Businesses have been urged to take advantage of a scheme that enables them to claim £2,000 off their employer’s National Insurance bill.
The National Insurance Contributions Employment Allowance was unveiled in last year’s Budget and came into force earlier this year. It is now estimated that 1.25m businesses, charities and community amateur sports clubs can take advantage of the tax cut.
Nigel Bullas, of Cleckheaton-based Clough & Company, said: “This scheme is great news for businesses and it’s already having a positive impact, enabling businesses to reduce their National Insurance Contributions by up to £2,000 in every tax year.
“Where businesses have an annual NIC bill of less than £2,000, they won’t pay anything at all. However, even though the scheme was introduced in April, the majority of businesses we speak to are still unaware of it.
“Almost every organisation that pays employer Class 1 NICs is eligible for the allowance, but they have to actively claim it. This can be done at any point during the tax year by logging into HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools system and selecting ‘yes’ in the ‘Employment Allowance Indicator’ or through their own payroll software. Once it’s done they won’t have to do it again unless their circumstances change.”
