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In simple terms, if you pay or are deemed to pay enough years National Insurance Contributions (NIC) you will get a full state pension. If you are short some years you will get less state pension. Up until the 5th April 2023 you can make any year back to 2006 count for NIC by paying extra NIC now. This is where simplicity ends. The following post is an outline explanation of what it’s worth to you by paying the extra NIC, what it will cost, whether you are eligible and how to pay…continue reading →

Owners of a dilapidated or unused business premises  would normally have to capitalise the cost of initial renovation and conversion work. This expense would be allowable as a capital expenses but would be disallowed for the year to year income tax calculations. The Business Premises Renovation Allowance allows owners to claim the renovation costs as an expense to be set against the income from that property on their annual Income Tax Returns, even if they rent the property out to another business. This allowance is coming to an end at the beginning of…continue reading →

The Department of Agriculture (DAERA) have today published more information on the new capital grant scheme due to be opened in the coming weeks. Click Here for the link to DAERA's information page on this grant scheme.continue reading →

Not really accountancy related, but some of the new energy storage technologies being tracked by the ARPA may change how you obtain energy for your business over the next decade, and may be worth considering when making new investments. Follow this link to view the relevant part of the ARPA website. The Harvard research on "Rhubard Juice" organic flow storage batteries may be especially interesting for those in rural areas considering wind turbines or solar arrays. If that website is a bit dry & technical then this Telegraph article may help make it more relevant.…continue reading →

CAFRE has announced the holding of its courses for farmers wishing to gain a Level 2 qualification in Agriculture. This qualification is the minimum necessary to allow a young farmer or a new entrant to qualify for the Young Farmer Payment or the Regional Reserve Entitlements. The courses offered by CAFRE run from October 2016 to February 2017 and take place on one evening per week. The online CAFRE webpage offering the courses can be accessed by following this link. The closing date for enrolling for this course is 4pm on Thursday 7th…continue reading →

Groups with successful applications will be advised towards the end of October/beginning of November. The Live Here Love Here small grants scheme is a new grants scheme open to volunteer groups looking to complete an environmental or community improvement project in their local area. ‘Live Here Love Here’ is a new and exciting initiative that takes a fresh approach to improving our local environment and building a sense of civic pride in our local communities. Launched by Keep Northern Beautiful in association with the Department of the Environment, Northern Ireland Tourist Board and…continue reading →

Earlier this year, the Chancellor George Osborne announced major plans to restrict tax breaks for residential buy-to-let landlords which would see half of their profits wiped out. Gradually being phased in over 4 years from April 2017 the change means mortgage interest payments will be restricted to just 20% of interest. Under current rules, a 45% taxpayer with an annual net rental income of £21,000 and annual mortgage interest of £10,000 would retain £6,050 after tax. This could be cut to just £3,550 under the proposed plans once the rules have been implemented…continue reading →