronic means, such as online using the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website. You can be exempted only if you:

Some of the work required in completing the annual returns of expenses and benefits for each employee (forms P11D) can be eliminated if you have a dispensation from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to omit tax deductible expense payments. Also, where a dispensation is in place, the employees’ PAYE codes will not include expenses for which they can claim a tax deduction, so the accuracy of PAYE codes will be improved.