August 2023 Newsletter | Cylchlythyr Misol Awst 2023
- The Bank of England has increased its base interest rate for the 14th consecutive time, from 5.00% to 5.25%. The meeting minutes from the Bank of England decision indicated that interest rates might remain higher for longer than expected, with some analysts now expecting interest rates of 5% to continue into 2024 and perhaps even into 2025. This is difficult news for those with mortgages, however those with savings accounts can earn significantly higher returns than in recent years.
- We have reported in previous newsletters that if you wished to fill in any gaps in your National Insurance record that go back to 2006, the deadline was 5 April 2023. This was extended to 31 July 2023, but due to the sheer scale of enquiries, HMRC have decided to extend this deadline again, to 5 April 2025.
If you have been calling HMRC to fill in any gaps in your NI record and have been struggling to get through, please set aside a couple of hours because you will be on hold for at least 1 hour before you can get through to the relevant HMRC team. - When self-assessment taxpayers cannot pay their tax bill, they may be able to enter a 'Time to Pay' arrangement with HMRC, which allows them to pay their tax debts over a longer period, using a prescribed payment plan. HMRC charge interest on the outstanding debt balance.
With the recent rise in base interest rates, HMRC have raised their own interest rate on outstanding debt to 7.5% from 11 July 2023 onwards. - Do you use your mobile for online banking? Ensure that you do not keep passcodes and banking PINs on your phone. A significant number of people have lost thousands of pounds when their phones have been stolen and the thieves have noticed that banking details have been included in the 'Notes' stored on the phone. This gives them instant, unrestricted access to the person's bank accounts. If your phone has been stolen and you use online banking apps, ensure you call your bank immediately.
Ask Huw & Aled: I am an executor for my deceased Uncle's estate, which included rental properties, cash savings and his furniture selling business. We were not close and as sole executor, I am unaware as to whether he owed anyone any money, either personally or through his business. Is there anything I can do to notify any creditors of his passing?
If you are an executor of an estate, one of your responsibilities is to deal with any claims made against the deceased’s estate. Before the application for the grant of probate is submitted, it is recommended that you place a statutory advertisement in The Gazette and in a newspaper that is local to the deceased. This evidences that you have made sufficient effort to identify any creditors before distributing the estate to the beneficiaries. The executor is then protected from claims made by previously unknown creditors and it can provide peace of mind to the executor(s) at what is a difficult time.
Separately, if you are unsure if you have a list of their savings, you may want to use one of the estate research companies to perform an online search of their savings products.
